Two weeks without a blog?? Does this mean I have to hand in my Blogger badge?? ;)
The day job has been taking me across the country again - this means two things. One, I'm not at home (so no workshop), and two, when I DO get home I'm exhausted. But you can't keep a good man down......
So here is the next step in my hand plane experiments. A smoother with a cap iron instead of a wedge.
Yes, I have just about mastered the wedge so it was about time to give the cap iron a go. I fitted one to the metal thumb plane I made a little while ago so it was not exactly difficult. I did find that you need an extraordinary amount of precision when drilling the holes for the cross pin - any error makes for a uneven contact with the iron, giving all sorts of headaches.
But I was very impressed with the rigidity of the thing once tightened up. It only takes a small amount of pressure to lock everything down (definitely no twisting away on the knob!!!) And it works impeccably - I was shocked (and disappointed) at how well it performed compared to the amount of work that goes into making a wedged plane. Hum.......
So, the next plane is going to be another toted plane with a cap iron. And maybe an adjuster? Who knows...... ;)
Cheers
Philly
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