Shoutout to my old Stanley plane finally working right

Been fighting with this No. 4 for like 6 months after I got it from a yard sale near Portland. Last Tuesday I finally set the chip breaker right and sharpened the iron at 30 degrees. Made my first full pass on a piece of oak without any chatter and it felt amazing. Anybody else have a tool they almost gave up on before it clicked?

2 comments

2 Comments

bettyfox21d ago

Did you try sharpening before you fixed the chip breaker? I did that backwards on an old chisel once and it made all the difference in the world.

king.wyatt20d ago

Get that chip breaker set right first, that's the main thing. I've messed with chisels where I spent an hour sharpening only to find the breaker was catching and making the edge chatter like crazy. Once you get the breaker flat and sitting tight against the back of the blade, then sharpen. I usually go with a 1000 grit stone then a 4000 or 6000 if I have time, but even just a good honing on a fine stone after the 1000 can make a world of difference. And don't forget to check the angle on the bevel too, a consistent 25 degrees works for me most of the time, but if you're doing softwood you might want a steeper angle. It's a pain when you do things backwards, but once you get the sequence down it all clicks.