Moseley plow plane

[Corneel]

For some time this plane was waiting for some loving care and finally I did just that. Cleaned the plane. Carefully filed the slots for the arms a bit, because it was way too tight. And then sharpened the first iron, a 1/4". Everything works lovely now.

Some questions.

The rest of the irons is a mixed bunch of different brands. Most do fit nicely. But I don't really understand the sizing. None of them come up to a round fraction of inches. What do the size numbers mean? And were these always very precise, or just more or less?

And the underside of the rear and front skate isn't exactly in line. The rear one is about 0.5mm lower. Is this a problem? The plane does seem to work pretty well, but I guess it is easy too rectify.

 

[AndyT]

Some questions.

The rest of the irons is a mixed bunch of different brands. Most do fit nicely. But I don't really understand the sizing. None of them come up to a round fraction of inches. What do the size numbers mean? And were these always very precise, or just more or less?

And the underside of the rear and front skate isn't exactly in line. The rear one is about 0.5mm lower. Is this a problem? The plane does seem to work pretty well, but I guess it is easy too rectify.

On the sizing, I think the common approach was this. The smallest practical size was 1/8", so this was no 1. Sizes then went up in 1/16" intervals, so no 3 was 1/4" and 7 was 1/2". One book I looked in said that a no 8 would then jump by 1/8" and so be 5/8" wide.

I measured a few of mine (I don't have a set by one maker) and found that most of the sizes were near but not precise. I expect that the original sizes were done by eye and were nominal rather than exact, but they could have been re-sized by former owners.

As far as I can see, it was similar with chisels - they cluster around a nominal size but are not identical.

With the two parts of the skate, they do need to be in line, just like the sole of any plane. As you say, it's easy to put right with a file.

 

[Corneel]

Thank you for the answer Andy. I'll have to sit down with this for some time to work out what exactly I have. Some are almost 1/32" out from a nominal size though. That seems a bit much to me.

 

[ac445ab]

And the underside of the rear and front skate isn't exactly in line. The rear one is about 0.5mm lower. Is this a problem? The plane does seem to work pretty well, but I guess it is easy too rectify.

Beautiful plane!
Are skate screws still tight? Sometime they can be loose if too much wedge pressure is applied.
Ciao,
Giuliano

 

[Corneel]

Thanks Giuliano. In reality it looks even a lot better.
The skate's screws are very tight so that's not the problem. This weekend I'll just file them even.

 

[cansdale]

Hi, just read your post, nice plane, IF I read it right your back skate is 0.5mm lower than the front skate? Seems about right to support the blade at the very back of the tip,as it cuts. Hope you haven't yet filed it level,the 'v' grove is the mating surface in the blade that fits the skate for support,and the blade must be lower than the front skate to cut. Maybe I've read it wrong, and you mean out of line from front to back, that would be a problem.Regards cans.

 

[ac445ab]

Hi, just read your post, nice plane, IF I read it right your back skate is 0.5mm lower than the front skate? Seems about right to support the blade at the very back of the tip,as it cuts. Hope you haven't yet filed it level,the 'v' grove is the mating surface in the blade that fits the skate for support,and the blade must be lower than the front skate to cut. Maybe I've read it wrong, and you mean out of line from front to back, that would be a problem.Regards cans.

Hi,
I am not expert of wooden plough planes but I think is correct the skates are in line on both dimensions. :roll:

Ciao
Giuliano

 

[Corneel]

The sole of the front and rear skate was out of line. I think you forget the bevel. The blade isn't supported all the way down at the sole, but a little higher, because of the bevel.

I have now sharpened 4 blades. All blades are slightly larger then the nominal fractional sizes. I played a lot with the plane yesterday to get more familiar with it. It ain't so easy! First I had trouble to get clean grooves. There was a lof fuss and tearout at the edges. Worst case like this:

Well, this was a very rowy piece of wood with a big knot at the end. Nonetheless I learned some things along the way. First, blades need to be sharp! Especially in the corners. Then you really need to keep the plane upright. First I was wobbling too much from left to right. Press the fence tight against the wood, is another of these learning moment. And it helps to take a cut which isn't too deep, in order to prevent the forementioned wobbling effect.

It works a lot better now, sometimes a little tearing along the edge. I wonder, do you always first knive the edges of a groove?

 

[Shrubby]

Hello
If you repair old furniture the ploughed grooves often have rough edges like your pictures. I use a side rebate plane to tidy up anything which will be seen
Matt

 

[AndyT]

There should be no need to knife the groove first. Have another go with a milder piece of wood.

That said, grooves don't normally stay visible, so a bit of roughness within the groove won't matter much.

 

[Corneel]

Within the groove is no problem, they even look rather nicely. It's the visible edge that gives me trouble sometimes. But it's getting better. Maybe it's good that I chanced on this piece of wood, makes all problems very clear.

 

[jimi43]

I always thought the back was lower slightly than the front...

It's a bit late now but I will check this plane tomorrow afternoon when I get back from work.

Certainly cuts ok anyway...

Mind you...that is a tame piece of softwood.

Cheers

Jimi