Improving a Miller's Falls Jack Plane

[Kenneth Speed]

Recently I purchased a Miller's Falls Jack Plane in very good condition. After cleaning, oiling, and tuning it a bit and replacing the original blade with a sharp one from Hock tools it cuts like a dream, so nicely in fact that I plan to use it as a jumbo smoother rather than a jack.

My only complaint is that there is a huge amount of play in the blade adjuster mechanism. I've heard about bending the stirrup so the legs are closer to the inner faces of the wheel but I've always been hesitant to do that and risk damaging the stirrup. Are there better ways to eliminate most of this slop?


Ken

[David Weaver]

Silver solder some tabs on the cap iron. There's already a fair amount of slop in millers falls adjuster even with the regular iron, and adding thickness only moves the iron out further on the narrow end of the adjuster.

It may not be the wheel end of the adjuster that's the problem, and I think you'll have more luck and less chance of trouble if you solder tabs onto the cap iron.

[Jim Koepke]

My only complaint is that there is a huge amount of play in the blade adjuster mechanism. I've heard about bending the stirrup so the legs are closer to the inner faces of the wheel but I've always been hesitant to do that and risk damaging the stirrup. Are there better ways to eliminate most of this slop?


Ken

I often hear complaints about this. My Stanley/Bailey planes all have some back lash or "slop." The stirrup/yoke is made of cast iron that doesn't bend, it breaks. DAMHIKT!

I have seen planes with as much as 5 turns of back lash. For me, life is too short to get my knickers in a twist on this one.

jtk

[paul cottingham]

I just bought an old millers falls 14 jack. It does have a lot of slop, but you get used to it. It's a great plane isn't it?

[Kenneth Speed]

Well Davids on the right track; it isn't the wheel end of the stirrup that's the problem, it's the end that fits into the cap iron which is too narrow or the cap iron slot is too wide. The stirrup is just two pieces of sheet steel riveted together with a hollow rivet that also acts as the channel for the stirrup pin. I tapped the pin out very easily and I don't see why I can't peen the "finger" end of the stirrup enough to reduce the slop.

Ken

[Kenneth Speed]

It took me about ten minutes to drift out the pin, peen the end of the stirrup and put the hole thing back together, that includes the time I lost dropping the pin! The plane works like a charm, what an easy fix!


Ken