I bought an old wooden coffin smoother made by Ohio Tool at the turn of the century. I assume the owner flatened the bottom over the years since the gap between the blade and the front edge of the mouth was at least 1/4". Also, the blade had been sharpened down pretty good. I still see lots of use in it and have resharpened the blade and flattened the sole. It trims wood like a charm. The only problem I have is I want to use it as a smoother. I would like to close the gap but I have a few questions before I attempt it.

1. What type of wood is best and what direction should the grain be? (The plane is beech I think but I'm not sure. Could it be another hard wood?)

2. What is a good distance from the blade to the front of the mouth? I don't want to under estimate.

Anyone have any experiance repairing old wood planes?

Thanks,

Tom