How low can I go?

[WoodMangler]

Apologies gentlemen if I find this akin to the woodworking equivalent of a cilice!

A new word that I wish I hadn't googled - barbed wire underpants come to mind...

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Bugbear - that's quite a good set-up, albeit using equipment that most woodworkers probably don't have. The only thing I'd do differently is to turn the plane upside-down, and support it on three toolmaker's jacks, two at one end and one at the other. By adjusting the two jacks one can set the plane level with the surface plate cross-wise, and by then adjusting the one jack at the other end, set it level length-wise. The dial indicator can then pass over the whole plane sole surface, indicating any deviations from parallelism with the surface plate.

A note to anybody thinking about replicating Bugbear's set-up - you do need a proper surface plate - a piece of float glass or granite kitchen worksurface may be flat, or it may not. A certified surface plate WILL be flat within stated limits.

(That's a cracking photo; ghosting the plane is an excellent way of illustrating exactly what's going on.)

 

[bugbear]

Bugbear - that's quite a good set-up, albeit using equipment that most woodworkers probably don't have.

The only thing I'd do differently is to turn the plane upside-down, and support it on three toolmaker's jacks, two at one end and one at the other. By adjusting the two jacks one can set the plane level with the surface plate cross-wise, and by then adjusting the one jack at the other end, set it level length-wise. The dial indicator can then pass over the whole plane sole surface, indicating any deviations from parallelism with the surface plate.

Yeah - the way I did it isn't "perfect", since I cn't check the flatness of the support points. It's near enough though, and not bad for a cheap set up (surface place was 14 USD, 'V' blocks 2 quid a pair, dial indicator 4 quid.

A note to anybody thinking about replicating Bugbear's set-up - you do need a proper surface plate - a piece of float glass or granite kitchen worksurface may be flat, or it may not. A certified surface plate WILL be flat within stated limits.

(That's a cracking photo; ghosting the plane is an excellent way of illustrating exactly what's going on.)

Thank you!

BugBear

 

[Inoffthered]

So Faithfull planes are cheap and cheerful then?….


How about this one then… :shock:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Faithfull-No- ... 43b2e88a49


Is the decimal point in the wrong position? :lol:

 

[MMUK]

So Faithfull planes are cheap and cheerful then?….


How about this one then… :shock:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Faithfull-No- ... 43b2e88a49


Is the decimal point in the wrong position? :lol:

Even cheaper on Amazon, under £20.

Regarding the #3, I have done a fettling thread bargain-basement-tool-test-3-and-6-planes-t75521.html

 

[G S Haydon]

Good Stuff. Pleased to see someone else's experience with a Faithfull is not all bad. My No4 was not bad considering it's price point. I still have the No7 as I failed to return it. The issue I had was a really bent sole, it has however straightened up somewhat, not completely but better. If I can find the time I might give it another go.

 

[AndyT]

Some eBay sellers do just shift the decimal point when out of stock. Presumably that evades an eBay fee somewhere and puts off customers (unless they are ill informed about prices!)

 

[rafezetter]

I also bought a faithfull no.4 and found it both pretty flat and sides true. The frog mounting was a little iffy as the bolts were poor steel that stripped themselves fairly quickly, but the thread itself in the base was fine with new bolts in. The blade and chipbreaker needed work too, but that seems almost par unless you spend hundreds.

Now, I've never got my hands on a true "quality" handplane so it's hard to make a call in that regard, but once I got my vintage record, I turned the faithfull into a scrub and haven't had any obvious difficulties using it on pine to practice on.

The faithfull block plane is also my goto even though I also have a vintage record 220 as that one is wider and feels bulkier and less nimble in the hand than the faithfull.