Replacement Plane Irons.

[Mike Wingate]

I have been using Stanley/Record bench planes for the last 50 years. I teach D&T and specialize in Resistant materials with a bias towards wood. The school planes work, but the quality of the blades is poor, with the students not appeciating how to properly set and use them. I have taken great pride in getting the standard Record/Stanley blades to shave hair. They are prepared with either a flatbed rotating oilstone, or a water cooled Tormek, followed by diamond stones, a ceramic stone and some leather strops. So far so good. I build guitars and work with ebony and other exotic timbers. I bought a Japanese laminated steel blade which copes very well with the ebony, but it was a pig to flatten the back. I recently bought 2 more to fit to my own planes. Then a Rob Cosman combo. This is the best ever blade I have used. I bought some Quangsheng blades and chipbreakers. They are excellent. All my own planes and some of the school planes now have a quality blade with a thick chipbreaker. Some have neccesitated the removal of a small ammount of metal in the mouth or off the frog to get it to work. But it was worth it. All my own personal planes and some of the school ones have been fettled and rehandled and are a joy to use, as is y QS 62 with a new handle. So Cosman blades are the best, but QS are value for money. If I was to start all over again I would buy QS planes from Workshop heaven.

 

[jimi43]

.............I have taken great pride in getting the standard Record/Stanley blades to shave hair

I thought this level of punishment was banned in schools now but it's nice to see at least one teacher prepared to buck the system in the name of discipline! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :wink:

Jim

 

[Mike Wingate]

After watching utube videos of people sharpening their blades with ceramic stones and shaving hair, I bought a pair and was amazed that not only would they put such an edge on a knife blade, but that they would improve the performance of a Stanley/Record blade, never mind the QS and Cosman. It is just a trick to impress upon the kids what a tool will do, and to respect the tool and let it work for them. I neglected to mention that the Japanese Laminated blades are slightly brittle. The Cosman combo is the best for me, but as I can buy 3 sets of QS blades and chipbreakers for the same price, that makes them the best value blade for a Stanley/Record bench plane 3 through to 7 inc 1/2's.

 

[Corneel]

Well as long as you stay with O1 steel, I have very good experience with the edge life of Ray Iles, Hock, Quangsheng AND older Stanley and Record blades. My older ones are prewar or early postwar.

Threads like this are probably read by a lot of lurkers too, beginners, people looking for advice about plane tuning. Some advocate to always bin the iron, and buy a replacement iron. I wanted to add a counter voice saying, try before you buy. Maybe the standard iron in the standard plane does a good job allready in the kind of wood you use. Saves a bunch when you don't need to buy new stuff all the time.

 

[woodbrains]

Hi,

I am a teaching assistant in D&T at present. Since I have been at school (less than 1 year) I have helped a new interest in hand skills and have generated enough interest to have pupils attend a WW club at lunchtimes, some who have had to drop D&T as a subject but still like making things. All girls Grammar School, too.

Did you import the Rob Cosman blade set from Wood River, or do they have a UK supplier?

Mike.

 

[Mike Wingate]

While it is sharp, the Stanley/Record blades can do a great job, but they do not retain their sharpness as do the QS/Cosman and Samurai blades. The addition of the thicker chipbreaker is not essential, but all my personal planes and a few school ones have them. I bought the Cosman blade and chipbreaker from Classic Hand Tools.

 

[David C]

Rob Cosman IBC matched set can be got from Classic Handtools.

The blades are 3.6mm thick, the C/B is also thick. Very good grinding everywhere.

The backs are very flat, so the preparation time is very short.

Fantastic product.

David Charlesworth

 

[woodbrains]

Rob Cosman IBC matched set can be got from Classic Handtools.

The blades are 3.6mm thick, the C/B is also thick. Very good grinding everywhere.

The backs are very flat, so the preparation time is very short.

Fantastic product.

