# Fix warped plane blade?



## Scrape (Sep 8, 2010)

I recently acquired an old no. 6 plane in great shape except for one thing: a warped blade. Looked at from the edge, they blade is warped such that the chipbreaker only contacts the blade in the middle.

Is there a good way to un-warp this, or should I get a new blade?


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Set it flat on your bench, and tap it with a hammer to straighten. An advantage of thinner irons.  Can't hurt.


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## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

Anything is possible, but if you want the best results w/ the least effort get a new blade.


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## BrandonW (Apr 27, 2010)

Yes, but the advantage of thicker irons is that they're lest likely to bend on you in the first place. The only iron I've had this happen with for me, I hate to say it, Smitty, is a Stanley SW iron for a jack plane.


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

Stick the iron in the oven @450. Allow about 20-30 minutes for it to warm up. Pliers to grab it, place warpped end in metal vise as fast as you can, and clamp it until cold. Check for warp.

Note: the ONLY warpped irons I have seen were from a couple Block planes, and it was due to the fact they were clamped down too hard for too long in the plane.


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Send it me, Brandon, and I'll dispose of it for you….


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## crank49 (Apr 7, 2010)

I'd be afraid that heating to 450 for 20 minutes would anneal the blade somewhat.

Depends on the alloy and the type of heat treatment it had in manufacturing of course, 
but this could lower the hardness in the worse case, or relieve some residual stress from quenching in the best case.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

I agree with Michael.

I'd put it in a vice, with 2 shims on the outside and a small block in the middle of the high side. Clamp it so its just a little (and by a little, maybe even start with none) over bend back. Check it. Keep going a little further over bend until its straight. The over bend is because it will usually spring back some, and you never really know how much, so its trial and error.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

+1 to Don's suggestion.

I would only be heating the blade to intentionally anneal it - and only to reheat it later to harden it again , and then heat it once more to temper it. unless you know how to harden and temper, I would avoid the heating process all together.


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## waho6o9 (May 6, 2011)

2 3/8" (fits #4½, #5½, #6, #7) #BP238 $40.00 Buy Now 
http://www.hocktools.com/BP.htm

http://ibccan.com/industrial_blade_products.html 
If you want to read up on IBC blades, here's the info.

IBC blades can be had at Woodcraft locations and are named Pinnacle.
http://www.woodcraft.com/product/2080172/29848/matched-238-wide-chip-breaker-and-blade-set-for-lienielsen-handplanes-412-5-12-6-and-7.aspx
They seem to be on sale as well with a chip breaker, tough to beat that price.
They're machined well and match like crazy.


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## ZiCheng (May 13, 2012)

I have just begun to learn about metalworking, and I think annealing would only occur if you are heating the steel to its critical temperature, which for high carbon steel would be around 1450 Fahrenheit. Heating the metal to 450 may temper it and soften it, but it shouldn't soften it to the point that it would be considered annealed. I tempered a carving knife at around 550 Fahrenheit, to which point it should in theory be about 58 HRC, which is softer than plane irons typically are. Anyway, I have a warped plane iron too, so I may heat up my oven up to about 400 (which means in my case setting the dial to about 350), and hoping that if it is tempered, it would be tempered at around 60 HRC.

Here is a resource I used for my tempering temperatures: http://www.threeplanes.net/toolsteel.html


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

Had them same problem. I set on a chunk of softwood and used another 1×2 on the high spot and hit it with a hammer till it was straight enough to flatten the back. Didn't take long if you choose to take that direction. It's not that hard. So if you're a cheap hoarding bastard like me, this isn't a hard fix.


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