Lowest possible Bevel Up Bed Angle???

[Dan Barr]

Thanks for the responses

Larry, thanks for the informative blurb on those planes and low bed angles. very useful

Raney, i did not take that negatively at all.

back to the point.

I guess metal is the only solid option for low angle beds. (unless you want to build a wooden plane with grain oriented at 25-35 degrees and have end grain as your sole and an expanding and contracting mouth and sole.)

probably not.

hmmmm.

[Larry Marshall]

physicists to distraction. Wood is just not a cooperative substance when it comes to reductionism.

You should have bold-faced this statement, Raney. So many modern-day woodworking discussions start with the assumption that woodworkers are just machinists who work with wood. This sets false assumptions and expectations.

Cheers --- Larry
http://www.woodnbits.com/blog

[Pedro Reyes]

Dan,

The only thing I can offer beyond what has been said, is that aside from the clearance angle and the rigidity of the bed, there is the practical issue of being able to hold the blade at low angles.

You could always screw it down, but you want depth adjustment and you certainly want to change the position of the blade relative to the bed as you wear it by sharpening.

At high angles the iron is held by friction, and using it actually helps this "grip" by pushing the iron harder against the bed, with low angles the iron is pushed "out" more. In simple mechanical terms, the x-factor of that force is much greater thus pushing it out on the "long axis" of the blade if you will. A Norris type adjuster works, as does the notched irons used on Stanly low angle blocks. But how small can you package something like this under a blade? Do you bring it to the top? In other words relying on wedges or lever caps (which apply force in the same manner, perpendicular to what I'm calling the "long axis") becomes more of a challenge the lower the angle.

Just some practical considerations.

/p

[Joel Goodman]

A traditional tapered iron would help as the iron narrows in thickness as it moves away from the cutting end. Force on the cutting end effectively tightens the wedge.

[Jim Koepke]

There is a block plane on eBay that looks like the blade is at a very low angle.

Supposedly a Stanley prototype that never went to production.

Sure is an odd looking duck:

Picture 1.jpg

Auction 220503570133

jim