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I have come to appreciate the usefulness of my block plane (LN) but find it difficult to make a fine adjustment to the blade's depth of cut.
Having adjusted the depth of cut, the blade seems to move when I tighten up the blade "locking" screw. Not only does the depth change but the blade shifts sideways and the cutting edge is no longer parallel to the sole.
I am obviously doing something wrong but haven't figured out what...
Suggestions will be most appreciated!
Yvan
Can someone who uses a Howard Adjuster comment on their effectiveness?
Can you please tell us what model block plane it is?
But some quick checks, strip the whole plane down and make sure the plane bed is clear with no build up of wood or resin etc so the blade lays flat. Make sure the cap is positively located so when you just nip it up you can’t get it to rock, and make sure where the wheel touches the blade there’s no burr or damage of any kind.
www.lie-nielsen.com/product/block-planes/small-block-planes?node=4072Quote:
Originally Posted by Chief Tiff
Tell me more fergiz !:)Quote:
Originally Posted by Fergiz01
yvan, the 'Howard adjuster' is a clever improvement to the advance/retract mechanism. It's simply a bearing pressed onto the shaft instead of the metal disc that engages the blade & makes it operate more smoothly by eliminating the friction between the wheel & blade of the standard mechanism. But it won't solve your problem as I understand it. Yours is a problem that is common to this kind of lever-cap mechanism - I had the same issue with my old 110 block plane.
My understanding from your description is that the bottom of the locking screw is catching on the surface of the blade & tends to slew the blade as it's tightened? By all means check all the points Chief Tiff suggests, but pay particular attention to the tip of the screw that bears on the blade - they work best for me if slightly rounded so that there is only a small area actually contacting the blade. Make sure it's clean & polished, and the surface of the blade where it engages is also smooth.
My old 110 became a bit worn and was running out of thread before locking tightly, so I built a little dab of bronze on the tip, then chucked it in my battery drill & filed/sanded the bronze tip to a nice clean spherical shape. Worked like a charm & has eliminated any tendency to slew the blade on tightening. I don't imagine you would want to take a torch to your nice new LN, but at least make sure that tip is clean & polished so it has minimal tendency to catch on the blade...
Cheers,
The first thing to check, if a blade is moving, is whether there is a pivot point. This can be any high spot on the bed or under the blade. Or, with the #102/3 in mind, the screw on the lever cap may not be centred/square and exert unequal force as it is tightened.
I have the Howard adjuster on both a #60 1/2 and a #103. The bearing makes it a little easer to turn and move the blade fore-and-aft. The LNs do not have lateral adjustment.
Here is my #103 with the Howard adjuster ...
https://s19.postimg.cc/9oymcmt2b/image.jpg
.. and the alongside the original adjuster ...
https://s19.postimg.cc/3pav8z89v/image.jpg
Regards from Perth
Derek
Thanks Derek and Ian,
A Howard adjuster for my LN 62 1/2 is on the 'want' list, but there's other things ahead of it on the very tentatively called 'need' list.
Thanks,
Zac.
Thank you very much for all your explanations, suggestions and photos. Much appreciated
I will report back !!
Yvan