Thread: ThumbSuckers Blades IRL !

Originally Posted by Basilg

Helmut

I have a Bedrock 05 1/2 with a 2 1/4 " blade and the dimension on the Cap iron is 95mm from the end to the bottom of the slot.

Regards

Thank you Basil

The critical dimension moves from 92 mm @ 1 3/4", then 95 mm @ 2", then 98 mm for a 2 3/8", then 104 mm for a 2 5/8" blade. The length seems to increase by about 3 mm every time the blade jumps up one size.

• #3 - 89, 89.9, 90.0, 89.4, 89.5, 89.5 - Average = 89.55 mm (Round up plus 2 mm == 92 mm)
• #5 1/4 - 89.5, 89.5 - Average = 89.5 mm (Round up plus 2 mm == 92 mm)
• ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  
• #4 - 91.5, 92.8, 92.9, 93 - Average = 92.55 mm (Round up plus 2 mm == 95 mm)
• #5 - 91, 92.8, 92.9 - Average = 92.23333333333 mm (Round up plus 2 mm == 95 mm)
• ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  
• #4 1/2 - 95 - Average = 95 mm (Round up plus 2 mm == 97 mm)
• #5 1/2 - 96, 95 - Average = 95.5 mm (Round up plus 2 mm == 98 mm)
• #6 - 96, 95.7, 96.2, 96.3 - Average = 96.05 mm (Round up plus 2 mm == 98 mm)
• #7 - 95, 95.7, 96.2, 96.3 - Average = 95.8 mm (Round up plus 2 mm == 98 mm)
• ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
• #8 - 101, 103.5, 102 - Average = 102.16667 mm (Round up plus 2 mm == 104 mm)

[/QUOTE]

My blades have arrived and they do look good. TS and DJ, many thanks for seeing it all the way through, from concept to final product delivered.

Straight into the shed for a trial fit, and it looks like I will need to open up the mouth by about 0.5mm or so on all three english made stanleys. I have shifted the frogs all the way back, but this did not help.

I do not see any particular problem with filing the mouth out, but should I be doing this on the front or the rear of the mouth slot? I think that at the back should be safer as the front of the mouth is the business end ahead of the blade, right? There is plenty of adjustment when I move the frog back, so I am thinking of filing the back of the mouth out at the same angle as the frog. Is this the way to go? Any advice would be much appreciated. Cheers.

Originally Posted by GoGuppy

should I be doing this on the front or the rear of the mouth slot?

The front of the mouth, is the way to go. I am not sure if the filling the back will do the trick. Give it a try and get back to us.

My blades arrived..

I like to thank everyone involved in getting these blades designed, made and posted to me, in particular Helmut and DJ timbers

Nicely made, nice grinding ---> I'm over the moon.

My no-name number 3 took the blade as it was made for it.
#4 needs a bit of filing, I'll try at the back of the mouth first
#5 needed some little filing at the back of the mouth after moving the frog backwards
US #6 just moved the frog backwards
#7 Falcon, no probs

Observation: The back irons do fit or are a bit short for the wider models

my critical measurements....
#4 92mm
#41/2 96.2mm
#5 92.9 mm
#6 96.6mm
#7 Falcon 95mm

Hope this feedback helps for the next batch

Kind regards
Axel

Helmut

I bought a couple of 2 1/4" blades from Ian as he wanted to replace these with a different size. I have now fitted one of these to a Bedrock 05 1/2 and thought you & perhaps others would be interested, in what I did to get a better fit.
As received, the front edge of the chipbreaker had to be fitted 7mm back from the cutting edge of the blade, to permit the yoke to engage and be able to adjust the blade, but at that position the blade was only just cutting and could not be extended any further with the back of the chipbreaker slot sitting on the back of the yoke. I then filed 3mm of the back of the chipbreaker slot, sharpened the edge on the chipbreaker and bent this so that the edge sat nicely on the back of the blade, I then moved the chipbreaker down to within 0.5 mm or so of the cutting edge of the blade, & checked that I could make a reasonable cut.

I then decided to place a 3mm steel insert in the front of the slot in the chipbreaker to take up the slack I had created by filing the back. The insert is currently an interference fit as I wanted to make sure that all was OK before I braze this in place.

The plane is now cutting Fairy Dust & I am thinking of fitting a small oil pump powered by a crank attached to my elbow so I can apply a finish and burnish this as I Plane.

Regards

Good to hear, that the blade is working is well. Interesting solution for the short cap iron.

Thanks Axe for the critical dimensions.

The critical dimension moves from 92 mm @ 1 3/4", then 95 mm @ 2", then 98 mm for a 2 3/8", then 104 mm for a 2 5/8" blade. The cap irons increases by about 3 mm every time the blade jumps up one size.

