nod Posted April 7, 2014 Report Share Posted April 7, 2014 I picked up a Stanley no 5 off ebay a couple weeks ago. Haven't had much time to do anything to it, or with it. But I did a quick assessment and I see that the iron back is definitely NOT flat. Checked chip breaker, and it's flat. Now, my question is, do I spend a day trying to flatten the bugger, or just buy a replacement blade? I watched a RenaiWW vid about some used jack planes, and just letting em do their thing with a sharp blade. He didn't fuss with flattening the frog, sanding this and that and the other. Just let it rip for the rough work. I had every plan to try that as well, but everything I've read and heard from you all is that the iron back MUST.BE.FLAT. I don't have a dia-flat (yet). I've tried a bit with some sand paper on granite, but seems like it will take days to get done. I've got water stones for sharpening my knives, but know they are not dead flat for a use like this. I realize a dia-something is in my near future. BUT, what suggest you oh benevolent and wise ones? buy a diamond plate and get to flattening? or buy a new blade? or something else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Pritchard Posted April 8, 2014 Report Share Posted April 8, 2014 Have you tried flattening just the first half inch or so on the granite block with some 80 grit? How far do you get after 5 minutes? From personal experience I would say it takes significantly longer to flatten the sole of a plane than flatten the back of the iron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted April 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2014 Have you tried flattening just the first half inch or so on the granite block with some 80 grit? How far do you get after 5 minutes? From personal experience I would say it takes significantly longer to flatten the sole of a plane than flatten the back of the iron. I've tried. and it's not very far. There seems to be some significant convex to the blade back. I'll try and snap a pic if I can to post. I don't have any feeler gauges, so not sure how bad is bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Pritchard Posted April 8, 2014 Report Share Posted April 8, 2014 Don't worry too much by how convex it is. So long as you're confident that your granite is flat. What was the grit on the sandpaper? Was it new paper? It would be helpful if we had a pic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G S Haydon Posted April 8, 2014 Report Share Posted April 8, 2014 I would just go through the a normal sharpening procedure. Raise a wire edge the remove the burr, if it's flat enough to remove the burr it's flat enough. If that doesn't work just do the ruler trick without the ruler http://blog.lostartpress.com/2012/11/08/the-cutting-edges-of-h-o-studley/. If it was good enough for him......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted April 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2014 Was able to snap a couple quick pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick A McQuay Posted April 8, 2014 Report Share Posted April 8, 2014 I flattened mine with 80 grit. The quality of the sandpaper makes a big difference. I wouldn't get obsessive about it on a jack, just flatten the edge and a half inch or so back.Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G S Haydon Posted April 8, 2014 Report Share Posted April 8, 2014 Wow! Used on a very very hollow sharpening medium! I think I'd buy a new blade or find one secondhand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted April 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2014 McQ, not sure how much I'll need to take off to get this sucker flat. Looks like a bit, eh? Wow! Used on a very very hollow sharpening medium! I think I'd buy a new blade or find one secondhand. Kind of negates the great deal I got. Or at least thought I got. oh well, rather get this baby working! Hock? Veritas? other? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted April 8, 2014 Report Share Posted April 8, 2014 Don't think that way. If this is the worst part of your user, look for another cheap user. Try to wait for one that is not collect able or even particularly useful. Look for a non-pitted iron but damaged tote and knob or a cracked casting. Even look for the cheap units with stamped steel frogs. You may even find a useful iron on EBay without needing to buy a whole plane. You don't need to jump all the way to a boutique iron. Having said this, I do not think you will regret a new iron if you invest in one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilgaron Posted April 9, 2014 Report Share Posted April 9, 2014 Is this going to be set for coarse or fine work? If coarse work then just get a modern Stanley iron off of Amazon or a $2 buck bros iron from Home Depot. Your tolerances don't need to be tight for a scrub or fore plane. