Veritas edge trimming plane. Its not square.

[bobscarle]

I couldn't wait to have a play with some of the tools I bought yesterday from Axminster, especially the Veritas edge trimming plane. Very carefully I unpacked it, installed the blade and then, with an audience of one, I planed the edge of a piece of beech. That will be perfectly square I announced holding it up to the light.

But it is not square. No can't be right! Try another square. Still not square! Try a third. No its still out. OK, I must be doing it wrong. Try several times. Each time I check it and each time it is not square! :evil: Ok, so I take a piece of ash. Make sure the face is flat, it is, then plane the edge. Still the same.

3 squares all out, no can't be. I check the squares on the sides of my Clifton and LN planes. No, the squares are right. So I check the Veritas. Its out! :evil:

So now I have to call Axminster in the morning and arrange to send it back to them. Does anybody else have one of these planes? Does it produce a square edge "Like it says on the box"? Is there anyway I could have set it up wrongly or be using it incorrectly?

Bob (Who's not very happy)

 

[Aled Dafis]

Bob, just a stab in the dark, but is the iron set absolutely parallel to the sole. An iron set slightly askew would produce an out of square edge.

If you've already tried this, I appologise for stating the obvious.

Cheers

Aled

 

[Escudo]

That is just what I was thinking.

 

[bobscarle]

OK, large piece of humble pie!

The blade was not set properly. There are two set screws (my first Veritas so I didn't look at them) which help to centre and align the blade. Once I had found them, I could adjust the blade to give a square edge. The plane works well, as I would have expected.

Thank you to all who tried to help, feel free to call me whatever names you choose. I am now going to go away and write 100 times "I must ALWAYS read the manual" between mouthfulls of pie.

Bob (who is somewhat embarassed at being so stupid)

 

[Argus]

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I've got one of these and I think it's a great tool bearing in mind that it is for a final edge trim.

I do a lot of long edge jointing (up to a couple of metres) for table tops in Oak with nothing added except glue. My technique is to get each mating edges straight and square using a succession of jointers, ensure a good contact all along, then take a continuous thin-shaving swipe with the Veritas to finish. Takes some time and attention, but I've never had one of these joints fail yet.

However as you have found out, it's absolutely essential to get the iron square with the sole and I find that this takes a little time to set dead square each time the iron is removed for attention, especially as Oak is notoriously hard and sharpening or stropping is required more often than on softer timber.


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[Rob Lee]

OK, large piece of humble pie! (snip)

Hi Bob -

No worries.... we all learn by asking questions...

There was once a time when I'd never used one either.... :lol:

No internet to fall back on then though....!

Cheers -

Rob

 

[Argus]

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Here's an off-topic question for Rob Lee.............

Are Veritas making the draw-knife guide bars available in the UK?

I also do a lot of stop chamfers and believe it or not I lost an antique pair of these about 20 years ago..... been looking for a replacement set ever since.

The only problem I can foresee though is that the British draw-knife that I use may be too wide........

 

[cambournepete]

OK, large piece of humble pie!

You might want to edit the thread title to show it's not the plane at fault...

 

[Rob Lee]

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Here's an off-topic question for Rob Lee.............

Are Veritas making the draw-knife guide bars available in the UK?

I also do a lot of stop chamfers and believe it or not I lost an antique pair of these about 20 years ago..... been looking for a replacement set ever since.

The only problem I can foresee though is that the British draw-knife that I use may be too wide........

Hi -

At the moment, I can't think of anyone who has them (they're not really a Veritas product, though we do make them....)...!

They should fit a drawknife with a blde up to 1 1/4" in depth....

If you want to email me directly, I do have a suggestion... ( [email protected] ) ...

Cheers -

Rob