Small Plane, Interesting day

[Roberto Flintofski]

Hi all, have had an interesting but frustrating day trying to re comission a small old plane I purchased of tinterwebby.

Stripped it cleaned it as best I could and then set about trying to flatten the sole and sharpen the blade, 1st time ive had a go at this, not sure if it's the style / type but I havnt had much success! The blade edge is razor sharp and I've set it so there is only a very small gap in front of it with varying amounts of blade protruding, it works "ish" I only bought it to knock the corners off square timbers and in all honesty because I like tinkering with old things.

Where am I going wrong

 

[Phil Pascoe]

It's the wrong plane for the job.

 

[Old.bodger]

Interesting Roberto, I too have one very like that, mine is obviously very cheaply made from light alloy castings and an iron sole. Over the years I have fiddled with it at various times and have never managed to get it to cut well. It really doesn’t deserve it’s place on the shelf. Perhaps someone will come along and offer some constructive assistance!

 

[Roberto Flintofski]

Thanks for the input Phil, regardless of the job I need it for it would be nice to get it to work

 

[Nigel Burden]

Thanks for the input Phil, regardless of the job I need it for it would be nice to get it to work

To be honest, the Stanley? 75 bull nose plane is an abomination. I had, still have one. I can't get the damned thing to work, try as I may. In the end I bought an old Record 076, a much better plane for the same money.

As Phil said, the wrong plane for what you want.

Rebate Plane No 2—The Bullnose Plane - Paul Sellers' Blog

Nigel.

 

[Roberto Flintofski]

So not the best small plane to "hone" any learning skills with?

 

[Roberto Flintofski]

Also reading the Paul Sellers blog .. I've the blade in upside down !

 

[Cheshirechappie]

One thing that might help is to turn the blade the other way up - bevel facing up, not down.

It's a low-ish angle bed (not ultra-low, but low-ish), so an iron sharpened with the usual 25 degree grind and 30 degree hone may not have much of a clearance angle under the blade with it assembled bevel down. Thus, the blade bevel may be rubbing on the timber and stopping the cutting edge engaging. For the blade to cut effectively, you need about a 10 degree or so (or more) clearance between blade and workpiece on the underside behind the edge.

Edit to add - Ah- good - you've spotted it! You posted while I was typing. Must get a faster typing finger ....

 

[paulrbarnard]

I have one and it cuts quite well. depth of cut is tricky to get right. It is very easy to set it too deep and then the plane is unusable. With a fine cut mine takes nice shavings. It's not a plane I use very often, probably only two times in the last twenty years, but ironically I did use it today to fettle a rebate on a board, I used a 78 to cut the rebate. I would normally grab a shoulder plane but opened the wrong drawer and saw the 75 sat there all forlorn. It had is moment in the daylight and rewarded me with some nice shavings.

 

[Nigel Burden]

Also reading the Paul Sellers blog .. I've the blade in upside down !

The 75 is a bevel down plane, not bevel up like most bullnose planes. I don't know whether Paul Sellers mentions the 75 though.

The blade should be square across with no camber and square on the corners. Try as I may, I could not get it to work any sense even after checking that the bed is flat and square, sharpening and honing the blade, and yes it was sharp.
I just gave up in exasperation.

Another source of information about Stanley planes is this one below.

The Superior Works - Patrick's Blood & Gore: Preface (supertool.com)

Nigel.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Thanks for the input Phil, regardless of the job I need it for it would be nice to get it to work

Sorry, it was a little abrupt. It might well be perfectly adequate for the cross grain rebates etc. it was (not very well?) designed for, but a block plane or a No.3 is much better suited to knocking arrises off. Especially with the blade in the correct way around.

 

[Jacob]

It's a plane I'd expect to use about once a year if that, as it could come in for things like tidying up a rebate, just for finishing touches not for much actual work. Extreme opposite of block plane which gets used all the time - or did when I used to do a lot of site work. Bevel down - wrong way up it'd become a scraper. 30º hone doesn't need a grind bevel as it's tiny. The photo looks more like a 45º which wouldn't work at all. It's a one hander (obviously) hence the rounded heel and works better with the hand well back.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

If, as Nigel says, those planes are supposed to be bevel down, it might pay to check the bevel angles on the blade and ensure that they're less than the blade bedding angle. It may be an optical delusion, but the second and third photos seem to suggest that the back of the bevel is rubbing and the edge not engaging.

A regrind to 25 degrees and hone at 30 degrees might help.

 

[Roberto Flintofski]

Well going to give it a try bevel up in the morning ! The Back of the bevel as the blade is in now is deffo not below the cutting edge, if does cut but is poor!

 

[Bm101]

It's a poorly regarded model for a reason. Whack it on ebay. Get some cash back. Break your arris with literally any other bench plane. Just use your finger to hold it at a consistent angle. Go for it.

 

[Roberto Flintofski]

In all fairness I think it was only a tenner!

 

[Roberto Flintofski]

So then, up at 5.40 it's been on my mind all night! Out to the garage took it to bits again, re sharpened the blade to be double sure, reassembled bevel up but really not sure it should be as then it leaves a massive throat in front of the blade? But..... it seems to work better!

 

[Roberto Flintofski]

So still not sure!

 

[Jacob]

Bevel down - and 30º. See previous post. It can't work the way you've got it except as a scraper. Also your angle looks a but steep - it needs to be 30º - the whole bevel, no need to grind a shallower bevel on a little blade like this.

 

[pe2dave]

Hi all, have had an interesting but frustrating day trying to re comission a small old plane I purchased of tinterwebby.

Stripped it cleaned it as best I could and then set about trying to flatten the sole and sharpen the blade, 1st time ive had a go at this, not sure if it's the style / type but I havnt had much success! The blade edge is razor sharp and I've set it so there is only a very small gap in front of it with varying amounts of blade protruding, it works "ish" I only bought it to knock the corners off square timbers and in all honesty because I like tinkering with old things.

Where am I going wrong

Oddly, Paul Sellers had a video about setting one of these up yesterday. One of those 'sign up' jobs, sorry. Worth it imho.