Source for new blade for Stanley #4 baliey wanted

Have you tried Hock?

Lee Schierer - McKean, PA

>Hock makes irons for planes, have you tried them? http://www.hocktools.com/

You might also want to post this over on the neander side.

Lee

Re: Source for new blade for Stanley #4 baliey wan *LINK*

Hoa Dinh in Alameda

>Lee Valley carries replacement blades from Lee Valley and Hock.

"In Lee Valley's catalog they state that for general smoothing the blade should have an bevel angle of 38 degrees."

This is from LV's web site and from LV's catalog (I do have a copy of it on my desk), "Our bench plane blades ... are 7" long, have a 30� bevel, and are compatible with almost all makes of the plane sizes listed."

Are you sure the "38 degrees" doesn't come from the descriptions of blades for bevel-up planes?

"Their aftermarket blades do not fit my plane."

I'm surprised if this is the case. I did have a #4 and a #5 Stanley planes (sold when I was "converted" to bevel-up planes) and a LV blade. I could put the LV blade in either plane.

The only possible "problem" is that the aftermarket blade (be it LV or Hock) is much thicker than the Stanley stock blade. You may need to file the mouth of the plane to accommodate the extra thickness. Also, there may be more backlash in the blade adjustment mechanism.

-- Hoa


Blades from Lee Valley

Also....

Hoa Dinh in Alameda

>you can re-grind the blade to any bevel angle you want. There is no need to keep the angle it comes with.

-- Hoa

Re: Source for new blade for Stanley #4 baliey wan

Jerry Nicholson

>I have 4 Lee Valley after-market A2 blades on Stanley planes. The slot is too narrow on some modern blades, Hock and Clifton included, for the older Stanley planes and it is necessary that the slot be widened a few thousandths. I used an abrasive cutter in a Dremel Moto tool - it takes 10 to 20 minutes. As an alternative, you can file down the lateral adjuster cam on the plane but I prefer not to do that. As others have mentioned, it might be necessary to file the mouth slightly on some planes to work with the thicker blade. The mouths are usually bit ragged and uneven anyway. Forget about the 38 degrees - 25 to 35 degrees is correct for bevel down planes.

Jerry

Turn a Pinto into a BMW

Joe in a Cleveland suburb

>I bought a Hock A2 iron AND Hock Chip breaker for my rusty, er, trusty old Stanely #4 (I think that's the number). It made a huge difference. Huge! I could suddenly get long continuous see-through end grain shavings. It was so impressive the person standing next to me actually thought I knew what I was doing! Ha! Yeah. I know, he's not too bright... My old Stanley suddenly felt like my BMW in my hands; ready to go at my will and ready to be pushed hard. :)

I'm no expert but I'd get the chip breaker to go along with the blade fwiw. I bought mine from http://www.craftsmanstudio.com

Joe

I agree

Jerry Nicholson

>My 4 planes that have the Lee Valley A2 blades also have either Clifton or Hock chip breakers. A Hock chip breaker can stiffen and significantly improve the performance of regular old Stanley blade - at least it seems like a performance improvement to me.

Jerry

Blade bevel angle

jim reed @ tallahassee

>The appropriate blade bevel angle is the one that works and that depends on the blade and the wood. I start all my blades at 30 degrees and adjust from there. Lower it a few degrees for pine and raise it a few degrees for hard maple. The angle is too low if your blade edge bends or crushes.

You will find a large performance increase when using an aftermarket blade. These blades are harder and thicker than most original Stanley blades so they hold their edge better and they chatter less. The blade may need adjusting to fit your plane and your plane may need adjusting to accept the blade. This is a one time job, so don't worry. It is worth the bother. Good luck.