squaring plane sides - machine shop Brighton/East Sussex?

[goldspanner]

Looking for a machine shop (or anything else that could do the job) to square up the sides on my no 3 smoother so I can use it for shooting.
I tried a couple of simple jigs with sandpaper, but it just takes wayyyyyy too long.

If anyone knows of anywhere in Brighton (preferably), or around East Sussex, I'd appreciate the heads up!

Thanks,

Alex

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Your plane won't be so far out of square that you can't compensate by skewing the iron slightly. You're making a mountain out of a molehill - it really isn't that important. I would imagine most things that needed a shooting board would be much better with a much longer plane anyway.

 

[goldspanner]

a longer plane would definitely be better, but for now the no 3 is all I have

could probably adjust the blade to compensate (Paul Sellers advocates this), but I'd worry about tear out if the sole isn't making full contact, especially as I might use the shooting board for long grain

 

[AndyT]

If you found someone willing to do this and they charged £40 you'd think it reasonable and pay up.
But the plane must be dire to need machining, so you'd still have a poor plane after you had spent out on it.
I think you would do better by spending £40 on eBay on a decent old no 4 or 5.
Either would be a better size for shooting and will be fit to use that way without any fuss.

 

[custard]

Keep your wallet in your pocket and just skew the blade. Any cross grain tear out is down to poor technique. Long grain tear out is possible with wild grain, there are solutions but they're a bit more involved, so in the early days you're better off just sticking with straight grained, easily worked boards.

Good luck!

 

[Racers]

Buy a cheap wooden jointer from a car boot, screw a handle to the side and have a much more comfortable shooting plane.

Pete

 

[Paddy Roxburgh]

I got a few planes soles flattened one side squared at North London Saws in Waltham Cross. They charged £25 to set up the machine and then £5 for each plane. They are only 5 mins up the road from my house and it seemed worthwhile at the time and still use the no.5 I got done as my dedicated shooting plane. However I would tend to agree that a wooden jointer with handle on the side is a better solution, if it's not perfectly square you can plane it with your no. 3.
Paddy