Plane bias - a daft question?????????????

[piggybladder]

Hi all, please excuse a silly question. I own a cheap Anant n04 plane, (I'm not mean or trying to be clever making a silk purse out of a sow's ear - just dirt poor!). I lapped the bejaysus out of the sole and have a scary sharp blade so it works fine but I have semi-permanent grazes and callouses on my left thumb knuckle where it consistently hits the lateral adjuster. The problem is I'm cack-handed and the lateral adjuster has to swing a fair bit to the right (somewhere between 1 and 2 o-clock) for the blade to sit straight. This results in it catching the top of my first thumb knuckle. I have a sloppy grip too due to illness, which compounds the problem. I've also noticed that the lateral adjuster on my n06 is also always biased to the right but doesn't cause a problem as the tote is further back from the lever.

I always thought that this problem was simply coz of the crappy machining on the frog/lever, (which is certainly true), but it occurred to me that maybe the lateral adjustment levers on all planes are biased this way to suit right-handed people who form the majority of the market? I should add that I have fairly small hands. So hand size isn't the issue. Anyone got any thoughts on this before I run off and buy a s/h Stanley frog?

Thanks

 

[novocaine]

make a new tote that moves your hand further back.

from another left hander who doesn't suffer the same problem even with a dirt cheap plane.

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Have you considered making your own tote?

Neil

Edit: novocaine posted whilst I was still typing. :lol:

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Grind the iron so the lever sits to the other side when properly set.

 

[bugbear]

Grind the iron so the lever sits to the other side when properly set.

Agreed - the lateral position is determined by the relationship between the grind of the iron, and any error in the frog surface.

BugBear

 

[AndyT]

There's no built-in bias - the lateral adjuster should be central when the blade is central.
As well as what has been said already it might be worth checking whether the frog is twisted on its fixing screws and could be rotated back to a better position.

 

[ED65]

First thing to check is whether the iron's edge is square to its sides. If it is (and it could be, I've had more than one plane where the cutter was square and there was still this problem) then look at other remedies.

Modifying the handle is the obvious one but you might think about tweaking the later-adjustment lever. This can be bent upwards a smidge, and/or its 'ears' ground or filed so they don't stick out as much.