Tear-out from my smoothing plane

[Winton Applegate]

I guess you could call this "A COVER" of a song I just heard.
I changed it around a little.
If I get rich I will send you royalties.
And a one a and a two a and a . . .

steeper pitch trumps most other factors INCLUDING SHARPNESS in really difficult grain.

Fiddle is fun except with bevel downs with too many parts (chip breaker).

ALWAYS a perfectly hand planed surface

if your goal is to actually build something
but sometimes you gotta . . .

Bevel Up.

Go the way shortest way possible to get a quality result. (Okaaa that was kind of a Satchmo thing right ? "It's not whatchasay . . . itshowcha say it").

? . . . a bevel down plane, and a cabinet scraper, and (or) a card scraper, and sand paper and hold your tung just right . . . ?

or

ONE plane with a ever so slightly steeper secondary beveled blade.

SLAP it in the plane (no just right diddle fiddle) and set what ever depth you want (your strength and your bench are the limits)

aaaaaaaannnnnnnnd
DONE.

Which is the more simple ?

, plane as best you can and then break out a properly sharpened . . .

Bevel up blade.
hit the problem areas (well the whole surface EVENLY actually unless you want a hollow in the surface).
? and move on ?

Nah dude YOU'RE DONE !

Time for the photo session and to call the magazines. ! ! ! !
You have just done what only "THE FEW", "THE STRONG", "THE BRAVE",
the expert sharpener . . .
?
Oh wait . . .
you have done what any blighter with a sharpening jig and a moderately priced (actually quite inexpensively priced ) bevel up hand plane can do.

I like a straight from the plane surface.

guy, go the way shortest way possible to get a quality result.
BU.

How's tha sound ?
Catchy ?

[Daniel Rode]

So, what's the latest ? What have you determined ?

Inconclusive thus far.

I resharpened the iron and set the chip breaker even closer but I ran into some problems at that point. I remembered why is was set to 1/64 last time. I ran out of room. The adjuster wheel became tight and was apparently at the end of the stud and could not be tightened any more. In order to get a any cut, I had to move the (bedrock style) frog forward.

I can take a fine cut but the mouth opening is so small, that's all I can take. It seems to me that the slot in the chip breaker that is engaged by the adjusting lever is too far back. It needs to be 1/16" closer.

It's frustrating and I'm not sure what needs to be fixed. Do I need to replace the plane, replace the iron and breaker or do I just need to make some adjustment and work on technique.

[Kees Heiden]

Yes that is frustrating. What plane is it? If it is a LN or a woodriver then it is a wellknown problem and they should be able to supply you with a chipbreaker that does fit. For free if I remember correctly. If it is an old Stanley then I don't know. Never heard about Stanleys this far off, but that doesn't mean too much.

[Chris Griggs]

Never heard about Stanleys this far off, but that doesn't mean too much.

I've had a vintage plane or two where cap iron has been ground back or abused just enough from previous users that it couldn't be set close enough. It really doesn't take that much unrestrained grinding (and by grinding I don't mean on a power grinder) to render them this way.

Daniel if this is the case, you should be very easily able to find an old bailey cb that will work (assuming you are using a Stanley). Sargent's are the one plane I know of where getting a workable replacement cap iron is difficult as they space thing quite differently.

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

Sargent's are the one plane I know of where getting a workable replacement cap iron is difficult as they space thing quite differently.

I feel like at one point, LN offered custom chipbreakers as an option if you supplied the edge-to-adjustment-hole distance but I must have been dreaming it, because I don't see it anywhere anymore.

[Daniel Rode]

This is a wood river #4. I bought it maybe 3 months ago.

Yes that is frustrating. What plane is it? If it is a LN or a woodriver then it is a wellknown problem and they should be able to supply you with a chipbreaker that does fit. For free if I remember correctly. If it is an old Stanley then I don't know. Never heard about Stanleys this far off, but that doesn't mean too much.

[Chris Griggs]

I feel like at one point, LN offered custom chipbreakers as an option if you supplied the edge-to-adjustment-hole distance but I must have been dreaming it, because I don't see it anywhere anymore.

Yes, they did...I thought they still do, but I haven't looked in a while. Ron Hock will custom make them too. I never bothered.

[Chris Griggs]

This is a wood river #4. I bought it maybe 3 months ago.

Contact Woodcraft, tell them the problem. I believe they will send you a new one.

[bridger berdel]

I've had a vintage plane or two where cap iron has been ground back or abused just enough from previous users that it couldn't be set close enough. It really doesn't take that much unrestrained grinding (and by grinding I don't mean on a power grinder) to render them this way.

chipbreakers like that still work fine with a blade ground to an aggressive radius, for scrub or jack duty.

[Jim Koepke]

It seems to me that the slot in the chip breaker that is engaged by the adjusting lever is too far back. It needs to be 1/16" closer.

I had a problem like that at one time.

My solution was to epoxy a piece of metal at the bottom of the slot in the chip breaker until I was able to acquire a different chip breaker.

jtk

[Daniel Rode]

I sent an email to the store I bought it from explaining the issue. I'm curious how they choose to handle it. I've always had very good service in the past. This will tell me a lot about them and Woodcraft in general.

[Marko Milisavljevic]

I also have Woodriver #4 and am able to set chipbreaker as close as possible to edge and can take up to 0.002" or so shavings in reversing grain hard maple with glass smooth surface (where my 40 deg bu jack would rip out huge chunks, and 50 deg bu jointer would leave pretty rough surface). The mouth is quite tight on this plane - there is only so far I can advance the blade without getting clearance issues. I had to back off the frog as far as possible, but not too far, as at some point blade won't advance because, it seems, bevel of the iron will hit the bed and not clear the mouth. The plane was bought last fall.

If you would like me to measure something on my plane so you can compare to yours I'll be happy to do so.

[Winton Applegate]

It's frustrating and I'm not sure what needs to be fixed. Do I need to replace the plane, replace the iron and breaker or do I just need to make some adjustment and work on technique.

It's hopeless.
I'd quit at this point and take up another hobby.
Chasing women or some such.

Ha, ha,
just kidding. That 's what I tell the young guys when they talk about girls or their girl friend problems.
I say.
Nah don't mess with girls. (What ever you do don't kiss 'em ! They are carriers you know. )

Listen to some body who learned the hard way.
Forget girls.
Take up a nice hobby. Woodworking maybe.

Sounds like your blade is worn out (sharpened so many times it is too short). Sorry if I missed where you said it is a new blade if you said that.

[Winton Applegate]

(where my 40 deg bu jack would rip out huge chunks, and 50 deg bu jointer would leave pretty rough surface)

Funny how two people living on the same planet, effected by the same basic physical parameter set, can . . .
Live on two freeeeek'in DIFFERENT PLANETS ! ! !

Isn't it odd. That.
Yes.
I think that it is.
Perhaps.
Just a tad.
Odd.
That.

[Marko Milisavljevic]

Winton, on this planet, I'm afraid what you are saying is incomprehensible.