Block plane tune up

[Amateurrestorer]

Hello ,has anybody tuned up a block plane ?( stanley 60.5) and can give me an idea on how to soup mine up, I use it a lot and want to get the best out of it.

 

[George_N]

Have a look at Alf's Groz block plane rewiew. She had to do a fair bit of fettling, which is very well described with good pictures.

 

[David C]

Thicker better quality blades from Hock or L-N will make a huge difference.

I'm sure Alf will have covered the other structural issues, like blade seating and sole flattening.

David

 

[AHoman]

Thicker better quality blades from Hock or L-N will make a huge difference.

The Ray Iles blades are nice, too. I got a carbon steel replacement blade for a Stanley #18 block plane and it was immediately a big improvement. He also makes D-2 blades. Tried any of these, David?
-Andy

 

[MooreToolsPlease]

There is video of tuning a plane on finewoodworking.com by Chris Gochnur I think, its a very useful video

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Amateur restorer

Welcome to the forum.

Cheers
Neil

 

[David C]

Did not think Ray did blades for 60 1/2?

His bench plane and speciality blades are excellent.

Yes I have used and like his D2 blades, very useful resource.

David

 

[Amateurrestorer]

Thanks for the advice , I think I am going to go for a Ray Iles replacement blade, he does a number of them for various planes and even sells them on that internet auction site that shall remain nameless.

 

[Routermonster]

Hi Amateur restorer

I posted a similar query a couple of months ago for my Stanley 9 1/2 and got excellent advice as always (creep, creep!).

I spent a fair amount of time flattening and fettling it and I bought a Ray Iles D2 blade for it from that you-know-who auction site. The new blade is excellent and worth the extra investment. The plane is now much improved, and worth the effort. Although by no means equal to a LN or Veritas it works quite well now.

Hope this helps.

Off to the garage to play with my toys ...

Les

 

[David C]

As you have discovered, block plane tune up provides a huge improvement in performance.

The classic issues of sole flatness, blade seating and thicker blades are all involved. Is it not shocking to see how bad the basic manufacture is?

If you already have a block plane, the price of a blade may be worth considering.

If buying new from scratch a poor plane tuned up will have cost nearly 2/3 of a L-N or Veritas and will never perform as well. I think tune up effort is worth considering on nice old Stanley and Record bench planes but not really on block planes, unless you got nice early ones at a reasonable price.

David

 

[Routermonster]

David

I agree with your comments.

Because I had bought my Stanley 9 1/2 in a sale, and had stored it away for a couple of years before deciding to tune it up, it made sense to buy a replacement blade. Now I wouldn't buy a new one and a replacement blade - better to save up for something better.

I recently bought a 60 1/2 LN - the difference in quality compared with the Stanley is amazing and it's worth the extra cost.

Les

 

[David C]

Les,

That's what I was getting at. L-N are in a different league to modern Stanley, and the block planes are an area where the difference is dramatic.

best wishes,
David

 

[Amateurrestorer]

OK so I bit the bullet and boght a veritas low angle block plane and now I am having to suck on a lemon to take the stupid grin off my face. What a nice piece of kit , unfortunately I have just just finished a project so I am restricted to making shavings with a scrap piece of wood.

 

[Lord Nibbo]

OK so I bit the bullet and boght a veritas low angle block plane and now I am having to suck on a lemon to take the stupid grin off my face. What a nice piece of kit , unfortunately I have just just finished a project so I am restricted to making shavings with a scrap piece of wood.

The LA Block plane was the first Veritas plane I ever bought, it converted me too. Have fun using it. :lol: