Plane iron nicks and dings

The new iron may simply be crappy steel, or you may be honing to too acute of an edge angle. I usually grind 25-30 degree bevels on my bevel down bench plane irons. More acute will made the edge more fragile.

If it’s crappy steel, Hock makes great replacement irons for Stanley planes. Hock, Lie-Nielsen, and others, also offer improved chip breakers for Stanley bench planes.

-- - Please help keep Lumberjocks an enjoyable escape by refusing to participate in political discussions. Simply spit out the bait and ignore the thread...

HERE is an interesting link to basic Stanley plane info.

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Sounds like Barry has good info.

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

I honed it to a 25 degree angle no micro bevel. So I may need a better iron then…

-- mhawkins2 - why does my wife keep parking her car in my shop :)?

a 2×4 is not a suitable wood for handplaning. That make things worst.
Handplanes have been designed for fine work, to work with nice woods, so the beetr way to try them is on a piece of nice wood. Poplar is an inexpensive an nice wood.

-- Francisco Luna, San Francisco Bay Area.

Are you going to spend $40 in a Hock iron for a plane that probably costs half of that?

-- Francisco Luna, San Francisco Bay Area.

What does the cost of the plane have to do with the blade put in it?

So was it too much for me to put a Hock blade in a free plane? That’s inifinity difference in price so it must be bad.

The hock blades and chip breakers are very nice, I have a pair in my No 7.

I wasn’t aware that Stanley still sold the 4 1/2, are their new planes out finally?

Indeed, those are probably the best Irons in the market…
I was not clear with my statement, but that I wanted to say is, would have more sense to upgrade the plane instead of buying a nice iron to be placed in a not so nice plane….

-- Francisco Luna, San Francisco Bay Area.

mh2…

A micro bevel might help the edge durability, as it increases the effective angle. Since micro-bevels are free, it’s worth a shot before spending more money… <g>

I usually use micro-bevels, because it also saves time touching up the edge.

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you could sharpen a piece of brass with a micro bevel, dosen’t mean you will cut much wood with it.
Save yourself the frustration and just call the plane a loss. It is great to have something to compare to when you have a better working tool.
I once spent 3 days trying to get a new stanley plane to make decent shavings,lapped the sole, adjusted the mouth , reground the blade and filed the bed. honed the blade to every angle i had ever heard of.In the end i had a whole lot of metal filings and a plane i threw in the garbage. I did read a lot and learned much about the mechanics of planes during those three days.
the whole process made me very aware of what a quality tool is.
I wish you the best of luck, and better results than mine.

-- Junior -Quality is never an accident-it is the reward for the effort involved.

Did you use a grinder for the initial angle? You may have accidently burned the steel. The very thin leading edge can burn quickly. The factory could have burned a very short section. Then after polishing the blade there would be no indication of this. Try carefully grinding back 1/4 inch. Use a light touch and water to cool.
Hock blades are well worth the cost. After buying a blade and chip breaker, I had some problems with shavings wedging between the two. Mr. Hock was glad to talk over the phone and gave me several fixes. Now the two work great.

-- Tony, Sacramento

CESSNAPILOTBARRY THANK YOU I know this was discussed quite some time ago but that link to the stanley plane info was just what i was looking for. just got my first plane off of ebay and it needs some help.
and that has given me some great info to get started

-- Gordon,Sydney ,Australia..Metal for money..Sawdust for love!

Just to update the thread. I worked for some time to flatten the sole of the plane. I never could get it satisfactorily slat in the front of the mouth. I finally decided to take it to a local Woodcraft store and talk to their “sharpening guy” I compared the plane side by side to a new Wood River #4. The Wood River had a much thicker iron, a much better chip breaker, and better cap iron. Plus the sole was already flat. So I could either buy a new hock iron and chip breaker and keep working on the Stanley, or I could buy a new Wood River #4.

I decided not to keep throwing good money after bad. I bought the Wood River #4 and it works so much better.

Thanks for all of the advice.

P.S. I think my wife will be sending me to a class to build a Krenov Style wood plane in December. I can’t wait!

-- mhawkins2 - why does my wife keep parking her car in my shop :)?

so do you wish to sell the number 4?

-- "Not skilled enough to wipe jam on toast!"

To respond to Moai, I see the iron and the plane as separate tools. As I upgrade the plane I will move the high end blade to the new plane. I lable and set aside the original blades.

Hey Tony, /wave

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov