Thread: Stanley Bench Planes Replacement Blade Bulk Order

Originally Posted by switt775

If we drop the cap irons this would have a big effect on the amount of steel required. It would almost certainly mean no 2nd sheet, but many of those on the 2nd sheet would no doubt now fit onto the 1st sheet.

This is not the case, the cap irons would be made from mild steel that would be supplied by the laser cut and dropping the cap irons would have no effect on the plane blades.

Originally Posted by thumbsucker

This is not the case, the cap irons would be made from mild steel that would be supplied by the laser cut and dropping the cap irons would have no effect on the plane blades.

Of course that makes sense. Don't need to create a cutting edge, so don't need the same grade of steel.

Originally Posted by silentC

I assumed you'd be providing a screw with the cap iron. If that's not the case, then it is an issue. You will probably have a hard time locating a tap with the correct thread and different planes will probably have different threads. I don't think it's feasible to expect to be able to use the original screw with the new cap iron in all cases.

I'm not fussed about the new cap irons myself, so I'm happy to drop them from my order. It's the sort of thing you could make yourself easily enough.

Originally Posted by thumbsucker

Getting a supplier for the screw will be a challenge, the challenge would also be the thread count even if we got a screw and even if the cap iron is fitted perfectly. If the thread was wrong the lever cap would be useless. Because the cap iron and screw seems to be mated to the plane by the original maker and the their seems to be such a large variation in the dimensions.

Even using the dimensions used by Hock cap iron is problematic as different people seem to be getting different dimensions for the same measurements. So either people are measuring differently or Hock uses different or changes his dimensions between runs of lever caps.

Their has been a few PM's and email expressing concerns about the dimensions of the lever cap. I am therefore hesitant to commit to cap irons. I will wait to see what Derek Says about what level if any an after market cap iron would have on the performance of the plane.

TS
I'm with Silent on the issue of including Cap Irons in the order

an after market cap iron may make a difference to a plane's performance (I don't really know),
I've got three ASW blades all of which I use with the plane's original cap iron.
When I swap blades (say the square edge one for a scrub blade in my #6) I also swap the cap iron over
I haven't as yet seen a need to keep spare blades fitted with a spare cap iron

Now, a cap iron is useless unless it comes with a tapped hole and screw and I expect that tapping the hole and making the screw will not be a cheap process — so I'm quite comfortable with there being no cap irons in this order



ian

I for one would be disappointed if the cap irons were not included. As with a lot of people on these forums, the blades I'm looking to replace are old and rusty and so too are the cap irons. The plane won't have the same visual appeal if I continued to use the old cap iron, even with the rust cleaned off. I'll leave it to others to assess the difference in performance.

That said, I can live with that if others pull out of the cap iron order.

As far as cost goes, it would be interesting to compare the cost of making our own vs. purchasing them from Hock - note that Hock's come with a screw and I assume are threaded to be interchangeable with Stanley (I'll check). Although this interchangeability is not essential, it would be useful should a screw ever get lost.

I have done a lot of posting on this thread regarding the dimensions of the cap irons, and tried to explain away some misconceptions that were being put forward (including through the use of photographs). I'm annoyed that that may have been a wasted effort, because it seems as thought the doubters and knockers may have prevailed.

While I understand that there is no guarantee the chipbreakers will work in every single plane, my original point was that the chipbreaker measurements were by and large, not critical except for a couple of key ones which we have identified needed to be reasonably accurate. Many of the concerns raised have been misplaced - e.g the concern that the blades would be too thick to allow the yoke to engage with the chipbreakers is not related to the chipbreaker at all, but rather, it is related to using a thicker blade than the plane is originally designed for. That issue will remain irrespective of which chipbreaker is used.

I don't agree that there is discrepancy between the Hock measurements that people have put forward, because the posts I've seen have agreed with mine, and if there is discrepancy between any of my measurements of a Hock blade and chipbreaker and someone else's, I haven't been asked to check...

However, I acknowledge I might be fighting the tide here, so continuing to make these comments might be pointless

The plane won't have the same visual appeal if I continued to use the old cap iron

Visual appeal!! You shouldn't be staring at the front of your planes while you're using them. Or do you mean when it's sitting on the shelf?

Certainly not a criterion for me, but whatever floats your boat.

