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Silver solder (given careful choice of grade) works for brass, brazing does not because the temperature required to melt the braze also melts the workpiece if it's brass. That's because braze (sometimes called 'spelter', especially in older sources) is actually brass!

Yes. You hate your job. OK - but why take it out on me? Maybe you were just letting off steam, but it came across as you having a right go at me and my comment, which I feel is somewhat unwarranted. I was trying to make the point that the country needs people with engineering skills, both...

Well - that answers my question; and very comprehensively! Thanks to AndyT for the initial experiments, and to others for chipping in with thoughts and experience. It does seem that if conditions are good, combination planes can cut rebates - after a fashion. However, when conditions are not so...

I wholeheartedly agree that some practical subjects should form part of a decent, rounded education, alongside academic studies, some sporting activity and a chance to participate in things like music-making and drama. The basics of literacy and numeracy are vital, along with some appreciation...

I'm not convinced that a combination plane would be good for rebating - it's got no sole. I've used one for ploughing (which it did well) but never for anything else. Anybody tried rebating with one?

To be fair, it's on another thread. See 'Faithfull planes' further down the page; this was the introduction, and there are separate threads reviewing (so far) three different sizes of Faithfull bench plane, of which this thread is one.

6207 was scrapped, but two other members of the class were preserved, and both have run on the mainline since rebuild. More information here - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LMS_Princess_Royal_Class By the way, there are about 24 new standard gauge locomotives being constructed in the UK at the...

Yes, I was being serious. Do you think the country would be better off without sewage collection, treatment an disposal? With respect, I'd appreciate it if you read the whole comment again, instead of selectively editing it and making snarky remarks.

We live in a very complex, technological world. We depend on the generation and distribution of electricity, the extraction, storage and distribution of gas, the treatment and distribution of water, the collection, treatment and disposal of sewage, broadband and telephone networks; we have...

At least the sole was flatter than my example - 6 thou concave - it would barely plane at all as supplied! Another fault with mine was that the back of the frog bore not on the sole casting, but on the flange of the adjuster screw, so the frog casting seated on a line contact along it's front...

Thomas Flinn are selling off surplus Clifton multi-plane cutters, so you may find what you need there; http://www.flinn-garlick-saws.co.uk/aca ... ml#SID=454

Clifton ceased production of their multi-plane, presumably because of low sales volume. The price, once you add up the Veritas bits to make the standard kit Clifton supplied, was not far off comparable. My bet is that most combination planes, new or vintage, will spend 95% of their time in use...

I can confirm that! Several similar models appeared on the railway during my volunteering years - including a couple we used and abused in the loco works, moving axleboxes, springs and all sorts. They're much heavier to use than a modern sack truck, but tougher, and they make a great rattling...

There are many different grades of 'stainless steel', to suit different applications. Very roughly speaking, the grades with higher carbon content can be hardened and will take and hold a fair cutting edge (think of stainless kitchen knives), but grades intended for stuff fabricated by welding...

They may not be UNF or UNC - Unified threads only came about after WW2, following difficulties experienced by the military matching US and UK made equipment. Prior to that, the UK tended to use BSW and BSF for larger items, and BA for instruments and smaller items; the US used American National...

I'd agree that it's rather pointless taking things too far, but many of us have found ourselves with planes having warped castings, rendering them somewhat less than effective at what they're supposed to do. We then have the choice of either replacing the plane altogether, or rectifying the...

Modern engineering practice is to machine the surface flat - or where real precision is needed, machine off the bulk with a milling machine or similar, then refine the accuracy and surface finish by grinding in a big, rigid machine. (Obviously, a non-starter for the average woodworker.) Older...

I think it's a gun screwdriver as well - though not so much for a gunsmith as for the owner of a high-end sporting gun. The filed decoration to the blade and the rosewood handle don't really fit with a tradesman's tool, but they very much do with a 'gentleman's' piece. That might explain why...

I've used the smaller Tormek for years - intermittently. It gives a good grind, but it's messy to use, and slow. However, I've never used it to produce a 'finished' edge, just to maintain the primary bevel. For some years, I used a Spyderco medium ceramic stone to give a cutting edge, and to...

What a cracking good thread - you've done a fair bit of research to put all this together, Nick! Just as a very minor footnote, the Parkinson company did not disappear completely. They developed a very fine reputation for building solid, dependable industrial milling machines branded 'Parkson'...