Now what do I do - advice please

[Student]

Inspired by topics on here, and Paul Sellers’ videos on You Tube, I decided to have another go at fettling my Stanley No 4 plane. In the process I inadvertently unscrewed the depth adjustment knob from the bolt in the frog. I carried on dismantling the plane, cleaned it up, sharpened the blade, put the sole over a diamond plate and then tried reassembly. Then I hit a problem in that the depth adjustment knob wouldn’t go back on the bolt. Whether this was because the thread has stripped on the bolt or the internal thread of the knob, I can’t see. Anyhow, without the depth adjustment knob the plane is useless.

I should point out that I bought the plane just before I got married 45 years ago so it’s not by any means new. Furthermore, I have rarely used it for smoothing but more as a general purpose plane and, in recent years, I have tended to use my electric hand planer, planer/thicknesser or ROS for planing or smoothing. However, I like the idea of having a plane in the workshop.

So, what to do?

1. Try and find a new bolt, whatever size it might be, and hope that I can replace the existing one?

2. Buy a new plane. I’m not in the market for Lie-Nielsen or Veritas but like the idea of a new Stanley. If so, should I go for another No4 or upsize to a No5? And what are people’s opinions on the Stanley Sweetheart range. I recently bought a block plane from this range and have been impressed with the weight and general build quality

 

[Berncarpenter]

No 4's are very common and you could pick one up at a boot sale for as little as £3 for parts.

Cheers Bern

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I can't remember (I've only handled planes for fifty years), I haven't got one to hand - it's not a left hand thread, is it?

 

[Trafalgar]

Inspired by topics on here, and Paul Sellers’ videos on You Tube, I decided to have another go at fettling my Stanley No 4 plane. In the process I inadvertently unscrewed the depth adjustment knob from the bolt in the frog. I carried on dismantling the plane, cleaned it up, sharpened the blade, put the sole over a diamond plate and then tried reassembly. Then I hit a problem in that the depth adjustment knob wouldn’t go back on the bolt. Whether this was because the thread has stripped on the bolt or the internal thread of the knob, I can’t see. Anyhow, without the depth adjustment knob the plane is useless.

I should point out that I bought the plane just before I got married 45 years ago so it’s not by any means new. Furthermore, I have rarely used it for smoothing but more as a general purpose plane and, in recent years, I have tended to use my electric hand planer, planer/thicknesser or ROS for planing or smoothing. However, I like the idea of having a plane in the workshop.

So, what to do?

1. Try and find a new bolt, whatever size it might be, and hope that I can replace the existing one?

2. Buy a new plane. I’m not in the market for Lie-Nielsen or Veritas but like the idea of a new Stanley. If so, should I go for another No4 or upsize to a No5? And what are people’s opinions on the Stanley Sweetheart range. I recently bought a block plane from this range and have been impressed with the weight and general build quality

Pretty sure it's a left handed thread. Spin it the other way and I bet it'll go right on.

 

[jimi43]

Yes...it's a left handed thread so turn it the other way to put it back on.

If you have indeed damage either part I am sure I have a frog or bolt and wheel in my parts bin you are welcome to if you need it.

Just let me know

Jimi

 

[MMUK]

Another vote for left hand thread, all my bench planes are. I think I've only ever seen block planes with R/H threads on the depth adjusters.

 

[Argus]

.

As everyone has said, it is a left hand thread.

Here's a step by step elimination that may come up with a repair:

1 - try again, this time turning the nut to the left.........

2 - If it doesn't work, examine the end of the bolt thread with a mag glass; any damage should the visible. Unless it is really mullered, with a bit of care and some small files etc you should be able to do a repair.

3 - If the bolt is OK but the entry part of the nut is damaged (some Record adjustment nuts ones were brass), turn it round and carefully thread it on backwards (to the left!) and advance it all the way until the bolt emerges. The steel bolt will usually fix any damage to the start of the threads in the nut. You can then put it on the right way round.

Hope that this helps. Record planes are strong little beasts - there's plenty left even after 45 years.

.

 

[Student]

Doh – do I feel stupid! The bolt does indeed have a left hand thread (which may explain why it fell off when I thought I was doing it up). I can’t think of the last time I came across a bolt with a left hand thread which is why that never occurred to me.

Anyway, many thanks for all your help. I’ve now reassembled it and it is cutting very well. In the process, I re-discovered something that I knew when I first had the plane, and had since forgotten, which is how to adjust the frog.

 

[bugbear]

Doh – do I feel stupid! The bolt does indeed have a left hand thread (which may explain why it fell off when I thought I was doing it up). I can’t think of the last time I came across a bolt with a left hand thread which is why that never occurred to me.

I gather you're not a cyclist - one of the pedals (I can never remember which one (edit; google says it's the left one)) is l/h thread so it doesn't unwind in use.

BugBear

 

[JohnPW]

Even if the depth adjuster doesn't work, because of broken or missing parts, you can still make the plane work. You loosen the lever cap with lever flipped up about half way, then use a mallet to tap the blade, wooden plane style, then do up the lever cap.

Although you might have to set the lever cap tighter than what you might do in the normal way.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Doh – do I feel stupid! The bolt does indeed have a left hand thread (which may explain why it fell off when I thought I was doing it up). I can’t think of the last time I came across a bolt with a left hand thread which is why that never occurred to me.

I gather you're not a cyclist - one of the pedals (I can never remember which one (edit; google says it's the left one)) is l/h thread so it doesn't unwind in use.

BugBear

I had an Austin Gypsy that left handed wheel nuts on one side and right handed on the other.

 

[MMUK]

Doh – do I feel stupid! The bolt does indeed have a left hand thread (which may explain why it fell off when I thought I was doing it up). I can’t think of the last time I came across a bolt with a left hand thread which is why that never occurred to me.

I gather you're not a cyclist - one of the pedals (I can never remember which one (edit; google says it's the left one)) is l/h thread so it doesn't unwind in use.

BugBear

I had an Austin Gypsy that left handed wheel nuts on one side and right handed on the other.

LDV/DAF/BL vans & trucks have left hand threads on the N/S of the vehicle. :mrgreen:

 

[Argus]

.

.................... as do flammable gas cylinders - acetylene and the like.

.

 

[Student]

Bug bear

You've just reminded me when I last came across a left handed thread. I used to cycle when I was young and did it again when I first moved to Bristol 35+ years ago. I did do some cycling during the 1980s but then the bike got left in a corner of the workshop gathering dust. I rescued it some 12 years ago and decided to cycle to work. In the process, I got the front wheel stuck in some tramlines and fell off. End of my cycling days!

As for other left handed threads, I've never owned an Austin Gypsy, any LDV vans or had anything to do with gas cylinders : =)

JohnPW - thanks for that. If I manage to mess things up again, I'll remember your tip.

 

[whiskywill]

Strimmer heads have left hand threads. At least, both of mine do.