Wooden plane wedges

[milkman]

Hi I'm having a lot of difficulty using some hollows. The wedge tends to be either very loose or so tight that you can't adjust the iron.
Just wondering is the wedge supposed to bear on the inside of the plane on all surfaces or just some of them like the face and back:


Untitled by markuspalarkus, on Flickr

Or the edges?

Untitled by markuspalarkus, on Flickr

I,ve already scraped a bit of the wedge but decided to stop before nadgering it, and thought I'd seek counsel here!

Oh one more thing, is the iron supposed to be straight or slightly kinked so as to provide a sprung surface for the wedge? When removed a lot of irons seem to be a bit bent.

Hope you can help, many thanks as always

Marko

 

[MIGNAL]

Front and Back, not the sides - which should have a slight touch of clearance. You can candle wax the sides to make it less likely to lock. Obviously the front and back edges should fit well and at the correct angle.

 

[AndyT]

As far as I know it's the edges alone which are the bearing surfaces. If your plane has been stored in damp conditions it makes sense to bring it indoors, dismantled, for a few weeks to let it reduce its moisture content and let the wedge shrink before attempting any adjustment.
The faces don't need to be tight, just snug.
Edges can be tight all along, or else at top and bottom so as to spring into place.
Irons are generally flat but often not perfectly so, especially on the soft iron stem - the steel cutting part is often noticeably flatter. You can remove big kinks by use of a mallet and a block of hard wood.

PS That's an elegant wedge - is it an early (C18th) plane?

 

[bugbear]

Edges can be tight all along, or else at top and bottom so as to spring into place.

Wedges need to be tight at the bottom; all else is optional, but nice.

BugBear

 

[AndyT]

It's also worth mentioning that if you do any adjusting of a wedge, you must not make it too sharp at the bottom so that there is an open gap between the front edge of the wedge and the mortice, which could trap a shaving. On a side-escapement plane such as a hollow, round or many moulding planes, the tip of the wedge needs to be nicely bevelled so as to deflect the shavings out the side.

If your plane is a really old one, you might want to consider making a replacement wedge for actual use, rather than messing up the original. (Please adjust this advice according to your skill, experience and confidence levels!)

 

[swagman]

Hi Marko. In generally terms; you don't fine tune the wedge to fit the abutments; you fine tune the wedge abutments to fit of the wedge.

But you do need to make sure that the wedge has a flat top and bottom surface. The sides of the wedge are not normally as critical, but on some types of planes that is a factor that does need to be considered.

If you can post a photo that shows the type of wedge mount this plane has that will help us with our suggestions.


regards Stewie;

 

[milkman]

Hi all,
Thanks very much for your replies

I don't know how old the plane is. It's just one of an assorted bunch of hollows and rounds I've been using. Will look at the makers marks in a while a post back.

The plane is a round and uses a side wedge mount, will post a photo.

I think it's jamming due on the wide tapered faces (I called them face and back in the top photo and am getting confused about which surfaces we're describing in the replies)
If I read correctly these faces are not critical?

Cheers
Marko

 

[milkman]

He's the fella,

Untitled by markuspalarkus, on Flickr


Untitled by markuspalarkus, on Flickr


Untitled by markuspalarkus, on Flickr

The words 'Madox' and 'I Flintoft' are stamped on the front edge with an owner's name and the size, 12 on the back

Mark

 

[jimi43]

Oh nice one!!!

A MADOX no less...

William Madox....Peter St. Westminster LONDON 1748 to 1775

Not very rare as he was a prolific plane maker but rather collectible none the less.

I would be tempted so know exactly what you are doing before making ANY adjustments at all.

Richard Arnold of this parish is probably the one to ask advice from...

Richard? RICHARD!!!! :mrgreen:

Jimi

 

[AndyT]

Nice plane.
I said it already but the simplest safest next step is to let it dry thoroughly for a week or two before shaving any wood off.

 

[milkman]

Okay I'm going to leave well alone I think. The plane is definitely dry, it's been in our workshop for about 4 months.

There's other planes in a box so I'll check them out. Thanks all!