Have a question? Ask Woody!
Articles Forums Gallery Marketplace Videos

WoodCentral Forums

Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge

Have a question? Ask Woody!

slot too small

Posts

slot too small

#1

slot too small

Judy Gassett

>I am having problems with the LV A2 irons I bought as replacements for original blades on a Record #7 and a Footprint #4 with corregated sole. The LV irons are not wide enough to fit the lateral adjuster. These LV irons cost me over $60. I think the next step is to enarge the slot on the LV irons. Someone please tell me how to do this, how long it should take and what tool(s) to use. Several opinions would be appreciated. The LV irons are not off by a lot, just a tad, and it is impossible to check out the iron for a fit before ordering. I have replaced other original irons with LV A2 blades and they worked fine.

Judy Gassett

Vista, Ca

THX

Re: slot too small

#2

I would

Jim Reed @ Tallahassee

>use a Dremel with a stone bit. Wear a mask, use eye protection, don't let the steel get too hot to touch. Good luck.

Re: slot too small

#3

Re: slot too small

Rob Lee

>Hi Judy -

Some manufacturer's tolerances are all over the map - we've run into this one before...

Record planes can require a blade slot width anywhere from .440" to .465" (don't have the stats on Footprint).

If these are "users" - we recommend modifying the plane, and not the blades... it's much less work. You just have to take a wee bit of material off of the lateral adjustment lever.

Generally - Stanley planes are good at .450"...

Or, if you prefer - we can modify a couple of blades for you - just email me me off-line....

Cheers -

Rob

Re: slot too small

#4

Jim in Burlington Ont.

Re: slot too small

Jim in Burlington Ontario

>Just a few swipes with a file.

Re: slot too small

#5

Re: modify the adjust lever

Moses Yoder in White Pigeon, MI

>It seems to me it would definitely be easier to modify the lateral adjust lever with a file than to modify the blade.

Re: slot too small

#6

Re: reason for variation?

paul womack

>Record planes can require a blade slot width anywhere from .440" to .465"

Curious, since I though Record were pretty good quality.

Is this a manufacturinig tolerance issue, or a changing over time issue?

I understand that it's irrelevant to the fit of a "stock" blade, of course. I was just curious as to the reason for the variation.

BugBear

Re: slot too small

#7

Re: slot too small

Jerry Nicholson

>I used a Dremel MotoTool with a 1 inch diameter abrasive disk. The disks come several to a package and you will need the arbor to mount them. These disks are really thin and brittle.so be sure to wear eye protection. I just ran the disk up and down the slot - both sides - until it would fit on the Stanley that I wanted to use it on. It took about 20 minutes. I am about ready to buy a couple more Lee Valley blades and I will do the same thing to them. There seems to be a lot of variation on the adjuster width on the old Stanleys and newer planes seem have a slightly narrower adjuster.

Jerry

Re: slot too small

#8

Re: reason for variation?

Rob Lee

>Paul -

It's really not a quality issue - as adjuster's have a lot of "slop" in them by nature...for most manufacturers, I'd doubt they even had a tolerance.

We could just as easily make the slot "oversize" by another .020" to suit the range of variation across all makes...

As we continue with expanding our line of replacement blades, we'll most likely move to a .460" slot anyway.....

Cheers -

Rob

👍 This page answered my questions

Your vote helps other woodworkers quickly find the answers and techniques that actually work in the shop.