Slotted the nuts with a saw. Use a screwdriver to tighten. Works great.
Slotted the nuts with a saw. Use a screwdriver to tighten. Works great.
Paul
Try heating it with a hair dryer and then wrap with a rag and use pliers.
Does not matter whether done with assistance from a pliers or screwdriver - the load to lock is the same where it counts - at the transition between head and shaft of the screw, which is one of the two places that failure will occur. Have to agree with Pete - a screw with head designed to generate a locking load in a material that is strong enough to carry the torsional loads without permanent distortion or failure would be a better idea than 'pretty-but-problematic' in a relatively weak material.
And that is all a plough plane is...a jig to hold a cutter....
Brass is a SLIPPERY metal. Used as a bearing in some applications. It would be better if those were made of STEEL. File the threaded ends of any steel ones you may find FLAT before use. As they come,there is a raised ridge around the edge of their bottoms,because their threads are ROLLED on,rather than cut. You don't want them to mar the surfaces of your polished rods,by pressing little rings into the rods. And,if that happens,you may well find the rods WON'T slide out of the holes they fit into ! Steel thumb screws may mar those rods anyway,but at least they won't slip. They may press a slight flat onto the rods,but that should not deform the rods enough that they will not slide out of the holes.
Perhaps Rob Lee will find my suggestions to be HERESY (sp?) Let's see if he offers any suggestions.
In the 18th. C.,they never made screws from cast brass as it would be weak,and would break off easily. Rather strange to see steel screws in brass hinges,but that is what they did back then. The screws look nicer if heated to a dark blue spring temper. They did that on quality boxes,like for dueling pistols.
Last edited by george wilson; 08-12-2017 at 10:01 AM.
Am I correct to say that some of you who commented have never handled one of these Veritas joinery planes?
I looked at the brass knobs on my plow and there are two types. One is a brass screw and the other just a brass nut. As far as I understand, people have had issues with tightening the knobs for the fence and the stop, not the ones for holding the cutter. The one for the stop according to Derek has been upgraded, mine is still the old type. So presumably that is no longer a problem.
As for the fence knobs, they are not screws at all. The brass nuts, to me, are used to compress some steel (?) sleeves to lock the rods (of the fence). There is zero contact between the brass and the rod. They are 100% not screws.
Don't know if you can see the details on their website. Some of the comments seen here seem to have fallen off the mark, without the benefit of actual using the tool.
I should add that I have not had a chance to try the new large plow and know little about its knobs and screws. My view is based on the small plow I have.
Simon
Last edited by Simon MacGowen; 08-12-2017 at 12:20 PM.
I re-read this thread. Perhaps some thread lubricant would help.
I have the plow plane and both rabbet planes. I really have no problems with the brass nuts.
I seem to remember it happening one time, and I gently used pliers to break them loose.
It left no marks on the threads.
I have both small plow planes and the rabbet plane. I really have no issues with them.
My experience was a few days of testing the small plow plane with no issues.
My Record #778 and my Stanley #45s have had some of the locking fasteners come loose due to vibration in use.
My solution is to systematically check the fasteners during the back stroke of the planes for the #45s. For the Record #778 I am very careful with a small pair (6"?) of slip joint (water pump) pliers to give the fasteners a touch more torque than my fingers can provide. The fasteners on the Record #778 have much smaller heads to grab than the Veritas Small Plow Plane.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
This is correct. A set screws is a pressure device that pushes against a rod causing the opposite side to push against the bore that provides the friction to keep things in place. The tip of the screw provides very little friction. A collet collapses around the rod from all sides, nearly, friction all around. (Router collet) i.e. Cleanliness at the contact points inside and out is paramount to prevent slip.
Jim
Last edited by James Pallas; 08-12-2017 at 2:15 PM. Reason: spell check
My suggestions still hold true regardless of who has used the plane. Brass IS a slippery metal,and you should file the squeezed out ring off the end of a steel screw if you use one.
If the plane works for SOME people here,maybe the user is not doing something correctly.
Last edited by george wilson; 08-12-2017 at 3:48 PM.
I have admittedly poor grip (natural and as a result of a neck injury) so without help, I can't tighten it properly. Hence, the slots.
Paul
It's nice when a tool works like it is supposed to.
I used to covet a 45, but since I have the small plow with all of the cutters, I have no interest. I can't imagine needing a groove wider than 1/2".
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)