Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
How flat is flat?
Gerry Doll
>A query for the flat sole society. I've been rehabbing a poor abused #6. Have brought the sole back to > .0015 and <.002 with some minor pitting. However, heel and toe are clean. Front and rear of mouth clean, slight depression directly to one side of the mouth. Am I done? What do you consider flat? I realise this is a subjective question, but curious all the same.
Gerry,
Once again, over-analyzing the situation, while packing the van
Re: How flat is flat?
Jim in Burlington Ontario
>I personally would keep going till there was no depression in front of the mouth.
No depression in front.
Gerry Doll
>Jim,
The depression (including minor pitting) is directly, and perfectly in line with, one side of the mouth. The sole appears to be perfectly flat in front and to the rear of the mouth.
Gerry,
Finding typing difficult after the 10th Guinness
Re: No depression in front.
Jim in Burlington Ontario
>Well that's perfect then. Your done IMO
Re: No depression in front.
William Duffield, on the Cohansey
>Pitting, as long as it is not in the front edge of the mouth, is just another name for small corrugations. While esthetically distasteful, It doesn't hurt functionality any more than does a hang hole.
From follows function
David Miller from Iowa
>Stop talking about thousandths and tell us how the plane performs.
Still working on it.
Gerry Doll
>Dave,
It was more of a rhetorical question. I'm still working on the blade and chipbreaker. The sole was rusted and pitted. Believe me, if I can get good shavings, I'm done. Lapping a #6 is not my idea of fun.
However, various articles and postings I've read, have ranged from .015 to .004 as the definition of "flat". Just wanted to know if there was a concensus.
Gerry
Re: Still working on it.
Wiley Horne--Glendora CA
>Hi Gerry,
When the front of mouth is sitting down hard on the work, and the front of mouth, toe, heel, and periphery are in the same plane--showing the same scratch pattern-- you're done. The #6 will then be self-jigging for "flat", and the front of mouth will be pressing down on the shaving to keep it from lifting up. You don't actually want to keep going until the sole shows the same scratch pattern all over--because at that point, you can't tell whether it's crossed over into convexity. And it probably has. A few interior hollows are your guarantee it's not convex. And it's cheap corrugation, as many point out.
Wiley
Re: How flat is flat?
glh
>LN advertises on some of its bench planes that the soles are flatten to within .0015". Sounds flat enough to me.
Re: How flat is flat?
glh
>LN advertises on some of its bench planes that the soles are flatten to within .0015". Sounds flat enough to me.
With that much Guinness on board...
Greg Phillips, Berrien Springs, MI
>...who cares about flat?
Happy Thanksgiving!
Greg
I wish I had ten Guinesses!
Don Thompson - Cutler Ridge, Florida
>But I am trying to catch up with inferior brews!
Re: How flat is flat?
glh
>
Want discussion?
Wiley Horne--Glendora CA
>I'm a big fan of LN and LN quality, and love their planes. With respect to the flatness spec of 0.0015", you have to approach this with respect, because trying to achieve greater precision than 1.5 thousandths will require a reference tool that is accurate in the 'tenths'--and these are not that common.
That said, I think it depends on where the 1.5 thousandths departure from datum is, and how extensive it is. Most places it wouldn't hurt performance. [start rant] But I wouldn't want a concave condition extensive enough that the front of the mouth on my plane is hovering 1.5 thousandths over the work. Even if precision in the tenths is not where you're coming from, you still want the leading edge of the mouth hard down on the work for the plane to work nicely. You want the plane to be able to take a shaving at least as sheer as 0.001" (and LN's will go much finer), and 1.5 thou of air is pretty fat compared to the 1 thou (minus) shaving. [end rant]
Thank you, Wiley