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted April 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2014 Is this going to be set for coarse or fine work? If coarse work then just get a modern Stanley iron off of Amazon or a $2 buck bros iron from Home Depot. Your tolerances don't need to be tight for a scrub or fore plane. Thanks guys, I hadn't really thought of just looking for another used setup. Mainly since I am worried I'll end up with the same result. I have a "no4" (not really, it's one of their 80's models), that has a decent iron with some camber already in it. I've done some work to flatten it, but it's not quite there yet. Perhaps I'll just work on that some more and put it to use in the no5. I'll have to double check, but it seems like the irons are similar in size. Gilgaron, I think it'll be for rough work to start. From what I understand, I don't need to sweat the setup too much. As long as the iron is flat and sharp, yeah? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick A McQuay Posted April 9, 2014 Report Share Posted April 9, 2014 If that bad I'd start it on a disc sander then move to the bench. I wouldn't scrap it without trying. It doesn't take that long to flatten. Worst case scenario make a fore plane blade of it. Same plane body, different blades for different tasks.Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhl.verona Posted April 9, 2014 Report Share Posted April 9, 2014 Am I missing something or is the blade actually bent? If so grab three dowels, two for the concave edges, and one centered on the other convex side, then squeeze it a bit in the vice. Might work. otherwise you'll be better off with a new blade - it'll cost less than the sandpaper you'll need to flatten the thing. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted April 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2014 Am I missing something or is the blade actually bent? If so grab three dowels, two for the concave edges, and one centered on the other convex side, then squeeze it a bit in the vice. Might work. otherwise you'll be better off with a new blade - it'll cost less than the sandpaper you'll need to flatten the thing. John John, the whole thing is pretty uniformly convex/concave (depending on your reference to top or bottom). I don't have a large vise to apply enough pressure I think, but worth a try. If that doesn't work, to the bench sander it goes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted April 12, 2014 Report Share Posted April 12, 2014 Hammer and anvil, maybe worth a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted April 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2014 update. smacked it a few times with a hammer. Ground it a little on the sander. Getting close. I think when my DMT shows up, it might clean up ok with some more elbow grease. still haven't ruled out a new upgrade blade, but from what I'm learning, having a couple blade options for a jack isn't a bad idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick A McQuay Posted April 14, 2014 Report Share Posted April 14, 2014 Was just reading one of the old Fine Woodworking books where they address this problem. The suggestion was place it convex side up on an anvil and use a large dowel and mallet to give it a few whacks.Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted April 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2014 Was just reading one of the old Fine Woodworking books where they address this problem. The suggestion was place it convex side up on an anvil and use a large dowel and mallet to give it a few whacks. Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using Tapatalk 2 Now you tell me! D'oh! at first I just hit it direct with the hammer. and though, hmmm, this isn't so smart is it? So I placed a small piece of mdf i had over it and took a few wacks. Definitely helped. it's mostly flat at this point. mostly. They I hit it on the belt/disc to get it uniform. NOw it's much less pronounced, but of course not dead flat. DMT extra course is arriving this week. I'll spend some time working the back on that and see if we get there. thanks everyone for the input. I'll post up some new pics later in the week once i get time on the new stone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilgaron Posted April 16, 2014 Report Share Posted April 16, 2014 If it is pretty close to flat now you could always sharpen it before putting more work into flattening it and see how it does, since this is for rough work. Are you going to radius the blade or leave it flat? If you put a radius on it, Lie Nielsen has some good videos on youtube for sharpening scrub plane irons that will show you the technique, and I really doubt a slight curvature is going to hurt anything. Not being flat would be a problem for jig sharpening, but shouldn't be a big deal for freehand. Look on youtube for Paul Sellers freehand sharpening for my favorite way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted April 16, 2014 Report Share Posted April 16, 2014 Curvature of the iron in my admittedly limited experience leads to a poor mating with the chipbreaker. Try it out and see but I expect you will get some shavings lodged between the two unless the breaker is also curved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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