Wood Planes: Cross pin vs. Mortise

[petermichaux]

I was reading some old posts where people say it is hard to make a cross pin in a Krenov style plane so that there is even pressure across the blade. Does using the Mortise method for holding the wedge avoid this problem? Why do people have a big v shape removed from the wedge in the mortise method?

Thanks, Peter

[Conan The Librarian]

Traditionally, wooden plane wedges didn't have a v-shape removed, they had a squared-off cutout with a ramp to aid in passing shavings. If you are referring to the way Steve Knight seems to be doing his wedges, you'd have to ask him, but I'm guessing he's aiming for a similar thing (passing shavings).

And yes, the traditional mortise method for holding a wedge should apply even pressure if the wedge is fitted correctly to the mortise.

Chuck Vance

[Steve Knight]

I do the vee because it is simple and works well. I may change this but I need to get a OSS to sand the inside. for one off's it's pretty easy to do.

you can adjust both for even pressure. you just remove wood from the tight side till it is even.