Cheap plane = Cheap car?

[swb58]

Morning.

Over the last couple of days I've been rummaging through some stuff left with my son when his father in law emigrated to the U.S. Among the bits is a No. 4 plane, I know it's a No. 4 because that is the only info cast on the body. The sole is 99% flat and the sides are 90 degrees to the sole (it also sports bright yellow plastic tote and front knob :roll: ). The worst thing I've noticed is a lot of backlash in the height adjustment mechanism.

So, my question is this, can a cheap plane be likened to a cheap car? Will a cheap plane get the driver from A to B, though not in the luxury or maybe as quickly as that afforded by a more expensive make and model?

As a little experiment I'm going to fit a new engine and some go faster stripes and see how it runs.

 

[Benchwayze]

Flog it on eBay as vintage, not-many-made! You might get a nice surprise! :lol:

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Try using it you might get a nasty one. :lol:

 

[JohnPW]

Does it look like this one on Ebay?

Pic of plane with yellow handles

 

[swb58]

No. it's a 'proper' plane. One thing I notice is the casting doesn't seem to very hard and the height adjustment does leave a lot to be desired. (Note go faster stripe )

 

[Cheshirechappie]

That's not a proper one. Proper ones have fluffy dice hanging from the lateral adjustment lever, and an on-board boom-box stereo system.

 

[n0legs]

That's not a proper one. Proper ones have fluffy dice hanging from the lateral adjustment lever, and an on-board boom-box stereo system.

Don't forget the anti-static strips hanging from the rear.

 

[matthewwh]

Backlash (the iron shifting out of position when the tool is brought to bear on the wood) is a user error, it can only happen if the blade has been retracted into position.

A degree of hysteresis, (turns between advancing and retracting the blade) is necessary to prevent the mechanism from binding, causing damage to the threads.

If you have more than a turn or so of hysteresis, scribbling on the threads with a soft pencil should enable you to spin from advance to retract and vice versa with a flick of the finger. Graphite is dry so it doesn't attract dust and become gunky. Careful setting of the lever cap screw and, if necessary, lubricating the surface of the frog should improve performance significantly.

 

[Graham Orm]

yellow? yellow? YELLOW?????

 

[jimi43]

I want to cry!

:shock:


Jim

 

[Mr T]

You won't lose it!

 

[cedarwood]

Just watch out for the "traffic warden" they love cars on double yellows

 

[swb58]

yellow? yellow? YELLOW?????

I did warn you :wink:

Please don't mock the afflicted, this lump of metal and plastic is suffering from a severe case of hys hyst hysteresis (more letters than marmalade!). The cause seems to be a poorly shaped yoke where it locates with the cap iron #-o

I also found a router in the box of stuff, on second thoughts, forget I said that . . . . . . . . :lol:

 

[lanemaux]

From what I can see in the photo mi amigo , seems that giving the adjuster a reshaping would be simple. It appears to be a piece of stamped metal , as also appears to be the lateral adjuster . If it is shaped wrong you need only press and squeeze it into a better. As it ain't cast it should bend well. I have something similar in my "specialty" shelf, fair bit older mind. I found it perfect for re-claiming wood and particle board. It is my dedicated construction adhesive removal tool (at which it truly excels).