Making custom cutters

Re: Making custom cutters

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>I made a hollow cutter from a 3/4" grooving iron for my hollow base, and it fit fine.

Suggestion: put the cutter you're thinking about modifying in your 45. Using the little knurled depth-setting wheel, crank that cutter out of the sole as far as it will go. Scribe where it leaves the bottom of the skate. Remove and compare with the profile you want. If there's enough meat left that you can grind the profile and still have SOME depth adjustment left, you should be fine.

Re: Making custom cutters

William Duffield, on the Cohansey

>What little knurled depth-setting wheel? Mine doesn't have one of those :^)

Re: Making custom cutters

Jim Reed @ Tallahassee

>Old timers did it all the time. If you have just a small piece of moulding to do, the cutter does not have to be heat treated--just keep it sharp enough to finish the job. Also note that #45 cutters do not have to fit into the adjuster to work properly. The adjuster has alot of backlash anyway. Good luck with your project.

Well then,

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>you just shove it down until you decide to stop.

Smarty.

Re: Well then,

William Duffield, on the Cohansey

>�or tap it with a hammer, or set it about right, then tap the plane itself, then tighten the blade locking mechanism.

In any case, it works about the same with the oldest #45s (type1 through type 4, 1884-1892) as with other "non-adjustable" planes. These were not equipped with depth adjusters, and the cutters didn't have the notch in the side to engage the cutter.

Re: Making custom cutters

MarkSmith

>Thanks for the tips. I didn't want to splurge on a second set of cutters without knowing whether the idea had merit.

Mark