Hand plane adjustments

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sapwood

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Roger
I bought my first hand plane at flea market last week (Shelton No. 9). Of course, it had some rust, but all the parts were in good shape and I've managed to get it pretty well cleaned up and sharpened. I've read the Sheltons are Stanley copies, but not great quality. I think this is similiar to Stanley No. 4 smoother, about 9 inches long.

So, to the point. Any references or suggestions on setup? I spent about an hour futzing around and made some progress on scrap wood. I've googled around for "hand planer manuals" but no luck. So far it's just trial and error and one "Sharpening Hand Tools" book I got from library. So I don't know, what parts to adjust first, relationship of blade to chip breaker, frog setting, depth of blade, throat opening, and on and on and on.

Experimenting is fun, but it would be nice to have recommendations on books, websites, or perhaps online manuals that might give more step by step instruction.

Thanks for listening,
Sapwood
 

DaveO

New User
DaveO
I was going to suggest Cian's "Neanderthal Braintrust", it has most everything you need to know on hand planes. It's on his website www.cianperez.com. All I know is that you want the chipbreaker very close to the end of the iron, and the frog pushed forward enough for about an 1/8" opening, and the iron just proud of the sole. But all this depends on how you intend to use the plane. I have one #4 set up to hog away wood, and another set to take the finest shavings. My .02 Dave:)
 
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sapwood

New User
Roger
insomniac said:
Hope this helps! Let us know if you figure out what that thing is used for... I can't even figure out where to plug 'em in! :-?

Yes, that sure did help. Of course, I'll be happy to accomplish 50 percent of the suggestions :roll:

Works great for slicing cheese :lol:

Sapwood
 

sapwood

New User
Roger
DaveO said:
All I know is that you want the chipbreaker very close to the end of the iron, and the frog pushed forward enough for about an 1/8" opening, and the iron just proud of the sole. But all this depends on how you intend to use the plane.

I have checked out the Neanderthals website, it is a great resource.

So, when you say the frog should be pushed to about 1/8" opening, do you mean without the blade or chip breaker attached??

Sapwood
 

DaveO

New User
DaveO
I'll have to check my set up, but I think that would be with the chipbreaker and iron attached. Of course I know very little about handtools, just started messing around with them lately. Dave:)
 

Monty

New User
Monty
Like this:


G_7782.jpg





:mrgreen: :cool:
 

DaveO

New User
DaveO
Looks like you are doing great there. Are those .0002 or .0001" thick shavings???:lol: Nice looking plane. Dave:)
 

mshel

New User
Michael Shelley
Nice plane Roger. I only have a small block plane and use it once or twice a year if that much. I would like to have some just for special cases where a power tool just doesn't do justice. Since I don't use them, I really haven't made an effort to aquire any more.

Mike
 

sapwood

New User
Roger
Again, thanks for all the suggestions boys and girls 8-O

Final results below. I need to flatten sole some more since I NOW know you do that after blade, chip breaker, and cap are installed :oops:

SheltonNo9refurb.jpg


Sapwood
 

DaveO

New User
DaveO
Looks great, seems like you have it tuned pretty well. I like a tool that looks good and works well, hand planes really fit that catagory. Dave:)
 

Phillip

New User
Phillip Fuentes
I was wondering if you went through the entire Charlesworth process? That man is a maniac for tuned up. Plane looks great, shavings look great, don't you love the peace and quiet of handplaning?

phillip
 

sapwood

New User
Roger
Phillip said:
I was wondering if you went through the entire Charlesworth process? That man is a maniac for tuned up. Plane looks great, shavings look great, don't you love the peace and quiet of handplaning?

phillip

No, unless he wrote the section on handplanes in the aforementioned book.

Yes, it is peaceful, except for my labored breathing. :lol:

What should I do about the wood parts? I put a little Danish Oil on them. There are white paint flecks, but I didn't want to sand them down--didn't seem right :eusa_thin

Sapwood
 

Monty

New User
Monty
You should be able to flick most of those little white specks off with your fingernail... just go easy and take your time, before you know it they'll all be gone. I used shellac (dark garnet) on the plane I have pictured above.
 

DaveO

New User
DaveO
When you are using it your hands cover those paint specks. The wood looks to be in good condition, I say either leave it be or sand it down and make it pretty. But if it's too pretty you might not want to use it as quickly. My .02 Dave:)
 

Phillip

New User
Phillip Fuentes
if this plane is a user, by all means sand them down, carve them, a little more oil, whatever it takes to make them feel right. of course, if its a collectible item, caution is the watchword. you're probably ready for a whole fleet of planes now, right?
 

sapwood

New User
Roger
Phillip said:
if this plane is a user, by all means sand them down, carve them, a little more oil, whatever it takes to make them feel right. of course, if its a collectible item, caution is the watchword. you're probably ready for a whole fleet of planes now, right?

Whoaaa! Gotta learn how to use this one first. In fact, you might say I was an abuser, not user :)

Function is the goal. I would be surprised if it's worth the $15 I paid for it :eusa_shhh

Insomniac,

After five hours of scraping, scrubbing, lapping, and honing I don't have any fingernails.

Again, mucho thanko,
Sapwood
 
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