Hi. Bought myself a plane and have been making shavings like a mad fool but have run into a little problem.
Due to short term financial constraints I’m trying to get by with the stock 1/16″ iron that came with the plane. Through the process of lapping the face, which was/is cupped to the tune of about 1/64″ I’ve thinned it down to the point where there’s a slight clearance between the cap iron and the cutting iron. Because of the apparent severity of the cup I only lapped from the hole down (I’d also read somewhere that this was acceptable practice). The plane is now virtually useless as the iron vibrates terribly and the shavings become jammed in the gap. Can I bend the cap iron to eliminate the gap, or would that only lead to more trouble when the improved iron is installed? Another idea is to find a friendly machine shop to gently surface grind the iron flat, but when something that started out too thin has material removed…
I’m guessing that unless my next plane comes with a thick iron I’ll be tossing the stock blade out with the packaging.
Hope to hear back from someone. Thanks in advance.
Replies
I would go out and either buy a new blade or find a used plane with an blade that will fit and start all over again. The problem isn't with the thickness of the iron, it is with the fact that it was cupped and grinding it down made it so thin the cap iron won't reach. I am not quite sure what you have done to the cap iron but if that has been ground, it may need to be replaced also. In any case, the least expensive route is probably a used blade that will fit.
15,
If the plane iron is flat on the top side, and the cap iron doesn't fit against it, you need to hone the surface of the cap iron that presses against the blade until it mates perfectly. It needs to be flat too. That will keep it from catching shavings, and will put even pressure across the width of the blade. If the underside of the blade rocks on the frog, then that will make chattering problems worse. It needs even support behind the cutting edge.
Regards,
Ray
15Broad,
Does your plane have a chip breaker?...those you can bend to improve the connection with the plane blade and keep chips out. The cap shold make contact with the chip breaker at the top of the arch. Maybe I'm confused....
Thanks everybody. Figured I needed a new iron. Suspected that would be the case as soon as I saw it.
Yes, I've also polished the cap iron, but I don't think that much has been taken off. Maybe I'll replace it anyhow just to be sure. It has its own set of troubles also. That's what I get for cheaping out.
On the upside I may have found someone with a few planes to unload... all with good irons.
BG - we may be talking about the same thing. I've seen cap irons also referred to as chip breakers, although I think chip breakers are flatter where a cap iron is curved. Either way it's the metal plate that's screwed to the iron proper to support the cutter and 'soften' the shaving to reduce tearout.
One more thing - Speaking of frogs, should it also be polished?
Thanks again all. Chris
Edited 2/23/2004 6:36:28 PM ET by 15Broad
If I understand you correctly you lapped the wrong side of the iron. Only lap the back of the iron, an inch or so up from the edge is enough for many years. The purpose of lapping the back is to get a more acute angle when honing the bevel. I do not mean more of an angle but a smoother angle. This is tough for me to describe, I hope I didn't confuse you. Anyways, toss the iron, buy a new one. Lap the back of the new iron with progressively finer grits until you reach a very fine grit ( at least 2000). Leather stropping puts a polish on it. Then hone the bevel , I rarely put a secondary (micro bevel) on my irons or chisels, this is a matter of choice.
What happened is you made your iron to thin. The shavings are catching because the iron below the cap screw is too thin, the chip breaker and cap screw are holding the iron in place along the length of the iron. The chip breaker probably not touching the iron below the cap iron screw.
You could try layers of masking tape on the iron where the chip breaker hits, this may save you buying a new iron immediately.Leonard Lee has an excellent book on sharpening, I do not recall the name of the book right now. Well worth the price, complete book on sharpening woodworking tools.
mike
Mike,
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Dan Kornfeld, Owner/President - Odyssey Wood Design, Inc.
Thanks Jackie, I have the book and refer to it often. I have it out in the shop right now and couldn't recall the correct name yesterday.
mike
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