My recent purchase hand planes

[owd git]

Purchased two planes this weekend. I don't know much about planes apart from reading on the forum. Bought them because the feel really comfortable to handle. Can anyone tell me if the number 4 Stanley is made up from parts the body says Baily at the front. and the brass thing is in two parts. Both need work on the sole( I hope to have this done professionally has I don't feel confident to do it myself.[img ][/img]

 

[splinter collector]

so to me the smaller number 4 Stanley has a square Norris chip breaker on it, or not.

to flatten a sole on a plane is dead easy, stick a sheet of 120 grit wet and dry on a sheet of glass or stone or other hard flat thing, patio windows not a good idea, stick the radio on and start pushing and drift off, ten mins later change the paper to 160 then 240 all you have to do is to keep scribbling over the base with a felt tip pen as it shows up the bits you missed

 

[G S Haydon]

They look ok, the cap iron in the Stanley is not an original but as long as it works then don't worry. How do you know the soles need work? A good test is to plane some wood

 

[owd git]

They look ok, the cap iron in the Stanley is not an original but as long as it works then don't worry. How do you know the soles need work? A good test is to plane some wood

Took a polished marble place setting and feeler gauges 5 thou slips under in parts on both. They are both razer sharp and going to try them later in the week.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

I'm not trying to be funny here, but how flat is the polished marble place setting?

In the absence of a proper engineer's surface plate, flat within known limits, finding a genuinely flat reference surface can be quite difficult. The Clifton plane people tell of customers ringing them up and complaining that the sole of their brand new plane isn't straight when compared to their 12" steel rule, and having to find a diplomatic way of telling them that their 12" rule isn't straight.

I'd agree with G S Haydon on this one - the best test for a plane is to try it out on some mild timber. If it can be set to take a very fine shaving - or as fine as that particular plane will be expected to take in use - the plane's sole is flat enough for duty.

 

[AndyT]

On the no 4 the name Bailey is fine. Leonard Bailey was one of the original designers who contributed to what we now see as the 'ordinary' iron plane, as sold by the Stanley company.

(That's actually a gross oversimplification of a complicated story, but I just wanted to clarify that the name belongs.)

As already said, the cap iron is not original, but it is probably an upgrade. When you say it's in two parts do you mean there is a horizontal join in the middle? It might be a copy of the famous Record Stay Set design but I've not heard of one in brass before.

The Marples no 5 is well regarded by many and looks good.

 

[GLFaria]

I think float glass plate should be as reasonably flat a surface as any handplane sole needs to be. As far as I remember, flatness tolerances were on the order of the few hundredths of a mm/m - I am no longer sure how many of them, it's been a long time since. I believe an 8mm thick, not tempered (to avoid deformetions), float glass plate, not overly long - say not over 60cm long, to lessen chances of any flexing if the substrate is not dead flat - will do.

 

[sdjp]

I believe an 8mm thick, not tempered (to avoid deformetions), float glass plate ...

I would have gone for a 6 mm thick plate.

If you float a puddle of molten glass on molten tin, it will naturally form a layer about 6 mm thick. Thicknesses other than 6mm have to use some technique to thicken or thin the glass [0], and thus risk distortion from the natural surfaces - which, subject to the local gravitational and magnetic conditions, aught to be a fraction of the surface of a sphere same radius as the earth.

Unless there's something specific about the 8mm thick glass, my instinct is to go for the 6mm, in the hope that the natural flatness is preserved in manufacture; and accept that it might need backing with something for mechanical strength (MDF would be the perfect material for that - flat, slightly springy, and cheap.)


[0] Specifically, pulling or compressing the glass with rollers when semi-solid, as it's lifted off the molten tin.

 

[owd git]

I'm not trying to be funny here, but how flat is the polished marble place setting?

In the absence of a proper engineer's surface plate, flat within known limits, finding a genuinely flat reference surface can be quite difficult. The Clifton plane people tell of customers ringing them up and complaining that the sole of their brand new plane isn't straight when compared to their 12" steel rule, and having to find a diplomatic way of telling them that their 12" rule isn't straight.

I'd agree with G S Haydon on this one - the best test for a plane is to try it out on some mild timber. If it can be set to take a very fine shaving - or as fine as that particular plane will be expected to take in use - the plane's sole is flat enough for duty.