• #3 - 89, 89.9, 90.0, 89.4, 89.5, 89.5 - Average = 89.55 mm (Round up plus 2 mm == 92 mm)
• #5 1/4 - 89.5, 89.5 - Average = 89.5 mm (Round up plus 2 mm == 92 mm)
• ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
• #4 - 91.5, 92.8, 92.9, 93, 92 - Average = 92.44 mm (Round up plus 2 mm == 95 mm)
• #5 - 91, 92.8, 92.9, 92.9 - Average = 92.23333333333 mm (Round up plus 2 mm == 95 mm)
• ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
• #4 1/2 - 95, 96.2 - Average = 95.6 mm (Round up plus 2 mm == 98 mm)
• #5 1/2 - 96, 95 - Average = 95.5 mm (Round up plus 2 mm == 98 mm)
• #6 - 96, 95.7, 96.2, 96.3, 96.6 - Average = 96.16 mm (Round up plus 2 mm == 98 mm)
• #7 - 95, 95.7, 96.2, 96.3, 95 - Average = 95.64 mm (Round up plus 2 mm == 98 mm)
• ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
• #8 - 101, 103.5, 102 - Average = 102.16667 mm (Round up plus 2 mm == 104 mm)

I finally got around to sharpening one of my blades and fitting it into a No.7. I had to file a small amount from the front of the plane's mouth, but other than that, it fits and works perfectly.

The blade is harder than anything I've experienced before, but was easy enough to hone and produced a very respectable edge.

DJ did an excellent job of grinding the blade and cap iron - both were perfectly square and even.

Here are a couple of shots of the first swipe along a 1-1/8" wide piece of well seasoned European Ash.

It might just be me, but it took me quite a while to flatten and polish the back. Like what I've done with all my plane blades, I was only doing like 5mm from the cutting edge, using WD starting from 80, stopping at 600.

It wasn't easy for me to get rid of some grinding marks. The blade is very hard.

With DJ's excellent hollow grind, honing was quick enough.

I am very glad I opted to let DJ grind the bevel. I wouldn't have be able to do such a good job for sure.

Cheers

GUNN

Good to hear some good news and that people are happy, M2 is a very hard steel, but its extremely resistant to abrasion like no other blade you have ever had, that might explain why it took longer to flatten up the back's. In the next week the postman should be dropping of the remaining blades. I look forward to any comments and feedback that members have, for when we do it again.

Originally Posted by dynoforce

starting from 80, stopping at 600.

Hi Gunn

80grit W&D? wow, that's something I reserve for lapping really nasty planes.
I think I started around 320 to flatten the back of my last TS blade and then it was only to remove the grinding marks, my blades (the ones I have ground at least) have all been very flat.
Was the blade warped? did it need flattening or did it just need the grinding marks removed?


It will be interesting to hear other reports as the remainder of the blades make it through the mail.

Nice Photos WoodWould.. Isn't Ash lovely stuff to work with I'm starting to really like the smell too, kind of nutty.

G'day Luban,

I started out like you, at 320, thinking I can remove some of the grinding mark that goes all the way to the edge. But, after 15 minutes, the marks remained. Some of are pretty deep scars.

I won't say they warped but the backs of my blades were not totally flat. A straight edge confirmed that. And TS' blades are really hard. So, since I only need to do this once, I thought why not go thru the grits.

But all is good now and makes fine shavings. I will take some pictures on the next project.

Cheers

GUNN

I know this is really opening an old thread, but I have only just started preparing my tombstone blades for usage. I got 4 great blades from the Thumbsucker organised Stanley replacement order for my No. 605 1/2 and No. 7 Stanley planes. I love the look and the thickness of the planes is already making me drool, even though I have only just ground the bevels and polished the blades a little. I took the edges of the cap iron screws using various grades of sandpaper while the screw was in my drill.

Like other members who have mentioned here, my cap irons are shorter than the old cap irons. Playing with the frogs and cap iron positions has only got myself confused (I know doing this late at night wasn't helping me). Once I have a clear few days I'll figure it out. I will also get around to filing open the mouths soo too as well as finish the blade sharpening.

However, I can only express my gratitude to Thumbsucker for organising the blades. Thanks to others who helped him. I know you have done something which would I frustrated me to no end.

Although I followed the thread closely at the time, I can not remember my thoughts regarding the issues in design which came out during that process. Being an engineer by trade, I know it is important to design things right at the start. Discovering my cap irons are short is not really a huge concern for me as I do not need to take my woodworking as seriously as a huge work job. Furthermore, I can understand the nature of 'opinions' concerning such issues in this context and how they can be accepted/rejected according to simple things such as life issues happening outside my door. I suppose this is part of the learning process for this batch.

Anyway, thanks again to all.

Check out the attachment for a picture of some polished blades in my plane (which got a special clean for the occsaion as well).

Cheers,
Mark

I have been wondering how the blades were holding up under use.

Anyone have anything to say about edge retentions, or durability?

Do the blades compare favorable to original, or other after marker blades?

Originally Posted by thumbsucker

I have been wondering how the blades were holding up under use.

Anyone have anything to say about edge retentions, or durability?

Do the blades compare favorable to original, or other after marker blades?

G'day TS,

I have used them in my Mujingfang planes.

The 2 inch blades are almost similar to the 2 inch HSS blades from Mujingfang, i.e. about 3mm thick and about the same length.

Both are hard steel, requiring more effort during sharpening and honing.

From my use, your blades hold a better edge compare with the original Mujingfang HSS blades.

TS, your blades are excellent.

Thanks for all the effort.

GUNN