Record No. 4

[Peter T]

OK, here goes, my first woodwork related message.

I got a nice little Record No. 4 with the Stay-Set backer off E Bay the other week.

Cleaned it up and fettled the iron and it worked well. Then I fitted a Ray Iles D2 thicker iron. Wow, what a difference, those things really work.

The only problem is that the thicker iron makes the mouth really tight, even with the frog backed right off.

Is this something I will have to live with or should I risk filing the mouth to make it a bit wider?

 

[Paul Chapman]

There should be no problem filing the mouth to make it wider - I had to do that to my Records when I fitted thicker blades. Just take it easy and test frequently so that you don't take off too much.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Harbo]

If you are still concerned, Ray will fit the blade to it - he can also mill the sole flat too?

Rod

 

[Racers]

Hi,

File the back of the mouth ot the front then move the frog back they way you will have no problem if you fit the orignal blade back in. Is it a square sholdered blade that you removed? they are very good I have found.


Pete

 

[Peter T]

Many thanks for the information guys.

I think I'll have a go myself. I have the tools and anyway, for me this is a hobby. I don't rely on these tools to make a living!

One other question. The amount that I can back off the frog is limited because the bevel of the iron contacts the back edge of the mouth.

So, is it better to open the front of the mouth to clear the iron or should I open the back of the mouth to allow more movement of the frog?

Thanks again,

 

[Paul Chapman]

Open up the front of the mouth. Try to do it so that when finished, the edge slopes very slightly towards the front of the plane - this helps with clearance of the shavings, which will curl away from you towards the front of the plane.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Peter T]

Hi,

File the back of the mouth ot the front then move the frog back they way you will have no problem if you fit the orignal blade back in. Is it a square sholdered blade that you removed? they are very good I have found.

I posted the next question without reading your reply, sorry.

It is a square shouldered iron. I got it working pretty well, I thought, but the thicker one seems to take it to another level.

Having said that I'm strictly a weekend warrior, not an expert!!

Thanks,

 

[Racers]

Hi,

The front of the mouth needs to slope away from the blade, but the back is where you need to take the metal off, or if you put the original blade back it will still close up and you have not ruined your plane.

Pete

 

[Peter T]

Open up the front of the mouth. Try to do it so that when finished, the edge slopes very slightly towards the front of the plane - this helps with clearance of the shavings, which will curl away from you towards the front of the plane.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

I found an article somewhere on the forum that advises opening the front of the mouth towards the front of the plane on the inside.

I may try this at the same time as easing the back.

Thanks,

 

[Paul Chapman]

There's clearly a difference of opinion here. I would always advocate filing the front of the mouth (which is how I did mine), whereas Pete advocates filing the back. Both methods would probably work OK but I would just say have a good look at the plane and the bedding of the frog first and try to visualise the end result before taking a file to it - easy to take the metal off but more difficult to put it back :wink:

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Peter T]

There's clearly a difference of opinion here. I would always advocate filing the front of the mouth (which is how I did mine), whereas Pete advocates filing the back. Both methods would probably work OK but I would just say have a good look at the plane and the bedding of the frog first and try to visualise the end result before taking a file to it - easy to take the metal off but more difficult to put it back :wink:

Cheers :wink:

Paul

You're absolutely right. I am quite nervous about filing anything off the mouth. The thing pushing me is the difference I got going from the original iron to the thicker one.

Looking at the frog, the front edge is positioned so that I can just see the back edge of the mouth below it. If I pull it back any further, the iron is riding on the back edge of the mouth.

In this position I can get a 6 thou feeler between the iron and the front of the mouth. Is this reasonable or too tight. it seems to clog very readily!

Thanks,

 

[Paul Chapman]

You need to be able to set the mouth according to the work you are doing - very fine finishing work or more general stuff where you would be taking thicker shavings. So you probably need to open the mouth a little.

Also remember that if you have the cap iron set too close to the edge of the blade, together with a tight mouth, that can cause shavings to jam. Most texts tell you to set the cap iron very close when doing fine work but I tend to set it back a bit and get much better results. It also helps to have the front of the mouth sloping slightly away from you (as I said above) as this helps with the clearance of the shavings.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Digit]

A suitable sized warding file and a digital calliper or feeler gauges etc plus slow and careful normally does the trick. I open the front of the mouth personally.
It's worth looking at the fit between the frog and its seat whilst you're at it as well. One Stanley I have the frog actually only sat on one high spot!

Roy.

 

[Racers]

Hi,

If you file the back of the mouth you can't do any harm to the plane because you will always be able to set a fine mouth, file out the front and you can be left with a plane with out enough adjustment to set a fine mouth and a ruined plane, so in my view its safe to do the back not the front.
I have a Stanley where someone has taken loads out of the front of the mouth and it is now imposable to set it fine. I will have to make a blade from 6mm Ground flat stock to get it working properly.


Pete

 

[Peter T]

I've done the minimum that I can to make it work. I filed the front of the mouth to angle the inside edge away from the cap iron.

The mouth is still very narrow but the shavings clear better and it doesn't seem to clog.

Thanks for all the help,

 

[Digit]

Way to go Peter.

Roy.