What Smoothing Plane

[MrJay]

You'll need to flatten the back first. Gotta be done. Sorry 'bout that.

The trick to the bevel is to grind it at roughly 25 degrees and then add a tiny micro-bevel at 30 degrees which forms the actual cutting edge with the back. To keep the blade honed you just touch up the micro-bevel, then clean the burr from the back; because the micro-bevel is a tiny wafer of a thing it is quick and easy to do. The 25 degree big bevel you could attempt with the wheel. Be wary of overheating the blade though; screw up the temper and the blade is fit for the bin. If you're looking for smoothing performance I'd be minded to make some kind of jig so you get a nice even, consistent bevel. Stock tool rests are notoriously not very tool resty.

(you don't want to do the micro bevel with the wheel oh no, that will go terribly wrong; - I didn't make that overly clear - Digit will in a minute though; oh wait!)

 

[Digit]

No! There are some videos on the net that should help you on this. A grinder is used to cut the primary bevel, this is simply to give clearance between the iron and the timber being planed.
A secondary bevel is used as the cutting edge, this should be as finely honed as possible.

Roy.

 

[Chems]

Ok, I mainly bought it to sharpen my chisels.

How do I go about flattening the back. Bit of sandpaper on a hard flat surface?

 

[MrJay]

Head back to page one of this thread. You could use abrasive paper on a flat surface, but I suspect you'll end up using a hell of a lot of paper. You can suspend loose abrasive particles on a lapping plate also; I've not tried this method, but it's supposed to be good. Be weary of using very coarse grits on the iron - any scratches you make you're going to have to remove later.

 

[bugbear]

I bought a cheap grinder today, it has tool rests, can I sharpen my blade using a grinder?

No; a grinder is for "bulk" changes in shape. Very helpful.

Sharpening is done on much finer (and slower) abrasives.

BugBear

 

[Chems]

Ok I havent polished it all up but want to get it working now.

Does the blade gone in bevel down or up? The blade also has a chip in it Really want to sharpen it up and get doing some planing with it. Should the blade be curved in this plane?

 

[bugbear]

Ok I havent polished it all up but want to get it working now.

Ah. Excellent change in priorities.

Does the blade gone in bevel down or up?

down

The blade also has a chip in it

Not a problem. Compared to the work of flattening and polishing the back of the blade, and tuning/fitting the cap-iron, removing a nick from the bevel is child's play.

Here's a link to "big boy's" tuning up.

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.wood ... 18bf?hl=en

Here's a much more "moderate" approach to getting the damn thing working:

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&s ... diaone.net

BugBear

 

[Chems]

Thank you BugBear, I put it together today and it looked fine with the bit of cleaning I have given it no need to turn it into a mirror I dont think!

The chip is in the ChipBreaker no pun intended.

Right so I will get sharpening up and report back!

 

[Chems]

Be proud I took my first ever shavings with a plane today. First off with the Record shoulder plane a member off here let me buy of them and kindly sharpened up, then some with this plane.

BB are you sure its bevel down? I tried it both ways and it didnt take any shavings bevel down but it did bevel up, I think it may be because its not very sharp yet?

 

[Chems]

I think I will have to buy a new blade as this one it too far gone its been sharpened so much it now appears to be too short to have any useful depth adjustment with the thumb screw.

How do I go about buying a new one, will one of the Stanley ones from Axminster do the job?

 

[Digit]

You could try the Old Plane Iron Shop or M & P Tools. Both on the net and E-Bay.

Roy.

 

[bugbear]

I think I will have to buy a new blade as this one it too far gone its been sharpened so much it now appears to be too short to have any useful depth adjustment with the thumb screw.

Some misunderstanding here, surely:

Your blade looks fine - plenty of length, and doesn't appear too pitted at the business end.

BugBear

 

[Chems]

Its gotten maybe another 7-8mm shorter since Ive been sharpening it. The problem is that if I set it so it has just a touch coming out from the mouth, I cant do any adjustment with the thumb wheel as the saddle falls off with anymore turning. The other thing is, cant see it in that picture so well, but the blade is to curved, Its gotten more so as Ive been sharpening.

