I have an old flea market Stanley with a great deal of vertical slop in the blade adjuster. It appears to me that the rivet that attaches the adjuster to the frog has somehow loosened up.
It's quite annoying to have this adjuster flopping around when I plane, and I'd like to tighten it up. One thought (of mine) is to try and lightly peen the rivet tighter. Another thought was to try to find a way to make/buy some kind of washer that could be slotted and inserted between the rivet and the frog (and then - somehow - close the slot).
Bottomline is I'd rather have an adjuster with all the slop (as is) than screw up and lose the adjuster all together. Better yet - of course - would be to find a way to eliminate the slop.
>Take a look at the adjusting nut too. I have one that has a very sloppy groove fit where it's been adjusted too many times with the lever cap too tight. The brass has been deformed to open the width of the groove making a very sloppy fit with the yoke.
>Laterial adjuster or the depth adjuster? It sounds like the laterial to me. If so I'd "carefully" try to peen down the rivit some more. The cast iron at this area is very fragle and can break easly DAMHIKT.
>My flea-market Stanley's have enough accumulated "patina" to not rattle while planing, but a shiny new Clifton clinked with every stroke until I put in a paper washer. This turned into one of those temporary fixes that worked perfectly and stuck--the donor manila folder with the corner cut off stares at me every time I retrieve a piece of wet/dry sandpaper.
Funny--that never bothered me until now....
Worth a shot before you work on the metal; as Scott points out, the tip of the frog won't take a lot of force [DAMH*I*KT either].
>Well iam guessing its the laterial lever too,and maybe just a slight bend so it rides on the blade would fix it. Peen anything in that area and your just asking for more problems.
Thanks for your post. I was unclear. It is my lateral adjuster that's got the slop in it. I think you're referring to your experience with the depth adjuster.
My depth adjuster seems fine, but I'm still appreciative that you took the time to post. Thanks.
Thanks for your post. It never dawned on me that the frog might break if I peened too hard. Thank you for letting me learn from your experience. If I do try peening, you can be sure it'll be ever so gentle.
>Dennis, it's the lateral adjuster. But its more than just a bend to avoid the blade. I haven't stuck a feeler guage in there but its a fair amount of slop.
Also thanks for the warning about peening. Now I'm thinking much more seriously about some kind of shim.
Thanks for the tip about the paper shim. Great idea to see if that'll do the job. What with everyone's warning about peening near or on the frog, I'm definately leaning that direction -- now. It also dawns on me that a plastic shim (from a Coke bottle) or an aluminum shim (from a Coke can) might also work if the paper one seems too temporary (I'm sure it'd just be in my head.
>Well, John, I just gave your paper shim idea a try, and it took four (small) pieces/layers of 3x5 card stock to significantly reduce the slop (actually, there still is a bit of slop - but it's acceptable). Now I'm thinking of "laminating" the card stock with scotch tape (I think there'll still be room) to give the shim a bit more durability - and then give this a try for a bit.
>...one piece, but from a folding file (the kind with an elastic cord and compartments). Just a thought if the paper falls out; with that thickness, going 21st century with a shim from a plastic folder would probably work, too, if the paper won't stay put.
Going to Chantilly tomorrow? Not likely to be as interesting as Damascus, but I'll be there at 10 for an hour or two. I'll have the little one again--at least it should be warmer....
We'll see about the paper shim (I did wrap it in scotch tape - nice and snug now!)... but plastic may be better in the long run.
Can't make Chantilly tomorrow. The family taxi service is in full gear with one baseball practice, one girl scout cookie booth sale, and one birthday party. Also missed PATINA last week.
Have fun. There'll be some of the guys from the Guild out there. I attended my first meeting as a member last week. Next month's meeting is on wooden boat building. You might think about trying it, if your schedule permits. They're meeting down in south Alexandria now. They've also got a new website.
>First, the cast iron frog is so fragile that it will not take a blow strong enough to deform the rivet. (Brass Lie-Nielsen frogs, being the blatant Stanley knockoffs that they are, do not have that problem.) That does not mean you cannot pein the Stanley rivet enough to take out the slop. But to do it, you must provide an "anvil" with a face about the size of the head of the rivet, and a "hammer" with about the same surface area. Center punches work well for this. This means you will need to rig up a method to hold the frog in place with the rivet resting on a center punch. You might try clamping the "anvil," with the end up, firmly in a vise, and holding the frog in place, much more gently, with two or three hand screws. Then, you will have two hands free to hold and control another punch and your hammer. Neither punch should be allowed to touch the frog itself during this operation.
Instead of a paper shim, you will find that a piece cut out of a milk bottle or soda bottle or other plastic bottle will be more durable, but you'll have to do some experimenting to find one the right thickness.
>As a Centralian of a certain age, when I read "Chantilly," I immediately thought of the Big Bopper and started trying to figure out why you'd make a shim out of lace. But it's an event, not a song. Ah.
Before your post (and one other above) I would have never guessed that the frogs would be so fragile. Thanks for the warning. I've now - at least for the time being - given up on the idea of any peening in or around the frog area.
I have tried the shim idea with paper - and it works well (at least temporarily). You may recall (or maybe not) that several years ago on the Pond you suggested some plastic (milk container) and metal (coke can) shims for my #51 spokeshave. They worked so well then (and they're still in my spokeshave) that that's what I already was leaning toward in terms of a more permanent fix. First things first, however, and right now I'm working to get the back of that new blade flat.
Thanks for your post. Hope all's well up on the Cohansey.
Would love to have you make it - though South Alexandria is not going to be as convenient for you as the old location in Springfield. On the postive side, there's a lot more room - and it's a working woodshop (for day and evening classes).
The new website is located at: http://www.washingtonwoodworkersguild.org
The website has been up less than two weeks, I believe.
The new meeting address is:
The Bryant Center
2709 Popkins Lane
Alexandria, VA
The directions are: From Virginia or Maryland take I-495/94 Exit 1 (US Rt. 1). Go south on route 1 and approximately 1.9 miles south of the Beltway you will pass the Beacon Mall complex with the Lowes Home Improvement warehouse entrance into the Beacon Mall go four more stoplights - about 1/2 mile. The fourth light will be Popkins Lane. Turn left onto Popkins Lane and go two blocks. The Bryant Learning Center entry will be on your right. Drive to the east side of the building (i.e. the side furthest from Rt 1). Plenty of parking on the side or in the rear. The entrances to the woodworking shop and meeting rooms are off the east side of the Bryant Center.
Also the meeting night and time has changed. They now meet on the Third TUESDAY of the month, and they start at 7:00 pm. The next meeting date is April 20th, and the topic is wooden boat building.
Also I saw Paul Mosteller - who sometimes lurks and posts here at WC - at the meeting. However, I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't match his face (which I recognized) to a name until after the meeting. Should have just gone up to him and said, "hey, I know you....", but I didn't.
>Actually I am very familiar with Bryant. The little Catholic school next door is where all 3 of my sons went to school and where my wife taught for 5 years:-) The School(Bryant) was origionally Groveton High school. Is the guild set up in the old wood shop class area??
>Last year, the Chantilly show was the same weekend as PATINA, so I got to do both. Not so this year, and I couldn't do either one, mostly because of a wooden boat I'm working on. The wooden boat meeting sounds interesting, but I can't make it, as I'll be in California or Oregon on the 20th.
In answer to your question, I think that this may be in the "old" Bryant Center wood working shop, but I can't be certain because it was my first time there and no one specifically mentioned it.
It's quite nice. Apparently the local turners guild also meets there and they have refurbished a number of nice (or at least I'm assuming they're nice, since I know nothing of turning) lathes.