I am new to planes and I broke one today. Of coarse my first reaction
was "What a piece of crap!", but after a little reflection maybe I was
at fault for this one.

When I got the plane, I take it apart and check for the tightness of
the frog screws. They were loose, so I tightened them up. The cap
iron wasn't to close to the end of the iron, so I moved it. Then I put
the iron back in, put the cap iron and lever cap on. The lever on the
lever cap seemed a little loose so I turned the lever cap screw in
about a half a turn. Then the the lever seem to snap good and tight.
Then I adjusted the iron's angle by moving the lateral adjustment lever
and it breaks just below the pivot point.

Questions:
- How tight should I make the lever cap?
- Do you make lateral adjustments with the lever cap engaged, or do
you have to disengage it first?
- Do you make iron depth of cut adjustments with the lever cap
engaged, or do you have to disengage it?

I would think that the adjustments could be made with the lever cap
snapped on, but maybe I am wrong.

It also seems like the lateral adjustment lever should be able to
handle a little more force than what I applied to it.

Thanks for all your help,

DJS

It also seems like the lateral adjustment lever should be able to
handle a little more force than what I applied to it.

You didn't do anything wrong. Lateral and depth are adjusted with the
lever cap snapped.
Bring it back to where you bought it.

Mitch

Thanks Mitch