So why not offer the cap irons with the same proviso: buy in the knowledge that your cap screw may not fit. You'll have to identify the thread and the hole size though. Mine seems to be 5/16" 18 TPI.

I think I'll go without though.

Originally Posted by silentC

Visual appeal!! You shouldn't be staring at the front of your planes while you're using them. Or do you mean when it's sitting on the shelf?

Certainly not a criterion for me, but whatever floats your boat.

So why not offer the cap irons with the same proviso: buy in the knowledge that your cap screw may not fit. You'll have to identify the thread and the hole size though. Mine seems to be 5/16" 18 TPI.

I think I'll go without though.

you may have overlooked the next point - I'm not prepared to comment on the performance difference because I don't have the experience in that department, and I'm unaware of any testing that may have been done that I could reference.

As for visuals, there are a lot of people on these forums that spend hours cleaning and polishing up their old planes - they take pride in their tools. I'm not alone in this regard.

No I didn't overlook it. I just found the 'visual appeal' remark amusing. Don't get your nose out of joint. If it's important to you to have a new cap iron and TS decides not to provide them because of the difficulties (real or perceived) then you can always buy a Hock one. If the cost of this exercise increases in order to satisfy the tool polishers then I for one will pull out.

sure, agreed. I also agree that the issue may boil down to cost.

If my nose is out of joint its because I feel as though I'm presenting facts, backed by research and evidence, and that is being rebutted by comments that simply aren't true.

I've got real concerns about the paring chisels being thick enough to hold up to stress, but I don't write in to say 'oooh gee they seem to thin lets not order them' because (a) I trust other people who write in and note, for example, that its the same thickness as used by other manufacturers and (b) I know better than to offer unsubstantiated opinion.

anyway

TS,

With this recent cap iron discussion, a thought came to my mind. If you are cutting the cap irons from the same sheet as the blades, then will it help for me to half the number of cap irons I am ordering? So instead of getting a cap iron for both the No.7 blades I've ordered, I'll take one. Then you might have more space for others on the first sheet.

I'll wait for your response before confirming changes in my order.

Cheers,
Mark

Mark

Originally Posted by thumbsucker

This is not the case, the cap irons would be made from mild steel that would be supplied by the laser cutters and dropping the cap irons would have no effect on the plane blades.

Originally Posted by thumbsucker

This is not the case, the cap irons would be made from mild steel that would be supplied by the laser cut and dropping the cap irons would have no effect on the plane blades.

Originally Posted by Theodor

TS,

If you are cutting the cap irons from the same sheet as the blades, then will it help for me to half the number of cap irons I am ordering?
Mark

Different sheet/material Mark.

Originally Posted by silentC

Visual appeal!! You shouldn't be staring at the front of your planes while you're using them. Or do you mean when it's sitting on the shelf?

Certainly not a criterion for me, but whatever floats your boat.

So why not offer the cap irons with the same proviso: buy in the knowledge that your cap screw may not fit. You'll have to identify the thread and the hole size though. Mine seems to be 5/16" 18 TPI.

I think I'll go without though.

Can't we tap them for current Stanley cap Iron screw as they are available as a spare part ? Six dollars and we will all know that it fits
http://www.thewoodworks.com.au/produ...LEY/S3013.html
hope this helps?
Ian

Hi All,

For what its worth, I have a Paul williams Iron 3mm thick in a 1930s vintage stanley #4. At 3mm thick it only just allows proper engagement with the adjuster yoke. I have also slightly bent down the edges of the slot in the cap iron with some careful hammering, and the plane works fine.

While these plane irons will be about 0.5mm less than Pauls at 2.5mm thick, it will be hard to know how well the adjuster will engage until you get them. Having said that, I am confident I can get them to work fine in my planes, and with the blades that little thinner than the 3mm one I have, I envisage they will be ok. There must be others out there who have some thick plane irons who can also comment.

Regards,
Steve

Originally Posted by silentC

If the cost of this exercise increases in order to satisfy the tool polishers then I for one will pull out.

I understand what camp you are coming from (I'm on the fence myself).. but comments like that are just plain silly.

order your blades without breakers and leave it at that

Personally I would like to see the breakers go ahead, my preference would be un-tapped.. I suspect that my local bolt specialist will be able to source something nice a lot cheaper than $6
I would assume that the stanley screw is an odd thread like every other screw on their planes so tapping for the originals will be a pain (correct me if I'm wrong here)