Set screws for lateral adjustment

Re: Set screws for lateral adjustment

Rob Lee

>Brent -

The set screws aren't there to provide an adjustment, per se, but to restrain lateral movement, and to provide a low pivot for a lateral adjustment mechanism further up the blade (if there is one).

Cheers -

Rob

Re: Set screws for lateral adjustment

bill tindal, E.TN

>they will be part of the next planes I build. Of course you can make do without them.

Re: Set screws for lateral adjustment

Ed Mulligan, Cape Cod

>I have the LV LA smoother with the screws. They work well for fine tuning the iron projection.

Ed

Not

Adam Cherubini

>I have a LV block plane with these things. I keep the blade on this plane dead straight. If I wanted to use a shooting board for miter work or some such, I would think the set screws would come in handy for blade alignment.

Short of that, what would an example be of an operation that required accurate lateral adjustment?

- surface planes should have cambered blades, so lateral adjustment is irrelevant.

- a jointer plane used for match planing wouldn't need a precise shaving across the cut.

- fitting planes like rabbets, dadoes, fillesters and the like wouldn't benefit particularly either. It happens to me that these planes - especially the fillester takes and uneven shaving and this must be compensated for. But that's no big deal.

I think guys use these for smoothing operations (with all sorts of different planes) in which their blades are taking super thin shavings and their blades aren't cambered. If that's what you're into that's great. But I get the sense that wooden planes, whose blades are held with a wedge, just won't give the precise adjustment needed to work this way. Since they offer an alternate method to achieve simialr results (the cambered blade) it seems silly to seek this feature.

In a few days time, I'm going to post some stuff on my blog page about surface prep. In the last few years, I've been doing more and more work with my hands flat on the top of my planes i.e. not holding their totes like a pistol. If you want to experiment, try focusing your wooden plane making on the older styles of totes that were little more than hooks. Anymore, I prefer these and find the bailey totes restrictive. Piece this together with what you see on my blog next week. I think this is an area that needs more attention.

Adam

Re: Set screws for lateral adjustment

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>I don't see the point in most wooden planes since normally the blade is fit precisely to the abutments; However, for wooden planes, like plows, which handle multiple width blades, they may help.

Pam

Re: Set screws for lateral adjustment

David Charlesworth

>I am very dubious about these.

One more thing to get lost/rusted up in the future.

Why not a relatively close fit on width of throat to blade width?

David

Re: Set screws for lateral adjustment

Wiley Horne

>Agree. Those screws are solving a problem that I never knew existed, in either Japanese planes, C&W planes, molding planes, adjusterless infills, or any other planes.

Plus, after I freshly sharpen a blade, the last thing I want is to feel that edge scrape against metal screws down in the throat as I reset the blade.

Wiley

Re: Set screws for lateral adjustment

Tom Colligan

>I've set them on my Knight planes (that have them) and on the LV planes and have never needed to go back to them. It is a worthwhile feature.

(Brent, your email address listed isn't working.)

Re: Set screws for lateral adjustment

Adam Cherubini

>DC,

I think the advantage of a set screw over a tight fit is that the honing of the blade needn't play a role in its adjustment. Those little set screws buy manufacturing and subsequent sharpening a little forgiveness. (and that's something we all need more of)

In my view, they are an excellent idea, just not needed for most of my work. But for the one job where you might want that straight blade and perfectly consistent shaving AND YOU CAN'T HONE LIKE DAVID CHARLESWORTH, then I would think they would come in handy!

Adam

Re: Set screws for lateral adjustment

Paul Erickson

>I have retrofitted most of my handplanes with them, and they are great. And the notion that they can cause a problem when putting the blade back in has NEVER happened in my experience. An excellent idea easily implimented.

cheers, Paul

AND YOU CAN'T HONE LIKE DAVID CHARLESWORTH,

Joe Rogers, Northern Virginia

>Well Adam...that blanket covers a lot of us:-)JR

Your wooden handplanes, too?

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>

Re: Your wooden handplanes, too?

Paul Erickson

>Hi Pam,

No, just my metal bodied planes. Sorry for not making the distinction.

cheers, Paul

Re: Set screws for lateral adjustment

David Charlesworth

>Adam,

Both you and Wiley have said you dont need them for most of your work, there is usually plenty of lateral adjust available at the top end of a bench plane blade.

One place where they might have a use is in the shoulder plane family?

I don't have any magical honing ability, just the application of simple logic and a honing guide. (Also rigorous back preparation on chisels). I can teach this to almost anyone in one or two days.

The skills I admire are the freehand ones demonstrated by people like Harrellson and the Japanese masters, which must have taken a while to perfect.

David

Re: AND YOU CAN'T HONE LIKE DAVID CHARLESWORTH,

Adam Cherubini

>Yeah I agree. The guy is phenomenal and what's cooler is he participates here! I imagine the internet being the internet that there's a rock guitar forum, but do you think Eddie Van Halen is a regular contributor? We don't know how lucky we are.

Adam

Re: Your wooden handplanes, too?

Wiley Horne

>Thanks, Pam, for the good catch. I was referring only to wooden planes, not metal planes. Should have made that distinction. In the metal plane, you are looking directly at the bottom of the throat--it's all exposed. In the wooden plane, it's dark down there and blade-setting goes by feel. That said, I regret my earlier overstatement, because the grub screws needn't do any harm--if you don't want to use them, just back them out a bit.

Thanks, Wiley

Re: Your wooden handplanes, too?

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>I thought I had established this as a wooden plane subthread with my first message, but these things get carried away and mashed up. Especially with you, Adam, and David participating since everyone wants to talk with you guys. :)

Pam

Participation...

Joe Rogers, Northern Virginia

>here by published woodworkers and top quality tool makers makes this forum a must read. It seems most posters of all fame levels check their egos at the door too! It's really rewarding here.JR

Re: Set screws for lateral adjustment

steve knight

>I use them because there is 1/4" of space on each side of the iron. the wedge slots make the gap so the setscrews let you drop the iron into the plane and it is centered without effort. it just makes the plane easier to setup faster. is that a bad thing? just because old planes never had them does not mean they are a bad idea.

by all means if you want to have to work to get the iron centered in the body by all means do so. but don't know taking care of that simple task is a bad thing. I think they are a good inovation and I just wish I had thought of it.

Re: Set screws for lateral adjustment

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>Steve, I've been wondering all day how you attach the setscrews in wooden planes.

I agree, they're not bad, but in the Japanese planes I use and/or make the blade is tight to the abutments, simply no room.

Pam

Re: Set screws for lateral adjustment

steve knight

>I agree japanese planes don't need them.

I jsut drill a 1/8" hole then I tap the hole for a 8-32 setscrew. since you don't play with them much it works pretty well.

Thanks.

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

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