Thread: Bevel angles for plane blades

Thanks for the info Derek. Makes an interesting read.
So at this stage for the batch 02 people, like myself, you'd still be recommending a 25 degree initial bevel pre ground, followed by a secondary bevel to 30 degrees with a slight camber.
Cool.
I might be fun if some one could do a similar comparison to the one Derek has linked us to using Aussie timbers and a series of blades including the newD2's.
Maybe later in the year when we have all had a chance to get to know the new blades, planes and techniques?

Hi Derek,
Thanks for the info and as Kevjed suggests some comparison testing down the track will be interesting.

There has been some comment already re the 8mm thickness of the D2 blade and how a hollow grind affects the bevel angle at the cutting edge. As you suggested I started at 25o for ease of cambering however during grinding went closer to 28-29 as I felt the final ground angle was getting too fine. At this higher angle it was still relatively easy to achieve a small camber on the relatively small secondary bevel.

The grinding wheel dia. will of course influence the outcome and decisions on primary bevel angle although I would think have little affect on the secondary bevel angle choice.

My experience with either O1 or A2 blades is limited let alone the other alloys. Do you think a back bevel on these D2s is necessary or useful when used bevel down. I am somewhat cautious to experiment with angles at this point because of my limited grinding/sharpening equipment and the time needed to correct mistakes.

Cheers Mike

Hi Mike

None of the above has been discussed in the D2/plane building thread.

The reason I started this afresh was for those interested in the limitations of bevel angles from the viewpoint of metalurgy, not the thickness of the steel, per se. That is, whether D2 steel requires a specific bevel angle to work at its best.

Do you think a back bevel on these D2s is necessary or useful when used bevel down.

A back bevel is only required when the angle of attack is too low for the timber. Usually we look for a high angle of attack for interlinked grain.

I assume, since you have this blade now, that you are going to build a plane around it. So you must ask yourself what you want the plane to do. I am going to build a jack, so a 45 degree bed (bevel down) is fine. But if you are going to build a smoother for typical Aussie timber, then I would be looking at a 60 degree bed.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Hi,
I have some questions:
What kind of steel the classic Stanley bench planes used?
Mine are vintages, some have laminated blades(type 10-15).
I always used 30° secondary bevel angle. It is right for general purpose?
Thanks

Ciao,
Giuliano

AFAIK Stanley bench plane blades are all O1 tool steel, hardened and then tempered to around Rc58-60. I have some old Pope/Falcon blades that are laminated and appear to have a harder temper, perhaps Rc60-62, but they perform the same.

The general bevel angle for Stanley bench planes is 25 degrees, but I'm using 30 degrees to get a little more life out of the edge without any trouble.