Monday, August 4, 2008

Introduction to Bevel-up Plane Project

Recently I bought a tiny antique block plane that seems to be similar to a Stanley 102. It has no make or number. It also differs from the Stanley in that the lever cap is held down by a screw (instead of a bar). Its lever cap is also unique, it does not have any system of tensioning the cap across the blade except for the main screw.The goal of this project is to change the plane into a bevel-up smoother.
(Here is a very rough preview.)
First I will attach a plate to the bed to increase blade contact and reduce chatter.
I simply drilled holes through the plate and body and then tapped the body ones. If you do this you must open the mouth up to allow for the added thickness of the plate. It also allows you to fine tune the mouth size.This is the plane with the bed plate installed. The plates in the back were installed the same way. They are 1/8 hot-rolled steel. I used 4-40 screws. The back plates are installed to facilitate the addition of a tote, since the body wasn't long enough on its own. They also provide a thicker surface for tapping for the threaded rod for the handles. When everything is how I want it, I will countersink the screw holes from the bottom and lightly peen them over.

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