Thread: Shavings caught between chip breaker and iron

Any chance of a photo?

Hi Mark
if the chips are getting caught up then the chip breaker is not fitting flush ... end of story

if if the chip breaker is 100% straight and smooth and flat then it could be that the iron is bowed.
bowing of the iron can happen if you are using a sharpening angle jig that is over tightened and compresses the alignment slot

regards

Rob

Things to check...

1. As Tahlee said, is either the iron or the cap iron bowed? The iron needs to be pretty much perfectly straight (there's a bit of tolerance there), and the cap iron needs to be shaped such that there is clearance between the cap iron screw and the point at which the cap iron meets the back of the iron right behind the cutting edge.
2. Assuming that both your iron and cap iron are shaped properly, you need to make sure that the cap iron screw is tight enough. You should make it thumb tight and then hit it with a screwdriver every time you tighten it. A bit of oomph, but not so much you can't get it off or that the driver slips and gouges out the screwdriver slot.
3. The contact surface of the cap iron needs to be straight across, dead flat, and polished to the same grit (6000) to which the back of the iron is polished. Additionally, it needs to be done at such an angle that the FRONT of the contact surface makes contact first, right behind the cutting edge. To do this, put your stones on the edge of the bench, and hang the cap iron downward at maybe 30deg down from the bench top so that you're flattening it in such a way that it kind of dives downward to meet the back of the iron. Like an eagle's beak, with the very tip hitting first. I hope that makes sense. If not, let me know.
4. After doing this, you need to polish the top of the cap iron. This is the surface that the shaving will hit immediately after being shorn from the surface of the wood you're planing. This is done by holding the iron in your hand and drawing it toward yourself in a rolling motion so that you polish the top (convex) surface of the iron. Do this after step 3. The reason for this is that in polishing this final surface, you will create a burr, the same as if you're sharpening it (you kind of are). After going through all your grits, you want to LEAVE this burr on the cap iron. That will further ensure that you have good contact between the iron and the cap iron right at the very front of the cap iron.

If all of those are done to spec, then physics should be on your side and you shouldn't get a shaving between the two irons.

Hopefully that solves the problem. I've had that problem (among all of the others...) and it's a pain until you finally solve it.

Cheers,
Luke

Luke has pretty much laid it all out so just a clip to look at to put it all in the memory bank.
Cap iron is at about the 50 min mark but the rest is worth a look too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYyV6IUpsYk

Regards
John

All the above recommendations are important: flat and mating surfaces.

It is important that these surfaces continue to mate. The underside of the chipbreaker is shaped to have a relief, that is, filed at an angle so that the front makes contact with the back of the blade, which is also flat.

Now here is the thing - there is an issue with Stanley chipbreakers (and I know my friend David prefers them over those from LN and LV .. but I disagree for this reason ...): The steel used for these chipbreakers is thin and flexible. The chipbreaker will change shape when you tighten down the chipbreaker screw. Now here is the thing ... it will also change shape according to the amount of down pressure from the lever cap. Assuming that you get the filing done perfectly, too much lever cap pressure will push down on the rounded front section and force the steel to splay outward. This will then open the leading edge of the chipbreaker, and it will become a trap for shavings! Learn how much down force is needed.

I demonstrated this yesterday with a visitor. I was tuning up a #4, setting the chipbreaker close to the edge of the blade. It was a smidgeon too much, as evidenced by accordion-shaped (crinkly) shavings. I let off the pressure from the lever cap a touch, and the shavings changed to smooth (in other words, the chipbreaker effectively moved back).

Regards from Perth

Derek

@derekcohen I think you cracked it.
I've pulled the chipbreaker up a tad bit higher then usual, and made sure I wasn't over tightening.
I've been on the plane all morning and haven't had an issue.

Appreciate the comments from everyone. I'm taking it back to the stones tonight to resharpen and ensure they're true up against each other.

Originally Posted by derekcohen

....... The steel used for these chipbreakers is thin and flexible. The chipbreaker will change shape when you tighten down the chipbreaker screw. Now here is the thing ... it will also change shape according to the amount of down pressure from the lever cap. Assuming that you get the filing done perfectly, too much lever cap pressure will push down on the rounded front section and force the steel to splay outward. This will then open the leading edge of the chipbreaker, and it will become a trap for shavings! Learn how much down force is needed........

Derek, indeed, the older, thin cap irons are flexible, but I always thought it was a virtue rather than a vice. To avoid the splaying of the curve of the cap-iron opening a gap when the lever cap is tightened down, just make sure the cap iron is bevelled back enough that no amount of pressure could produce a gap. Of course, excessive lever cap pressure is undesirable anyway, not least because it makes adjustment difficult, but even 'normal' pressure pushes the front of the curve forward a little, no question.

With my old Stanleys & Records, I discovered very early on that it's really better to rely on the lever-cap pressure to keep the leading edge of the cap-iron sufficiently tight against the back of the blade to prevent shavings under-running. In my experience, it's quite common for there to be very little pressure on the front after tightening the screw on old planes. They probably didn't have a lot of freeboard to begin with, & all too often, folks with more enthusiasm than finesse have 'got at' them, & the leading edge is barely below the level of the flat part of the cap-iron (in fact, I once had to put a bit more bend in a cap-iron the get it to mate at all!).

Anyways, Mark's problem seems to have been solved, so all's well....

Cheers