David Charlesworth

Hi,

Thanks David,

I might just have to give one a try.

Mike.

 

[Corneel]

One anoying aspect of thick irons is increased backlash. Another is increased grinding time, when it's time for grinding again. Very thick irons need filing of the mouth (no problem for me, but some people shy away from it). And they cost quite a bit of money, sometimes more then the plane itself. I'd rather have an extra plane then an exchange iron.

The Stanley blade I tried this morning is indeed a dud. But I have other rather new Stanley blades that last quite a while and are easy to sharpen. The older ones are just perfectly allright compared to Ray Iles, Hock and QS. My jointer and jack are sharp for a long time. Just like my home made Krenov planes with Hock and my one and only QS block plane.

So it's not a black and white thing. There are pros and contras.

Oh and I want to add some smileys, just to show I don't take it all too serious.
:wink: :deer

 

[Jacob]

I've ordered a Clifton stayset thing. I'll let you know if I can tell the difference!
I've tried quite a few of the tooly chart toppers so far, without being wildly impressed. The biggest disappointment being the honing jig. It all went a lot better after I saw the light on that one!

 

[woodbloke]

I've ordered a Clifton stayset thing

Someone else wasted his hard earned :lol:...make sure you tidy the 'shop floor Jacob so you can find the bit that drops off when it bounces under your paint(ed) bench - Rob

 

[woodbrains]

One anoying aspect of thick irons is increased backlash. Another is increased grinding time, when it's time for grinding again. Very thick irons need filing of the mouth (no problem for me, but some people shy away from it). And they cost quite a bit of money, sometimes more then the plane itself. I'd rather have an extra plane then an exchange iron./quote]

Yes, the backlash is annoying, but then the backlash in a standard set up is too great for my liking anyway. The extra is a small tradeoff for better cutting performance. It just supports my thoughts that the Bailey design was never the greatest in the first place, but it is what we are left with without going to the extremes of a Holtey and the likes. If only someone would make an affordable infill we might have some real choice. I always think a little filing of the mouth is sometime necessary, even if it is open enough to begin with. Often they are not square across the sole and a little relief angle to allow the shavings to emerge with small mouth setting is beneficial too.

Mike.

 

[woodbrains]

I've ordered a Clifton stayset thing

Someone else wasted his hard earned :lol:...make sure you tidy the 'shop floor Jacob so you can find the bit that drops off when it bounces under your paint(ed) bench - Rob

Hi,

Steady Jacob, you might have caught something :evil:

Just be open minded, don't try the thing expecting it to fail, you might be surprised and don't forget, the extra support means you don't need to keep the frog so far back, so close the mouth up and you will get double the benefit. If you don't like it, I will buy it from you for the full price, so you won't have wasted your money. I think you will keep hold of it, though.

Mike.

PS. Never had the end fall off myself, even holding the iron breaker down. Perhaps I've just got magnetic fingers.

 

[Jacob]

I've ordered a Clifton stayset thing. I'll let you know if I can tell the difference!
I've tried quite a few of the tooly chart toppers so far, without being wildly impressed. The biggest disappointment being the honing jig. It all went a lot better after I saw the light on that one!

Turned up this morning, that was quick!
Works very nicely, needs a bit longer for comparison though.
I just noticed my old USA Stanley no7 has a laminated blade. You can't see anything when you hand hone but it really shows up with belt sanding - a distinct boundary with slightly yellower colour to the hard layer. I guess it must have been holding an edge longer but can't say I've noticed.

 

[Jacob]

It's looking promising! The most obvious thing is how different the plane feels in use - quieter and somehow more solid. I've been swapping it between a 4½ , 5½ and 7. Obvious home for it is the 4½, as a smoother.
It seems to do better than the LV la bu smoother!

 

[woodbrains]

It's looking promising! The most obvious thing is how different the plane feels in use - quieter and somehow more solid. I've been swapping it between a 4½ , 5½ and 7. Obvious home for it is the 4½, as a smoother.
It seems to do better than the LV la bu smoother!

