So Rob, my question is, with the new IBC blade/chip-breaker set, you are saying you most likley WILL have to file the mouth opening?
Do you file the front of the mouth, or the rear, or either.
Thanks, Tony
So Rob, my question is, with the new IBC blade/chip-breaker set, you are saying you most likley WILL have to file the mouth opening?
Do you file the front of the mouth, or the rear, or either.
Thanks, Tony
I can't speak for ibc, but I put a hock blade in an old user quality #4 and it was like a new one! I could not do any better with my ln 4.5
Last edited by Anthony Diodati; 04-25-2010 at 11:35 PM.
Didn't we just have a similar thread to this that was deleted?
I almost took some pictures of an edge of rock maple that was planed with an old Stanley blade that came up like a mirror. I have already done this with a piece of pine that was smoothed with an old Stanley blade. The rock maple was even more mirror like.
Yes, I know the old Stanley blades are not as nice as many of the new premium blades. They can take and hold an edge. They can take nice translucent shavings. They can also take thick shavings.
The blade is one of the important building blocks of a good plane. There are some pieces of junk out there that were sold as planes that will not perform well no mater what blade is installed in their shaky boned bodies.
I wish I could find all those used planes that only take an hour of time to put into top shape. Most of the ones of my acquaintance have taken more time than that to disassemble and properly remove the dirt and rust. I would feel that it may be discouraging to someone to tell them they should be able to fettle a plane to perfection in an hour. Most planes that are in that good of condition will not show up often in the $20 range.
I got very lucky one day and found this for $15:
Picture 16.jpg
It took more than an hour to repair the tote, clean and tune to get to this:
Picture 17.jpg
It took great shavings with a Stanley blade.
jim
Last edited by Jim Koepke; 04-26-2010 at 12:51 AM.
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
This whole thing reminds me a lot of when winchester and remington introduced short magnums and for several years, the writers of the magazines tried to convince us there was something new and better about them.
I haven't seen the chipbreaker. I have two of the irons. They are good irons and they're finished well, but they will need to be the same price or less than others to be competitive as an iron alone.
Durability is similar to all of the other brands mentioned. So similar that I would never put money on which would last more strokes before failing to cut or chipping out.
One big benefit of the irons, though, while we're talking about comparables for someone who might be looking and debating hock hcs for $31 and old chipbreaker or full boat IBC setup - the IBC iron does have a nice anti-rust coating on it. Hopefully the chipbreaker has the same.
I would say "whoop-de" about the anti-rust coating if it weren't for a couple of premium irons that I have that have pits on them further up the iron from where the chipbreaker touched the iron and I didn't do such a great job keeping them oiled.
I think the anti-rust coating is a good idea, especially for the current crop of hobbyists who sometimes don't use a plane for months at a time.
Posting links to videos is not forbidden as long as they are not outright sales pitches. It is a fact of life that any video will have some commercial message either overt or covert if it is produced by any manufacturer or distributor. I hope that we will not see any which are outright sales pitches. Instructional videos with a small commercial element are fine. The previous thread on Rob's plane blade/chip breaker combos was pulled because it got out of hand and extremely rancourous. That's not the way we do things around here.
I sincerely hope this thread stays within the bounds of civil discussion and avoids attacks on motives and personalitites.
Dave Anderson
Chester, NH
If you have some family treasure to restore...the replacement blade/chip breaker may be an option. Although, one could use a thick blade in a regular Stanley if one just replace the yoke with a LN equivalent (a $5 upgrade). Once the mouth is filed, there's no going back. Keep in mind that the hock blade/chip breaker has been around for ages and has great reputation.
The cost of the plane, materials, blade/chip breaker is north of $150. The true value of this combo will be reflected in the resale value of these modified planes. I'm sure they will come up in SMC classified eventually.
