Wood Plane Questions

[Puckdropper]

I have a wooden plane, with an angled body. (I'm not sure of the exact name.) It uses a wedge and blade with cap iron. The wedge is supported by the outsides of the body. The wedge is similar to this one:

(Photo from:

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The plane itself looks more like this one:

(Photo from:

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It appears the wedge would reduce the effective cutting width of the iron. If I tried to take a full width of the iron shaving, it appears the sides of the wedge would get in the way. Is this correct?

The wedge looks like it's been compressed or worn down from use. To get the plane to work, I shimmed the iron assembly with .020" styrene and the wedge with another piece of .020" styrene. (I had it handy and figured it wouldn't compress too badly.) Would I be better off with a single .040" shim between the cap iron and wedge?

When using the plane, I get a mix of crunched shavings that clog it quickly and when I press down harder and go faster I get a single shaving that goes out reasonably straight. Obviously, I want to stop the crunched shavings. How? (Do I need to take a deeper cut?) My test piece was a piece of PT 5/4 decking that was handy. It's had several months to dry out.

Puckdropper

[John Grossbohlin]

It sounds like your wedge needs to be replaced if it has crushed/thinned down so much that it sticks down below the iron when seated to hold the iron in place...

The use issues are likely a combination of sharpening, adjustment and technique... and I wouldn't leave out inadequate iron support due to the wedge issue. Assuming a well sharpened iron, I'd try making a new wedge as a first step. Then adjust the iron so it would take a fine cut... it is a smoother after all. Regarding technique, wax the sole and slightly skew the plane...

[John McCoy]

"John Grossbohlin" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

I agree the wedge shouldn't protrude below the sole of the plane, but I'm not sure that's where the problem lies. The blades of wooden planes were often tapered, much thicker at the cutting end. It may be the blade has been sharpened so often (or suffered a cluesless grinding) that the wedge is now bearing on a part too thin to properly support it.

If that's the case, shimming between the iron and the plane body is probably a better idea, since it will close the mouth back to where it's intended to be.

John

[John Grossbohlin]

Could be... without having pictures of the actual plane or having it in our hands we're all taking our best guess based on the descriptions.

John

[John McCoy]

"John Grossbohlin" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

To be sure.

Another thing that occurs to me - I have heard of planes shrinking if they're allowed to dry out excessively (like being stuck in a hot attic for 50 years), which would shrink both the wedge and the plane body, killing any hope of a proper fit. If I remember correctly, soaking the plane (and wedge) in linseed oil is suggested as a way to restore the wood to it's proper dimensions.

John

[woodchucker]

Not really the edge of that iron should be cambered so the edges won't touch the wood. I

[Puckdropper]

"John Grossbohlin" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

I'm uploading pictures to ABPW.

The blade assembly is not tapered, it's the same design that's used in my Stanley #5C plane: An iron and a cap iron/chip breaker.

Puckdropper

[John Grossbohlin]

That explains it... that iron is not original to the plane... it is from a steel body plane that uses a chip breaker. The original would have had a heavier iron with no chip breaker.

John

[John McCoy]

"John Grossbohlin" wrote in news:3ZidnY [e-mail]:

Yes, I think John G is correct. While there are wooden planes that use a chip breaker, they would have a different style wedge (and generally different construction) than the picture posted the other day.

If you wanted a correct (more or less) iron, you could likely get one from Ron Hock.

John

[John Grossbohlin]

There were transition planes that had a wooden body and a metal top assembly. The top assembly had an adjuster and used a chip breaker that is similar to a typical "modern" Stanley steel plane. That was a short lived variant. I've got one sitting on my office desk at work. I've never seen an original wooden body plane with a wedge and a chip breaker... except those of the Frankenstein variety. ;~)

John

[John McCoy]

"John Grossbohlin" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

I've seen two variations in wooden plane construction. The most common one (for older planes) has the wedge fitting into recesses in the side of the plane (I beleive the portion of the body it fits under is called the "buttress"). In those the wedge is shaped like the one Puckdropper has.

The other variation has a rod across the body, and the wedge fits under and bears against the rod. That design can and often does have a blade assembly like a metal plane. In those the wedge is a simple triangular shape.

John