Record No 4 plane - space for fingers?

[Jacob]

Hi, Jacob

So you don't have a bevel on your blades?

That is the only way you could get more support to the back of the blade.


Pete

If you adjust your plane to take a typical cut, then detach your blade , cap iron and frog (without upsetting the adjustment) and then re-attach the blade and cap iron to the frog in their working position, you will see that a 2 to 4 mm band of the back is visible, before you reach the bevel. This part of the back will bear on the back of the mouth if there is zero adjustment on the frog. Ideally a gnats less than zero, for a tight fit.
Try it and see for yourself - save me the bother of photographing it.

This also suggests that the larger the bevel angle the better as this will put more blade on to the back of the mouth, but there has to be clearance under the bevel itself.

 

[Jacob]

In other words the "adjustable" frog is just a way of reducing manufacturing costs, not intended to be adjustable at all.

You've owned Bailey planes for 2 decades,

More than 4 decades since my first steel plane, though I had a woody a decade before that.

been singing their praises to anyone nearby, and you've only just noticed this?

I've pointed this out many times, though TBH I have often tried mouth adjusting just in case I was mistaken, but have never found much/any advantage.

If only there were some design like Bailey, but with better blade support and frog adjustment on the market.

If you mean the "bedrock" the advantages are very slight, if any, which accounts for their relative scarcity and the overwhelming popularity of the standard pattern.

 

[xy mosian]

softtop, I managed to reproduce your problem with my #4. I did it by rotating my fist around the handle, by a suprisingly small amount. If you look over the top of your hand, holding the plane, and plane, try rotating the hand to bring your forearm towards your body. Effectively cocking the wrist.

xy

 

[DTR]

If worse came to worst, how about holding it like a wooden smoother?

(apologies if this is an absurd suggestion, I'm not really in a position to try it right now)