CJ in MPLS
Hello folks:

I've had a very nice horned smoothing plane for some time however it is a decoration on a bookshelf in the house. The plane is in very good shape except for the fact that the body has shrunk laterally and the blade is effectively frozen in place. The blade is tapered and has a cap iron.

The question that drives me to write is how thick the cheeks of a plane must be to maintain the integrity of the plane? I have about 7/16" on each cheek. Removing up 1/32" to 1/16" from each cheek shouldn't be a problem I think, but I'd prefer to leave well enough alone if my efforts were simply going to put me in a bad spot.

Cheers,

CJ