Greetings to all,
I picked up a very clean coffin smoother at an antique store a couple of weeks ago. The iron isn't original, but seems to have been around for a good long time. Some etching on the back side shows it's a piece of T-1 Tungston High Speed tool steel (the stuff they make taps, dies, and metalworking cutters out of). It's bedded at 45 degrees and doesn't have a chipbreaker. Based on the flat bed that the iron sits in (no clearance pocket for cap iron screw), I don't believe the original iron was ever equipped with one.
Following a thorough sharpening, it cuts pretty well if set for a light cut, although the adjustment process is pretty fussy (small hammer). The mouth isn't as tight as I'd like and I may insert a stick of rosewood to remedy that. I'm wondering if I should make provisions for a chipbreaker as well. I have access to a wire EDM so I could slot the blade pretty easily and install a Hock version, but I wonder if it would improve anything.
Any thoughts from those who have been down this path?