Comments on: When Your Plane Iron Won't Retract All the Way

By: tman02

tman02 — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 22:41:22 +0000

Chris -

I know you are trying to get ready for WIA this weekend, but hope I might interrupt you for a bit of advice.

I am trying to get a Bailey No. 7 Jointer plane ready to use and am having a problem. Whenever I tighten the lever cap it “pops” loose. I thought it might be the screw the holds the lever cap in place, but on further inspection I think it might be the chip breaker.

When I screw it to the blade, the blade flexes A LOT. It is more than 1/16″ (closer to 1/8″) and I think this is putting too much stress on the lever cap so it pops loose.

Anyway, I do not think the blade should bend anywhere this much (if at all). So should I bend the chip breaker so it lays more flat against the blade? Or as this post suggests grind away the chip breaker where it contacts the blade so as to accomplish the same thing?

Thank you in advance for your help on this.

Regards,

Terry

By: Richard Dawson

Richard Dawson — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 18:41:43 +0000

Manuel’s experience with Deneb is another example of the commitment to customer service that purveyors of high quality tools demonstrate time and again. While his story is interesting and inspiring, it isn’t entirely unique, since many of us can relate similar experiences with Lie-Nielsen, as well as what is becoming a fairly long list of quality tool manufacturers.

The recent discussion regarding the presumably wealthy ripoff artists who invade our wallets and bank accounts effectively addressed the relatively low cost of quality craftsmanship and how we benefit from it. Manuel effectively addresses the value of an ethic I’m happy to see in the woodworking community, one that I wish was more prevalent elsewhere.

Richard

By: Tom Holloway

Tom Holloway — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 18:37:14 +0000

Interfere? Love ‘em or hate ‘em, they are essential to the Bailey-style depth adjustment system, with its complex linkages from adjustment wheel to cutting edge and plane sole. Bailey and the Stanley folks who bought him out have been maligned for the thin blade in that system: cheaper to manufacture and easier to sharpen, but needing the cap iron to stabilize the business end. But the thinner blade also puts the hole in the cap iron, into which the upper tip of the adjustment yoke must fit, just that much closer to the pivot of the yoke, leaving more tip to engage said hole. Modern repros, with their thicker irons, may have upset the tolerances of Bailey’s system, making adjustment elsewhere necessary.

One question I’d ask before performing surgery on the leading edge is how far from the cutting edge do you plant the edge of the chipbreaker? Another question is whether you’ve had this problem with vintage Bailey-type planes with their original iron and chipbreaker?

By: Manuel Cardoso-Lopes

Manuel Cardoso-Lopes — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 16:58:49 +0000

Hi Chris,
With a brand new premium plane, I suggest you contact the manufacturer 1st, I had exactly the same problem with a new No.2 from Lie-Nielsen, the the purchase was result of your article on the No.2 and how to handle such a small plane.

When it arrived it had this problem… after checking the chip-breaker dimensions, Deneb felt that the problem could lay with an incorrect machined frog.

As I live in South Africa, the option of grinding the chip-breaker was discussed & it would probably have fixed it.

Deneb was however more comfortable sending me a new frog… when it arrived the problem was solved. It seems that the top surface of the frog had not been machined down enough, it only takes a Gnats hair breath to affect the blade retraction.

This plane now has a 10degree back bevel & is a jewel on finishing work.

Cheers,
Manuel