Dodgy setup of Stanley No.4

[YorkshireMartin]

Hello all,

I picked up a used Stanley 4 from around 1960-1970. It's generally in decent condition and after a clean up is starting to look the part. Sole is generally flat although I havent done anything to it, I think it's had little use. I've had the iron out and sharpened it.

Got a few shavings out of it but noticed that its not tracking straight. I noticed after planing, that the blade is protruding more from one side of the mouth than the other, leading to an uneven shaving, no matter how I set it initially. I've had it apart and checked the general assembly which appears OK. Blade is definitely square and sharp.

There is a lot of slack in the blade angle adjustment lever. I've also noticed that the rivet which holds part of the lower assembly is loose but doesn't appear serviceable. There is also quite a bit of slack in the wheel for blade depth, requiring several full turns before it begins to adjust.

I've been through the thread and can find all sorts of posts on plane setup, but non discussing this slack rivet or problems with the blade angle adjustment.

Regards,

Martin

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Take the frog off and check there isn't a blob of paint or a bit of dirt or something holding the frog off square. You may find enough movement there to shift it slightly, anyway, although at that age it probably won't have any really bad machining. Check the position of the iron before you fix the lever cap down - there may be some scope for alignment there as well.

 

[Dee J]

Lever cap too loose allowing the blade to move maybe? Don't think the lever adjuster is sufficient to hold the blade straight on its own.

 

[YorkshireMartin]

Take the frog off and check there isn't a blob of paint or a bit of dirt or something holding the frog off square. You may find enough movement there to shift it slightly, anyway, although at that age it probably won't have any really bad machining. Check the position of the iron before you fix the lever cap down - there may be some scope for alignment there as well.

Thanks phil

It's clear of detritus and I can set it straight but then it shifts when planing. It implies something is loose but I've checked the frog and it's secure. Even tried to over tighten it a quarter turn but it made no difference.

On a side note, the breaker lines up very nicely with the blade.

 

[YorkshireMartin]

Lever cap too loose allowing the blade to move maybe? Don't think the lever adjuster is sufficient to hold the blade straight on its own.

It's as tight as I dare take it. This is why I thought it must be something underneath.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

It may be worth checking that the tab on the bottom end of the lateral adjuster hasn't become bent down into the frog casting, but still engages with the blade slot. If it is, bend it straight again (lever up gently with a screwdriver or similar weapon).

If the lateral adjuster pivot rivet is loose, it may be possible to tighten it up by resting the back of the frog on something solid (a metalworking vice jaw, for example) and tapping the rivet head gently with a small ball-pein hammer, checking lateral adjuster movement frequently. It may be necessary to take the frog off the plane to accomplish this, or the rear handle may be in the way.

If that doesn't work, then don't try using the adjuster; adjust blade lateral setting by tapping the side of the blade with a small hammer, whilst sighting down the sole as for blade depth setting. With lever-cap pressure on, the blade will hold it's setting, but respond to adjustment by hammer taps. Not ideal, but at least it'll make the plane usable without major surgery to the lateral adjuster fixing.

 

[YorkshireMartin]

It may be worth checking that the tab on the bottom end of the lateral adjuster hasn't become bent down into the frog casting, but still engages with the blade slot. If it is, bend it straight again (lever up gently with a screwdriver or similar weapon).

If the lateral adjuster pivot rivet is loose, it may be possible to tighten it up by resting the back of the frog on something solid (a metalworking vice jaw, for example) and tapping the rivet head gently with a small ball-pein hammer, checking lateral adjuster movement frequently. It may be necessary to take the frog off the plane to accomplish this, or the rear handle may be in the way.

If that doesn't work, then don't try using the adjuster; adjust blade lateral setting by tapping the side of the blade with a small hammer, whilst sighting down the sole as for blade depth setting. With lever-cap pressure on, the blade will hold it's setting, but respond to adjustment by hammer taps. Not ideal, but at least it'll make the plane usable without major surgery to the lateral adjuster fixing.

Thank you, will do as you suggest.

 

[bridger]

Check that the lever cap is bearing evenly across the front of the chipbreaker.

 

[lanemaux]

If the iron is initially square and even in the mouth and moves while in use , then something might just be providing a pivot point. You may want to remove the frog entirely and pop in the iron and give it a bit of a twiddle about by hand. If it shifts at all , you may be able to home in on the problem more quickly by more direct observation. Perhaps doing this with a light source behind may help. It is surprising how quite small anomalies on a surface can affect things.

 

[David C]

Things to check;

Frog seating in plane body.

Top surface of frog must be substantially flat, in width, near the bottom edge.

Underside of front edge of lever cap makes nice fit with top of C/B curve. Both may be easily flattened in width.

If frog surface is twisted laterally, from sole, (Azimuth error) it will be necessary to fix this or prepare blade (& C/B ) out of square.

David Charlesworth

 

[YorkshireMartin]

Thank you for all the advice everyone.