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Plane iron nicks and dings

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milling plane
5K views 12 replies 9 participants last post by  WayneC 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I have two Stanley hand planes a circa 1918 No. 7 from Ebay and a No. 4 1/2 purchased new. The old No. 7 has a plane iron from origins unknown and the 4 1/2 has a new iron. I am a new hand plane enthusiast so I sharpened both irons to practice my sharpening and began practicing on scrap 2×4's. The No. 7 plows through the material and leaves a decent surface. The No 4 1/2 with the new iron very quickly gets nicks and dings in the freshly honed edge. I am setting my chip breakers about 1/32" or 1/16" from the edge of the iron and am adjusting the frogs to make the mouth about 1/32" or so.

Am I doing something wrong in my setup or in my sharpening to cause the 4 1/2 iron to get banged up on knots that the No. 7 plows through?

Thanks,
Mike
 
#4 ·
a 2×4 is not a suitable wood for handplaning. That make things worst.
Handplanes have been designed for fine work, to work with nice woods, so the beetr way to try them is on a piece of nice wood. Poplar is an inexpensive an nice wood.
 
#6 ·
What does the cost of the plane have to do with the blade put in it?

So was it too much for me to put a Hock blade in a free plane? That's inifinity difference in price so it must be bad.

The hock blades and chip breakers are very nice, I have a pair in my No 7.

I wasn't aware that Stanley still sold the 4 1/2, are their new planes out finally?
 
#7 ·
Indeed, those are probably the best Irons in the market…
I was not clear with my statement, but that I wanted to say is, would have more sense to upgrade the plane instead of buying a nice iron to be placed in a not so nice plane….
 
#8 ·
you could sharpen a piece of brass with a micro bevel, dosen't mean you will cut much wood with it.
Save yourself the frustration and just call the plane a loss. It is great to have something to compare to when you have a better working tool.
I once spent 3 days trying to get a new stanley plane to make decent shavings,lapped the sole, adjusted the mouth , reground the blade and filed the bed. honed the blade to every angle i had ever heard of.In the end i had a whole lot of metal filings and a plane i threw in the garbage. I did read a lot and learned much about the mechanics of planes during those three days.
the whole process made me very aware of what a quality tool is.
I wish you the best of luck, and better results than mine.
 
#9 ·
Did you use a grinder for the initial angle? You may have accidently burned the steel. The very thin leading edge can burn quickly. The factory could have burned a very short section. Then after polishing the blade there would be no indication of this. Try carefully grinding back 1/4 inch. Use a light touch and water to cool.
Hock blades are well worth the cost. After buying a blade and chip breaker, I had some problems with shavings wedging between the two. Mr. Hock was glad to talk over the phone and gave me several fixes. Now the two work great.
 
#10 ·
CESSNAPILOTBARRY THANK YOU I know this was discussed quite some time ago but that link to the stanley plane info was just what i was looking for. just got my first plane off of ebay and it needs some help.
and that has given me some great info to get started
 
#11 · (Edited by Moderator)
Just to update the thread. I worked for some time to flatten the sole of the plane. I never could get it satisfactorily slat in the front of the mouth. I finally decided to take it to a local Woodcraft store and talk to their "sharpening guy" I compared the plane side by side to a new Wood River #4. The Wood River had a much thicker iron, a much better chip breaker, and better cap iron. Plus the sole was already flat. So I could either buy a new hock iron and chip breaker and keep working on the Stanley, or I could buy a new Wood River #4.

I decided not to keep throwing good money after bad. I bought the Wood River #4 and it works so much better.

Thanks for all of the advice.

P.S. I think my wife will be sending me to a class to build a Krenov Style wood plane in December. I can't wait!
 
#13 ·
To respond to Moai, I see the iron and the plane as separate tools. As I upgrade the plane I will move the high end blade to the new plane. I lable and set aside the original blades.

Hey Tony, /wave
 
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