jimmykx250 Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 Attached are 2 pictures of an old wooden plane a friend of mine gave me. Im not sure how to set the new mouth plate I made for it back in? How much clearence do I need between the blade and the mouth? The 3rd pic is of a millers falls 9b plane i have worked on and my question is the height adjustment knob seems to be hitting the handle. It's the original blade and chipbreaker im thinking im missing something but i dont see it. The thing shaves nicely! Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlloydparks Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 Clearance on a smoothing plane is a given as a "gnats hiney." I might set it at zero and the plane the bottom of the plane until the mouth opens up to about 0.003. This should pass all the shavings you want to take with a smoother. If it jams then your taking too much of a cut. If it is wider that is fine. I have one that has a gaping 3/16" and it is still a good smoother. I like a tight mouth, but it is not necessary it just helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmykx250 Posted December 30, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 Clearance on a smoothing plane is a given as a "gnats hiney." I might set it at zero and the plane the bottom of the plane until the mouth opens up to about 0.003. This should pass all the shavings you want to take with a smoother. If it jams then your taking too much of a cut. If it is wider that is fine. I have one that has a gaping 3/16" and it is still a good smoother. I like a tight mouth, but it is not necessary it just helps. Josh- So this is a smoother plane? I wasn't sure if i should be wasting my time on this thing it seems pretty old and beat up but for some reason i like the thing. So the mouth opening isnt too critical. I will glue the piece in then tune the opening. Any advice on the millers falls issue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger T Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 Jimmy, It could be that the chip breaker is set to far back from the end of the blade. I try and keep mine at about 1/32" or so. Roger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Rozaieski Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 Any advice on the millers falls issue? My guess is that either the knob or tote (or both) are from another plane. If it works fine, I'd just shape the front of the tote down a little lower to allow clearance for the knob and let it be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Pants Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 So this is a smoother plane? I wasn't sure if i should be wasting my time on this thing it seems pretty old and beat up but for some reason i like the thing. So the mouth opening isnt too critical. I will glue the piece in then tune the opening. Any advice on the millers falls issue? In addition to what Bob mentioned, it's also possible the frog may be set too far back. That's about the only thing I can think of if all the parts are original. As for the wood guy, yup it's a coffin smoother (the coffin refers to the shape). They tend to have gotten pretty torn up. I have the carcass of one kicking around that I harvested the Mathieson blade from but I'm not gonna bother trying to fix it as it's a disaster. When I make planes I do similar to what Josh mentioned. I'll set the mouth so the blade just peeks out, then usually run it over the jointer for a pass or two until I get the mouth where I want (mind you that's before I take it to the bandsaw as a smoother is a little small to want to run over the jointer). If you go that route whether you plane the sole for the mouth, sand it or joint it do so with the blade in it (obviously well away from the sole!) to keep the body under tension, otherwise it can deflect a little as you pass over it and through it a little out of alignment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamV Posted January 9, 2011 Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 The 3rd pic is of a millers falls 9b plane i have worked on and my question is the height adjustment knob seems to be hitting the handle. It's the original blade and chipbreaker im thinking im missing something but i dont see it. The thing shaves nicely! Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddlermike Posted January 9, 2011 Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 I can't speak to the coffin smoother but I agree with the advice so far with the millers falls. If the knob is solid (meaning not hollowed out) then it's the original Miller's Falls knob. Even so, the millers falls knobs were typically big to begin with. If that's the case, then I would think you either have the frog set too far back or that the adjustment knob is screwed back too far. Check to see if the frog is lined up well with the mouth opening. If it is, then try screwing the knob forward to about a middle position and replacing the iron. it's hard to tell, but it almost looks like the tote is a little too big for the plane, but the color and checking is real typical of Millers falls. If it's working fine, then I would just shave off some of the top of the tote's foot to free up the knob and enjoy the plane Granted, I'm a little partial to millers falls to begin with...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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