This blade is available to anyone who wants an original record iron and thinks they can make use, I know a lot of people are avid collectors of such things?

BB can I use a waterstone for sharpening do your recommend that? Ive got one but its only about 1.5inches wide so it makes it a little more difficult, Im off ill today so light duty, Im going to make a little honing jig out of some bits of scrap.

 

[bugbear]

Its gotten maybe another 7-8mm shorter since Ive been sharpening it.

Yes Gods! Is that your angle grinder again?

The problem is that if I set it so it has just a touch coming out from the mouth, I cant do any adjustment with the thumb wheel as the saddle falls off with anymore turning.

That's just wrong. What do you mean by "saddle"?

I suspect your "yoke" isn't sitting correctly in your adjuster wheel; either that or your cap-iron is fixed to your blade very oddly.

If the fault is misassembly, a new blade ain't gonna fix it.

If you can't sharpen "straight" you'll just muss up an expensive new blade. You may as well get you mistakes fixed on the cheap stuff.

BugBear

 

[Chems]

Its gotten maybe another 7-8mm shorter since Ive been sharpening it.

Yes Gods! Is that your angle grinder again?

*shameful nod*

Its very difficult to get it all right when you have so many variables, I cant tell if its that I havent got the blade sharp enough, or Ive set it up wrong, or if the bit of wood Im using to test isnt very good. I feel if I can at least start with a sharp iron I can figure it out.

Hopefully as I get better I can go back to the other blade and get it working. Nothing wrong with having 2 irons, the new one only cost £11.

 

[bugbear]

OK; checklist:

The depth adjuster should be run onto the yoke, so that the little "paddles" or blobs on the yoke sit in the deep groove of the adjuster, so they're nicely captured. A little Lubrication on the adjuster thread, and the yoke/adjuster contact is a good thing.

Frog should be seated so the bottom end forms a more-or-less continuous ramp with the matching (little) ramp in the casting.

The capiron screws onto the blade; the blade needs to sit on the bench bevel DOWN and the cap goes on with it's "bump" UP.

The assembled "double iron" (blade + capiron) goes in the body bevel DOWN, taking care to put the slot in the capiron over the "sticky up" bit of the yoke.

If your depth adjustment is miles out, you can roughly adjust it at this stage.

Now put the lever cap on, and adjust the lever cap screw until you can "snap" the lever without using undue force.

The plane is pretty much ready to use at this point.

BugBear

 

[Chems]

Ok I will have a go at that.

Ive just spent like an hour trying to sharpen my chisels on the waterstone they are provided with, Im getting no were, they wouldnt cut butter. What am I doing wrong?

 

[bugbear]

separate questions in separate thread please

BugBear

 

[Chems]

Nono, its related, I couldnt get my plane iron very sharp yesterday with the waterstone either.

 

[dunbarhamlin]

This weekend I watched someone furiously flap around on a stone, degrading rather than enhancing the edge of a blade.
While folks better than I may get good results whilst appearing to 'flap around' over the stone, mere mortals are better with slow deliberate strokes, gently cradling the blade with arms locked, and moving the whole body from the ankles. This I think is true even when using a guide.
After half a dozen strokes, the resultant flat on the bevel should be quite clear, and can be used as a guide to how much work is required. Once this flat reaches the edge, a bur will be apparent on the 'back' of the blade. If drawing the 'back' flat across your finest stone doesn't remove this bur (or bend it so it is now apparent on the bevel side) then the 'back' is not flat enough - for a plane blade, consider using the Ruler Trick (not for chisels)
Once you are raising and removing a bur in this manner, repeat on your finer stone until it has gone (called 'chasing' the bur)
But gently does it - if a heavy bur is broken off prematurely, it will have the same effect on the edge as a chip - a blunted section on the edge (perhaps what's happening to you.)
Cheers
Steve