If you are a newbie, forget about this set up. Get a brand new Veritas low angle jack. With a sharp blade, it will cut full width/length paper-thin shavings before you even finish putting a coat of WD40 on that old plane. Adjustable mouth: piece of cake. Blade thickness: massive 3/16". Frog: rock-solid because it's machine right into the body.
A plane needs adjustments. How easy/accurate/consistent those adjustments can be made separates a performer from a mediocre one. So don't believe the hype that the blade is everything until you've got some experience.
Hi Tony, I file the front of the mouth, closest to the knob. Most of the old planes I have could stand to have the mouth cleaned up. It takes about a 1/16" on average. Not a hard procedure, file so the surface is perpendicular to the sole or slightly angled toward the knob. I fine tune the last bit by placing the blade in the plane and checking after every few strokes. If you buy the blade and breaker the DVD comes with it and it has lots of close up detail on all the steps.
cheers
Rob
Or if you want to restore that grandfather hand-me-down then look seriously at the blade/breaker combination. Even as a newbie, this is not rocket science. You need a file, a vise, a flat machine top or float glass, some sticky back sand paper and an hour. The more difficult task is preparing the blade and breaker. To get a sharp blade you need a flat stone, you need to flatten the back of the blade and you need to fit the breaker to the blade so there are not gaps that will trap shavings and clog the throat. The advantage of Woodcraft/IBCs offering is they have done the hard part. The blade is pre-flattened and mated perfectly to the breaker. You are only a minute of honing from dropping it into the restored plane and experiencing what we are all trying to entice you to do. Your risk?, time! Just got off the phone with a VP from Woodcraft to make sure, you have 90 days from purchase date to do what you want with this, if it does not perform you return and refund. Subtract the cost of the dvd ($32.50) and your paying in the low $60's for a premium thick blade, an O-1 breaker that is harder than any of the others and all the prep work on both pcs has been done. I call that a deal!
Cheers
Rob
If you get a well cared for plane, you won't even need an hour. I find those all the time in antique shops usually next to the unicorn saddles.
For those who find time a valuable commodity, my suggestion is they buy a new plane or one that has been restored from someone they trust.
Being retired, my time is my own to spend how ever I like. The more time I spend tuning chip breakers, the better I have become at tuning chip breakers.
When we do the math, there are a few things that come to mind. If there are three planes in my shop worthy of new blades will woodcraft offer a $32.50 discount on the second and third blades since I really don't need three DVDs?
BTW, $99.99 minus $32.50 is $67.49, I guess we have different ideas on many things including what constitutes "the low $60's." If it were the blade for the #4-1/2, 6 and 7 size planes, then we would be talking low $70 range.
I did not see anything on the website that says these come with free shipping.
jim
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
My mistake Jim, I was thinking the 2" was selling for $95 not $100, so upper $60's is correct. as per shipping, with 85 WC stores around the country most folks will have one somewhat close. Now dont come back to me with "gas money". Spend a few hours in a cool store and enjoy yourself. The purpose of this offering is to motivate the non-hand plane user to try it. The same guy who wont buy a new plane, the granddad relic is the key to getting him to try this as a means of restoring a bit of personal history. Connect to the past if you will.
I dont think they will do anything for you on multiple purchases online but knowing as many of the store owners as I do, I think you would have a better chance in-store. cheers
Rob
I agree with you Brian. I don't think that RC is trying to say (at least not that I could see) that this matched set will work as well as a new LN out of the box.
I think he's simply trying to say that for $100, a person who has a #4 laying around but doesn't use planes because it doesn't work well, will see a different plane when this set is intalled. I don't think this product was ever meant to try and sway those of us who already know how to fettle a plane and have experience with them. They are going for that market that are not into planes yet.
However, if I had an old #4, a $100 investment that would most likely help it perform to even close to LN standards, would be worth the money. Granted, without a perfectly flat sole and frog, it will never be the same, but I am one who thinks that that greatest percentage of performance lies in a sharp blade and well fitting chip breaker.