I have recently been acquiring alot of old wooden hand planes and have gotten most of them into good useable shape. But a few of them are being really stubborn.
The main problem I am having is that some of these old beauties clog up after one pass, no matter how fine I set them. It’s like the there is not enough room for the shavings to escape.
In particular, I am having real problems with my 18″ fore plane clogging at the edges of the iron where the wedge sits (only when I am smoothing the face of a board). I have tried planing straight instead of slightly skewed, but it seems to make no difference no difference. This plane sings when I edge joint with it and I wish I could use it to face with.
Another stubborn bugger is my beading plane. One pass is all it takes to jam the cursed thing so full of shavings that I’m there for 2 minutes with an ice pick digging for gold! There is considerably less than 1/16″ clearance between the blade and the front of the bed, maybe this is the cause? An oldtimer told me to chisel the front of the bed out a tad, but I dont’ know that I would trust this old dudes advice!
On one hand I hate the idea of doing extensive surgery like altering the body of any old plane, but if they don’t work, they’re not much use to me. I suppose that I could put them on a shelf as a decoration that would symbolize the harsh realities of life; that after a long life of work, some day I too may become too old, tired, and surley to continue.
I would much rather get these old soldiers back in service than put them on a shelf. Any help would be appreciated.
Replies
Roamer,
I don't think you should open the mouth of your planes. Choking is rarely caused by a too tight mouth opening. I also don't advise clearing the mouth with an ice pick, awl or any other sharp object. You can easily scar the wedge, breast, or wear of a plane and the scars can cause additional choking problems.
Usually choking of bench planes is caused by an out of flat sole, problems with the cap iron or worn tips of the horns of the wedge. Cap irons are probably the source of the most common problems with bench plans.
Choking of molding planes is generally the result of a poor profile match between the iron and the profile of the sole, a worn or damaged wedge, improper sharpening or too heavy a cut. The cutting geometry of beading planes or any other plane who's profile includes a semi-circle makes these planes difficult to properly sharpen and maintain. Cutting half a circle with a single iron involves different cutting actions that span between actual scraping to regular planing. Clearance angles of the cutting edge bevels are critical and real sharpness over the entire profile are needed. There are so many things involved here, even the construction techniques of the specific plane maker can make these planes difficult to tune and maintain.
My best advise is to try to carefully analyze the source and cause of each problem. Take your time; you can't hurry this process. Unless your planes are warped, twisted or badly worn you should be able to get them functioning well. It's tedious, time consuming and takes a lot of patience. It's also well worth the effort and time. Good luck.
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