Hi,

Welcome to the So Solid Cap iron Crew. :mrgreen: They really do work wonders and as recommended by many, fitting a new cap iron is the best place to start with tuning a plane; it gives a noticable benefit without too much outlay. Have you moved the frog forwards yet? It is worth experimenting with. The little extra support given by the rear mouth is negated by the firmer blade clamping and a finer mouth will give much improved control to reduce tearout.

Mike.

 

[Jacob]

It's looking promising! The most obvious thing is how different the plane feels in use - quieter and somehow more solid. I've been swapping it between a 4½ , 5½ and 7. Obvious home for it is the 4½, as a smoother.
It seems to do better than the LV la bu smoother!

Hi,

Welcome to the So Solid Cap iron Crew. :mrgreen: They really do work wonders and as recommended by many, fitting a new cap iron is the best place to start with tuning a plane; it gives a noticable benefit without too much outlay. Have you moved the frog forwards yet?

Yes it works. I've been smoothing a small sycamore table top about 22x41". Not very hard I know, but poor quality with knots and bark intrusions. Takes quite a lot of concentration to avoid tear outs so I carried on with belt sander and ROS in the end.
But I could see the possibility of an all planed top. Trouble is it takes only one dig into the surface then you have to take the whole lot down, so a smoother has to be 100% reliable. This means frequent honing, but thats no prob with freehand convex bevel, and the stayset drop-off thing helps a bit. Haven't dropped it - Rob must just be a very clumsy boy!
So if I get another one for one of my no4s I will have 2 good smoothers and perhaps sell on the LV.
Hmm!

 

[woodbrains]

It's looking promising! The most obvious thing is how different the plane feels in use - quieter and somehow more solid. I've been swapping it between a 4½ , 5½ and 7. Obvious home for it is the 4½, as a smoother.
It seems to do better than the LV la bu smoother!

Hi,

Welcome to the So Solid Cap iron Crew. :mrgreen: They really do work wonders and as recommended by many, fitting a new cap iron is the best place to start with tuning a plane; it gives a noticable benefit without too much outlay. Have you moved the frog forwards yet?

Yes it works. I've been smoothing a small sycamore table top about 22x41". Not very hard I know, but poor quality with knots and bark intrusions. Takes quite a lot of concentration to avoid tear outs so I carried on with belt sander and ROS in the end.
But I could see the possibility of an all planed top. Trouble is it takes only one dig into the surface then you have to take the whole lot down, so a smoother has to be 100% reliable. This means frequent honing, but thats no prob with freehand convex bevel, and the stayset drop-off thing helps a bit. Haven't dropped it - Rob must just be a very clumsy boy!
So if I get another one for one of my no4s I will have 2 good smoothers and perhaps sell on the LV.
Hmm!

Hi,

I have two No 4 smoothers myself, one with a 10 degree back bevel on the blade. You can tame most any tear out with that combo and a planed table top is definitely achieveable and in my mind desirable. I don't doubt the LV smoother is a fine tool and coveted one myself, but a 58 degree blade to make a low angle into a high angle always seemed a bit nuts to me- got to be hard to push that wedge. An EP of 55 degrees is easily done in Bailey planes and needs a blade with an included angle of ony 35 deg, so not too tiring to use and readily availible.

Enjoy :ho2

Mike.

 

[Corneel]

Yes a backbevel works wonders. I've planed acres of some weird Russian kind of maple with lots of grain reversals and knots and so on, for my kitchen. The backbevel saved my day more then once.

And when everyone goes into new chipbreakers, I might buy one too sometime :mrgreen: .

 

[bugbear]

The original question was, "Has anybody done a comparative test between plane irons".

We've had lots of interesting discussion, but so far the answer seems to be "no".

I guess you missed my links to two such studies. Reread the thread.

BugBear