Cheap stanley block plane

I have a Stanley that looks something like that one. I bought mine in a garage sale for $1 and I got a good deal on mine. I am not sure it is the same as yours though. I don’t have any problems with mine.

I have several “vintage” planes but have looked at the “new” 220 at Lowes.
The ‘durable epoxy coating’ could be giving you problems. Where the iron cap or chip breaker meets the blade, remove the “durable epoxy” coating. Adjust tension on the cap screw, then when you turn the lock lever, you should have the proper tension on the blade and still adjust cut depth.

-- Sawdust and shavings are therapeutic

You have to fiddle with the screw to find the sweet spot where
the lever holds the iron tight but not too tight…. too tight and
the iron bows up and chatters in the cut. After you’ve found
the spot (less than 1/8th of a turn range sometimes) you
can put some loctite on the screw.

I have this plane. It is laying under the back seat of my truck as I type this. I bought it to shave a few sticking doors at some properties.. I have the same problem with adjustments.

KsSlim: Good point…....I’ll try removing the epoxy and see what happens.

What Loren said. Mine is from the 90’s and works just fine, makes whisper thin shavings and does end grain ok. I don’t know if the quality of steel or machining is the same today though.

Ksslim’s got it nailed. Ive got the english version of this plane and the underside of the cap has that black paint / epoxy on it. Sand it off and you’ll get a nice tight fit that will hold much better.

-- "there aren’t many hand tools as awe-inspiring as the #8 jointer. I mean, it just reeks of cast iron heft and hubris" - Smitty