Mark Hennebury
I, like Warren have been using a chipbreaker set close for over 35 years. This as far as I new was standard practice. To find how close to set it I always would experiement to find what was too close. So it was always set around that "sweet spot" I mostly used native North American hardwoods, Birdseye Maple being the bechmark for plane setup. I taught classes on hand plane tuning and setup, and wood structure as a prerequisite for taking other project classes. That's what the beginners class was about, understanding wood and being exposed to what an incredible job can be achieved with a well set up hand plane. The classes were three hours a night, one night per week for eight weeks, and all they had at the end of the course were nice shavings and an new window opened in their mind.

I have only ever used standard cheapy Record handplanes with standard bed angles, I just put a lot of work into tuning them up, and they have worked fine.

By the way its about time you lapped the sole of your plane.