Knack for plane blade setting?

[Deadeye]

My eyes were never great and have become less great as time goes by.
Any easy tricks to get the blade level and at the right depth. I use feel and repeated experimental cuts at the moment but it'd be nice to learn a fast and reliable method

 

[Ttrees]

The right kind of lighting is what I suggest, with 7.5" shade, like the orange one below.
Can be easily moved where needed, nothing compares to the angle poise lamp.

The little one is useless, so beware of those ones on ebay with deceiving measurements.
Seems the ones below in that Swedish warehouse are around the same size as the orange one.

 

[sploo]

Thin strip of wood in the vise, take a cut with one side of the plane then the other and compare the shaving thickness, adjust the lateral lever a bit, and repeat. Should take less than a minute to get it pretty level.

 

[Hornbeam]

I use a thins strip of wood about 6" thick about 2" wide and about 4" long
Turn the plane over and wind the depth until it just cuts in 1 place. I test this by pulling the strip over the blade. Adjust the lateral lever to get rid of the cut and then adjust the cut depth again.
As I use a curved/cambered blade what I am aiming for is it to just cut in the middle an not on either side.
In use if I increase depth of cut, the cut area should extend equally from the middle of the blade

 

[Jacob]

A modern head torch is good if your eyesight is bad.
I don't rate @Ttrees angle poise suggestion at all, unless you have one attached to your head perhaps

 

[Inspector]

Put on a lighted headband magnifier to give your eyes a boost.

Pete

 

[Orraloon]

I start with the blade wound back so the first swipe takes nothing then advance,swipe,advance,swipe until it takes the required thickness shaving. Like Hornbeam I use the edge of a board and taking a swipe both sides of the blade I can adjust the lateral leaver to get it central/even thickness both sides. I find this is better than actually looking at the blade although I do sometimes sight along the sole.
Regards
John

 

[Ttrees]

Here's what I mean by easily moved, i.e by some slidable means on the bench, as I don't think I'd get on with using them with dog holes, if that might be what some might be thinking.
They'd be in the way like that, and not really movable either, which is the whole point in having one in the first place.

The key thing with these is to have the light exactly where you want.
What's also worth mentioning, these don't work well mounted much higher than the bench,
so if you've got one mounted, say at shoulder height...
then you'll never figure out how well they work either.

All the best
Tom

 

[cowtown_eric]

Task lighting is marvelous when needed. So are "optical crutches", ie Simple dollar store reading glasses.

Wanna se where yer sharpening.....Black Sharpies" make that easy

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Heresy. I set mine by touch, I have done since I was twelve.

 

[Jacob]

...

The key thing with these is to have the light exactly where you want.
....

"Exactly" is the word!
Angle-poises seem like a good idea but have a very narrow focus. They are hopeless in a work shop and rarely put the light exactly where you want it.
How do I know this? By trial and error. I found that you have to keep moving an angle poise. I put one on a stand so that I could have it off the bench but it didn't help and still kept getting in the way.
It's obvious really - Angle poises don't put light exactly where you want it unless you are doing a very static sort of job, preferably sitting down, such as reading or knitting.
But a head torch does - it moves with your head! Even better with modern ones where you can adjust the focus, wider or narrow.
The more general solution is to have bright dispersed light such as from tubes or panels, the opposite of the narrow focus of an angle-poise.

 

[Ttrees]

My angle poise lamp can shoot light anywhere on the bench, easily moved, and doesn't get in the way.
Seems you missed all that, or you must have very very long arms to reach behind your bench, to use a lamp on a stand effectively...
unless perhaps, you took a nod from your favorite woodworker, and made a nice sliding base from it to move about?
I doubt that somehow

Just like most tools in the workshop, they don't really work well unless you use them effectively,
and you'll never know until you actually put some effort in to accommodate it.
It's not like it's not worth it, it's one of the most essential tools in there.

P.S. tell Bear Grylls I said hi.

 

[Jacob]

My angle poise lamp can shoot light anywhere on the bench, easily moved, and doesn't get in the way.
Seems you missed all that, or you must have very very long arms to reach behind your bench, to use a lamp on a stand effectively...
unless perhaps, you took a nod from your favorite woodworker, and made a nice sliding base from it to move about?
I doubt that somehow

Just like most tools in the workshop, they don't really work well unless you use them effectively,
and you'll never know until you actually put some effort in to accommodate it.
It's not like it's not worth it, it's one of the most essential tools in there.

P.S. tell Bear Grylls I said hi.

I did actually put in a good bit of trial and error. Angle poise prob is that as soon as you move your head you also have to move the lamp! And it gets in the way.
Best light of all is north daylight. I've got my lathe so I work with my back towards a big north facing window, which sound like I might be in my own shadow but in fact not - light comes from both sides

 

[toolsntat]

My best way is to point the plane towards any light source, look up the sole from the HEEL and adjust till it's where you think you need it.
ANY brightness reflected across the sole of the plane enables indication of iron projection.
Hopefully, even with your poor eyesight, you'll be able to see enough.
Minimal trial and error required forthwith.
Cheers, Andy