Plane Iron Experiment

[steve swantee]

I have a Type 4 Stanley No.8 which I aquired in the last month or so. Now this plane was not a pristine prelateral jewel when I got it. The japanning was all but gone, the knob/tote required refinishing, and there was a slight bend in the upper corner of the iron. Fortunately there were no signs of rust and all the proper vintage parts were present and accounted for. You may have remembered the thread "Latest Addition to the Fleet". Since all signs of its original finishes were erased by time, and subsequently replaced by yours truly, it does not really have much value as a collectible, other than it's value to me, so I am considering embarking on an experiment to install a Lie-Nielsen .175 (3/16) No.8 replacement iron in this little (big) beauty. I plan to open the mouth up to accomodate this monster iron, and use a LN chipbreaker screw to attach it to the original chipbreaker. As for iron adjustment, I am thinking of soldering tabs on either side of the adjuster slot so that the yoke will engage the chipbreaker to advance/retract the iron. If neatly done ,this should result in an awsome jointer. I know I could just use a LN replacement for a Stanley, but thats no fun. Has anyone attempted this? What were your results? I an still in the consideration stage, but am leaning heavily towards it. Any comments welcome.


Steve

[Jim Koepke]

You may find that the mouth does not need opening, depending on how thick a shaving you want to make.

jim

[Joel Goodman]

You also may have an issue with the depth adjuster not reaching the slot in the chipbreaker. I put an almost 1/8 iron (from TWW) in a T15 #7 and it's just about as much as I think will work. The mouth is tight for a jointer with the frog all the way back but I haven't opened it up yet. You might want to try a mockup with a piece of plywood to see whether the adjuster will function correctly. If you decide to go 1/8" LN may be able to make you a blade.

[Tristan Raymond]

Seems to me someone once said something about a LN yoke? Maybe you can just replace the yoke with a longer one that will engage the chip breaker with the thicker blade. I also recently bought a type 4 No. 8. I have a 7 with a Hock blade and chip breaker so I'm holding back on putting lots of money into it for now, but very interested in how it goes for you.

[Johnny Kleso]

If you buy the iron from LN ask for a No8 Yoke last time I bought them they where $5.00..

Your yoke may mork but what I fine is that you will have much more back lash in the depth adjuster wheel because the yoke end is tapered and the thinner part is in contact with the cap iron (chip breaker)....

[Barry Vabeach]

Steve, I have used the solder on tabs on either side of the cap iron slot a few times and it works fine. One tip is it is easiest to solder the tabs right on the edge of the slot or overhanging the slot slightly. Then once it has cooled down, use a small file to adjust the opening so it fits the adjusting yoke with the iron you have. It takes a couple of tries to file it to fit just right, but if you solder the tabs too far apart, that is much harder to correct. I used regular plumbing solder and a propane torch and it worked fine. BTW, I have used this technique with irons up to 3/8" on a Stanley transitional.

[Michael Sobik]

Hey Steve,

I just installed the thick LN iron and the LN improved chipbreaker in my No 7. I did have to open the mouth, but just a little bit. Maybe 0.010". My yoke barely engages the cap iron slot, but since it moves at an angle it only engages during part of the blade travel. I'm going to silver solder a piece of steel onto the end of the yoke, basically making it 3/16" longer. I think that should work fine. If not, I may call LN and try and buy a yoke from them.

[steve swantee]

Thank you all for your informative and open minded replies. I half expected someone to tell me I was nuts-maybe that's yet to come??. As a result of your encouraging replies I have decided to order the LN .175 iron and longer LN chipbreaker screw, which the nice man @ LN threw in for free, I might add. It will probably take up to 1&1/2 weeks for these to arrive at my doorstep, so lots of time for contemplation. Thank you for your reply in particular, Barry. I had read about soldering tabs on either side of the depth adj. slot somewhere, but can't recall where, so it's very encouraging to hear from someone that has actually done this and can confirm that it does indeed work. Any pictures of your modifications Barry? The throats on these earlier planes seem tight compared to later models, so I beleive I will have to open the mouth a bit. I will try to keep you all in the loop on my progress (once I finally have parts in hand). I missed the friday deadline for shipping to Canada, hence the extra wait time.

Steve

[Tony Zaffuto]

Whichever path you take, please post some pictures tracking the project!

Thanks,

T.Z.

[David Keller NC]

Steve - Sounds like you've already ordered a blade from Lie-Nielsen, but if you wanted to try a high-end blade in a Stanley Bailey-type plane, these sound intriguing:

http://www.galoot-tools.com/life/blades.html

My assumption is that it would not be necessary to re-engineer the yoke/slot interface with one of these irons.

To All: Has anyone purchased one of these irons and tried it out? I was considering it for a Bailey #6, but went with a Hock because I needed the plane and it was immediately available.

[steve swantee]

Wow, looks expensive David (premium iron $229), but I think It says they're only available for No4 & 5. I'll stick with the LN iron @ $55.00-and yes, I did already order the iron and c/b screw. I've been toying with the idea of shoehorning one of those thick buggers into a vintage stanley for some time. Sounds like a few of you are interested as well-I'll try to take some pics and keep you informed on my progress. Here's the plane in it's present condition.


Steve

[David Keller NC]

Yeah - No doubt. I wouldn't buy one of their "premium" irons just to stick in a user Stanely. But it looks like you can get a very similar steel in a laminated blade for a lot less. I'd definitely be curious if anyone's bought one and what their impressions are, especially in light of the observations I've had about L-N irons. Many are good in my fleet, but some are not so good - they either chip with moderately hard woods, or the edge rolls over in even soft secondary woods, like poplar.

BTW- I think a #8 and a #5 are the same width, but I could be wrong on that point.

[steve swantee]

Hello David, a No5 iron is 2" wide and the No8 iron is 2 5/8" wide.

[Jim Koepke]

Wow, I like my Hock blades. They were set up to try before the buy.

For that kind of money, my expectations would be so high that it may not be possible to meet them.

jim

[steve swantee]

Hey Jim, after your earlier reply I took a few measurements and even with the frog all the way back I will have to open up the mouth.

Steve