Ken wrote:

Affirmative on the spring thing. I also replaced the standard
iron with a LV replacement. It makes very nice wispy shavings on
poplar/cherry/mahogany. Birch is another story, way to much chipout.
Can a #4 stanley bailey, even with a narrow mouth setting, and a
scary sharp blade be expected to handle birch. Is a more refined
technique required ?

Dunno. Someone with more time in the saddle than I have might do better. I
have a #4 that I tuned to take ultra whispies, and I never have managed to
get satisfactory results on a piece of birch I bought. The grain is too
tangly, and it's tearout junction. My power jointer leaves a better finish
on this wood than that plane.

I think this is what scrapers were invented for. I haven't tried scrapers
on it yet.

Also, maybe one of Steve Knight's magical smoothers might tame it.

Speaking of plane colours, I have a blue # 4,
which I guess isn't very old and a wine coloured # 4 which has no
adjustment screw on the frog. I wonder when and why Stanley made a #4
with no frog adjustment screw??.

I don't think either one of these is very old, but that probably doesn't
have that much to do with it. I have two #4s. One is modern, and one is
right around a hundred years old. The old one is amazingly better than the
new one, but neither one of them can tame this stupid birch. Not in *my*
hands anyway.

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