Which L-N Plane?????
- Thread starter Michel
- Start date
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Alf
Established Member
Sometimes the smooth finish on some aluminium parts can be confused with plastic.ike":14a07kug said:
Cheers, Alf
Rob Lee
Established Member
Hi -
Not a word about plastics, of course.... but a few about aluminum...
We do use several different materials, choosing the one best suited for the stresses, machining, surface finish, etc...
For example - on the wood handled spokeshaves, the cap irons are actually cast steel (not ductile iron)...we needed a thin, detailed casting there...
Lever caps are usually a Zinc-Aluminum Alloy (very strong) and can vary depending on the use... typical alloys are ZA-3, and ZA-12... ZA-12 being the one we use most (and, I believe, a Canadian innovation)....we use this for our Tucker Vise jaws, which sport a lifetime warranty (we've never seen a failure)....
PL**TICS are really not used that often by us.... for a number of reasons. Firstly - the hand tool market is a traditional one, and PL**TICS just don't go over well...even if they are a better choice of material for a given application. Second - the tooling is much more expensive... and in this market, it's difficult to write the tooling down at a reasonable rate. Third - we can't easily modify PL**TIC parts.... with metals - we can always machine, drill, tap etc. quite easily....
So there you have it - a mini materials overview....
Cheers -
Rob
Not a word about plastics, of course.... but a few about aluminum...
We do use several different materials, choosing the one best suited for the stresses, machining, surface finish, etc...
For example - on the wood handled spokeshaves, the cap irons are actually cast steel (not ductile iron)...we needed a thin, detailed casting there...
Lever caps are usually a Zinc-Aluminum Alloy (very strong) and can vary depending on the use... typical alloys are ZA-3, and ZA-12... ZA-12 being the one we use most (and, I believe, a Canadian innovation)....we use this for our Tucker Vise jaws, which sport a lifetime warranty (we've never seen a failure)....
PL**TICS are really not used that often by us.... for a number of reasons. Firstly - the hand tool market is a traditional one, and PL**TICS just don't go over well...even if they are a better choice of material for a given application. Second - the tooling is much more expensive... and in this market, it's difficult to write the tooling down at a reasonable rate. Third - we can't easily modify PL**TIC parts.... with metals - we can always machine, drill, tap etc. quite easily....
So there you have it - a mini materials overview....
Cheers -
Rob
Rob... my apologies... I stand corrected...
Somehow I got the impression that the shoulder plane rear grips, and bench plane lever caps were ummm... non metallic..??... don't ask where I got the idea from...
Rob Lee
Established Member
Midnight":2vatjvrd said:
...ah - no worries....some of the black paint we use does have a polyester base... that can give you the impression..!
Cheers -
Rob
