loose lever cap

[thetyreman]

is it possible to tighten a level cap on an old plane? it's so loose that it can cause problems because it can move slightly out of square, usually when you really don't what it to happen,

cheers,

Tyreman.

 

[AndyT]

That's what the screw in the middle is for. With the lever cap in the "off" position, give the screw a quarter turn and see how it feels then. You should be able to flip the lever without strain, but clamp the iron & cap iron firmly, but not too firm to adjust.
A drop of oil between the lever itself and the flat spring can help.

 

[thetyreman]

apologies I meant the lateral adjustment leaver, got my terms mixed up, is there any way you can tighten it if it's too loose?

 

[swb58]

The adjustment lever doesn't hold the iron, it just moves it.

 

[StraightOffTheArk]

The lateral adjustment lever is riveted in, so can be tightened by hammering the rivet - but that is really only necessary if it is actually falling off. If the plane is not holding the lateral adjustments in use it is almost certainly because the levercap is not tight enough.

Tara a bit,

SOTA

 

[thetyreman]

The lateral adjustment lever is riveted in, so can be tightened by hammering the rivet - but that is really only necessary if it is actually falling off. If the plane is not holding the lateral adjustments in use it is almost certainly because the levercap is not tight enough.

Tara a bit,

SOTA

in this case it's close to falling off, it's extremely loose and has always bugged me, thanks I will try that and see if it improves anything.

 

[Vann]

Just be careful. A miss-directed hammerblow could break the cast-iron. Too hard a hit might rivet the lever too tight.

Good luck.

Cheers, Vann.

 

[Jacob]

The lateral adjuster sometimes gets bent down into the frog slightly and needs levering back up to make it engage better. But it should always be loose.

 

[Ttrees]

I removed the mushrooming with the edge of some sandpaper to flatten the frog years ago...
What a stupid thing to do
I dont know if I can pien it again.
It doesn't fall out, but it is a concern in the back of my mind.
I may add a spot of weld sometime to it, I just cant figure out to do it off the plane and shape,
or dab a spot when its inserted to the casting?

 

[ED65]

in this case it's close to falling off, it's extremely loose and has always bugged me, thanks I will try that and see if it improves anything.

Yeah too loose can sure be annoying.

You can definitely fix the problem. If it's not too late it's safest not to use a hammer directly for this, instead work on the pin with a nail set and if needed a centre punch.

You need to back up the pin (NOT the frog) with a stand-in anvil of some kind when doing this. If you don't have a block of steel around to use an an anvil the head of a ball pein hammer held in the vice at just the right height will work.

I removed the mushrooming with the edge of some sandpaper to flatten the frog years ago...
What a stupid thing to do
I dont know if I can pien it again.

I think you might be able to swell the end of the pin/rivet with care, e.g. by using a centre punch to raise a bit of metal that can then be spread out.

Worst case, you can completely remove a lateral-adjustment lever, make a new pin and reinstall the lever. I wish I could point you a vid showing how you'd do this (and lots more besides) but the YouTuber who posted this, PlaneCollector, closed his channel recently.