Where to start on LV iron flattening

Re: Where to start on LV iron flattening

Rob Lee

>Jim -

Our January catalogue (should be in the mail now) has the following statement in it :

We now lap our Veritas A2 and O1 plane blades* on the face (non-bevel side) to a flatness tolerance of +/- .0002" or better over the working surface, and with an average roughness surface finish of 5 microinches (0.000005�) or better. On our regular and bevel up plane blades and regular spokeshave and pullshave blades, the working surface is the section of the face that extends from about an 1/8� below the bottom of the screw slot to the cutting edge; on shoulder and bullnose plane blades, it is the widest section of the face from the shoulder to the cutting edge. Average roughness (Ra) measures the height variations in the surface over a given area and then provides an average roughness value to represent the surface finish - the lower the value, the better the finish. While the blade faces are both smooth and true, they can still benefit from final polishing. You will also still need to hone the intersecting bevel.

Really - there isn't much else that the majority of people will be able to do with shop equipment to get blades any flatter than they now come...

As far as surface finish goes - starting with 4000 grit and up should be just fine...

Cheers -

Rob

Re: Where to start on LV iron flattening *LINK*

mikew

>Hi Jim,

Rob's response is great--but a picture and a story on PopWood's blog is--pardon me Rob--better...

Take care, Mike




PopWood Blog on this process of flattening

That's neat, but I'm confused... hijack

Joe in a Cleveland suburb

>I'd like to add to Jim's question. Sorry if I'm hijacking your thread Jim.

Santa brought me a LV BU Smoother. I love it. Don't know how to use it, but I love it. :) I had the same question in my mind as Jim. Rob's post and the others to the blog were interesting but left me with a question or two.

Did my smoother come with the iron (A2) that was lapped as shown in Chris' blog? Secondly, should I try flattening the sole?

I probably already totally hosed up the bevel trying to sharpen it. Seems to work nicely though. For my first time use I had the mouth closed down to about the width of a piece of paper and ended up getting a little tear out on some figured walnut. No matter the direction of planing.

So how much, and what kind, of work should go into setting up a new LV plane and iron?

Sure is a nice plane. Nice feel to it too. Kinda hate getting it dirty. My wife asked me what it's used for, told her I didn't know other than to set it on the shelf and look at it. Just Kidding. Kinda.

Thanks.

Joe

Re: Where to start on LV iron flattening

Stephen Wiseman

>I ask Paul Sellers of Heritage Village the same thing and he, as of course Rob, is right. You really cannot improve their flatness now, THANKS ROB! I suggest you use David Charlesworth's "Ruler Trick" just to polish the fraction of a millimeter on the back and your done! The new LN blade I recieved looked like they are hand flattening the back more than before but it still took some work, though not much (maybe 5-10 min.) on an 800 waterstone. Rob, to tell if he got the new blade, are they matt looking on the backs or were they before? To me the new LV irons look like an iron flattened on an 800 waterstonebefore one polishing them.

Stephen

Thanks to all

Jim in Burlington On

>I'll give it a go tonight and let you know.

Re: Where to start on LV iron flattening

Chris Scholz

>Cool ring design.

Re: That's neat, but I'm confused... hijack

Jerry Nicholson

>Flattening soles is for old and/or cheap planes. If your LV isn't flat, send it back and get one that is. Your tearout might be due to using the low angle blade where you should be using a higher angle. When I got my bevel up smoother, I also bought the optional blades to provide a 50 degree and 60 degree angle. I use 50 degrees for most general smoothing although you would want to use 38 degrees (25 degree bevel) for end grain and possibly soft wood. If you read too many articles and posts about tuning planes, you can tend to overwork the problem. DAMHIKT!

Jerry

Re: Where to start on LV iron flattening

Rob Lee

>Hi Stephen -

The lapped blades all look matte grey.... the random scratch pattern tends to diffuse light.

Cheers -

Rob

Re: Where to start on LV iron flattening

Stephen Wiseman

>Thanks Rob,

They ARE flat! Nice job!

Re: Where to start on LV iron flattening

Wendell @ Murphy, Tx

>Rob,

Are you applying the flattening process to all the type of plane blades you make including the Stanley & Record replacement blades?

Wendell