On Wed, 15 Sep 2004 18:50:23 GMT, "U-CDK_CHARLES\\Charles" "Charles
wrote:
I have the cap iron set back the width of a screwdriver tip--this should
probably be set closer, it's closer to 1/16th than 1/32nd.
It all depends. You don't tune planes, you tune them _for_ something.
What are you doing with this thing ? Smoother ? Smoother for gnarly
stuff ? Bench plane ? Scrub plane ?
Baileys aren't accurate enough you can use them for everything,
flipping from one to the other with a small twist of the adjuster.
They can perform well, but you're best leaving them set for one task.
I'm not sure about the frog adjustment.
Set it as far back as it _should_ go, which is actually as far
_forward_ as it looks like it ought to go. The frog edge should be
aligned with the mouth edge.
If you set the frog further back, the risk is that the iron only rests
on the mouth edge and is unsupported by the frog. There's no point in
putting the frog further back. With a thin sole and a long bevel you
_might_ get away with it, but generally you should avoid it.
Now with the frog right back, do a trial assembly with the iron etc.
This will give you some idea of what the max mouth width is. A Bailey
won't always adjust to a zero mouth (the cap iron hits first), but it
should go small enough for most purposes. You can chamfer off the
front edge of the mouth if needed (ON A USER PLANE).
You may also be trying to fit a better iron, like a Clifton / Victor.
These are much thicker, and the best irons around for bench planes
based on Baileys. In this case it's almost guaranteed that the iron
won't fit the mouth, no matter where the frog sits. Your only option
is to file the mouth open a little (ON A USER PLANE).
When mouth filing, I begin (if this will be enough) by filing the
front edge to a chamfer to clear the cap iron and improve chip
clearance. I then file the rear edge to roughly match the frog angle,
if this will improve the use of the frog travel. If this isn't enough
(and it won't be for a Clifton iron) then I start opening the mouth up
from the front edge. Scribe a square line across the mouth, slight
ahead (1/2mm) of the existing mouth. Wince in horror at the inaccuracy
of the cast mouth! File to this line, using a file with two safe
edges.
Finally, it's tending to dig in. Is there any good way to reduce the
backlash in the iron adjuster? I'm finding it difficult to strike the
best balance between too shallow and too deep a cut.
Backlash comes from two places, lash in the nut and lash where the
fork enters the iron. It's basically an inaccurate design, so swap it
for a Norris !
There have been zero-backlash multipart nuts, which might sell well
enough if some enterprising toolshop were to recreate them as add-ons
for Stanleys.
http://www.supertool.com/etcetera/deadends/bailey.htm
Mainly though, it's a question of technique. The screw holding down
the cap iron is a crucial adjustment, because it controls the friction
that locates the iron (and it's _only_ this friction that holds it).
Think of the adjusting fork as a "poke" to shift the iron along in
either direction, not as the nut representing the actual position of
the iron.
If you really have dig-in problems, think about the crowning, corners
and the overall sharpness of the iron.
--
Smert' spamionam