I would agree that an engineers plate would be the only true way to test but I looked through at past posts and followed posted links. Float glass was the most suggested for flatting but I think it was on a utube video it was said that polished marble would do, and that was all I could lay my hands on.

 

[MMUK]

I'm not trying to be funny here, but how flat is the polished marble place setting?

In the absence of a proper engineer's surface plate, flat within known limits, finding a genuinely flat reference surface can be quite difficult. The Clifton plane people tell of customers ringing them up and complaining that the sole of their brand new plane isn't straight when compared to their 12" steel rule, and having to find a diplomatic way of telling them that their 12" rule isn't straight.

I'd agree with G S Haydon on this one - the best test for a plane is to try it out on some mild timber. If it can be set to take a very fine shaving - or as fine as that particular plane will be expected to take in use - the plane's sole is flat enough for duty.

I would agree that an engineers plate would be the only true way to test but I looked through at past posts and followed posted links. Float glass was the most suggested for flatting but I think it was on a utube video it was said that polished marble would do, and that was all I could lay my hands on.

For woodworking tolerances, I'd say the marble is fine. Anything within 5 thou should also be good enough. After all, we don't measure anything in timber to that sort of tolerance.

 

[owd git]

There are no names on it but here is s picture. As you will be aware the small piece is upside down

img]

 

[bugbear]

Quoted/Edited to fix up the picture ref

WTF!? Is that a brass stay set?!

And with a shiny/flat looking blade too.

BugBear

 

[Racers]

That looks very nice!

Pete

 

[Vann]

WTF!? Is that a brass stay set?!

Yup, looks like it. Very nice. Not quite an exact copy of the stay-set - both the Record and the Clifton stay-set have flat-bottom grooves. This one looks to be rounded, so it works more like a hinge (as a stay-set should).

Cheers, Vann.

 

[AndyT]

If you want to restore your plane to its original factory spec I'm sure I can find a one piece steel cap iron which I would be willing to swap for that nasty shiny brass thing...:wink:

 

[SteveF]

WOW

 

[bugbear]

It looks like the front knobs are both "low knob" replacements.

I'm starting to think these planes have been (rather nicely) customised by somebody.

Are there any marks, names letter or numbers on the two part brass cap iron?

BugBear

 

[owd git]

It looks like the front knobs are both "low knob" replacements.

I'm starting to think these planes have been (rather nicely) customised by somebody.

Are there any marks, names letter or numbers on the two part brass cap iron?

BugBear

Can't see any identification but have not separated it from the cutter. I'm quite exited about my purchase now, but not had a chance to play yet.

 

[bugbear]

I've checked the 2 Marples bench planes I own, and the blades upper end facets are NOT chamfered like yours.

More evidence of customisation/tuning/modification.

BugBear

 

[dickm]

I believe an 8mm thick, not tempered (to avoid deformetions), float glass plate ...

I would have gone for a 6 mm thick plate.

If you float a puddle of molten glass on molten tin, it will naturally form a layer about 6 mm thick. Thicknesses other than 6mm have to use some technique to thicken or thin the glass [0], and thus risk distortion from the natural surfaces - which, subject to the local gravitational and magnetic conditions, aught to be a fraction of the surface of a sphere same radius as the earth.

Unless there's something specific about the 8mm thick glass, my instinct is to go for the 6mm, in the hope that the natural flatness is preserved in manufacture; and accept that it might need backing with something for mechanical strength (MDF would be the perfect material for that - flat, slightly springy, and cheap.)


[0] Specifically, pulling or compressing the glass with rollers when semi-solid, as it's lifted off the molten tin.

Interesting reading, though probably well beyond the level of detail relevant to woodworkers ! One correction, according to one of Pilkington's/Nippon Sheet Glass' research engineers (who just happens to be my daughter). While 6mm is the "natural" thickness of molten glass on molten tin, in fact all float glass is pulled through the plant, and never allowed to settle. The speed of pulling depends on the desired thickness so no difference in flatness between different thicknesses, and she reckons any ripples would "only be relevant to the Hubble telescope". Apparently, the size of glass they produce on a typical float line is described as xmm thick by 3 yards wide by 10 years long - that's the length of time between successive shuttings down of the line.
At least, that's the design length - apparently one of their lines in the US has been shut down twice in the last year, which does nothing for company profits .