Thread: Veritas replacement Stanley plane blade and cap iron problem

Yeah, there's something wrong there. The blade should be straight and the cap iron should bend the OTHER way...

I would send those photos to Lee Valley. Based on my previous experience with them they will just send you another one.

And when they do... bend those back to how they should be and have two

Good luck,
Luke

When I started reading your post, I thought you were describing the slight bowing of the blade that happens when you tighten the cap iron screw down (which is normal), but the pics show clearly that you most certainly have a problem! You sure wouldn't get much joy out of trying to use that combo to plane anything firmer than balsa!

I can't see any way you could have caused the problem, short of running over it with a bus, but then you'd expect the bends to at least be in the same direction, not opposite. Cap irons are usually soft steel, and easily bent, but it would take a pretty determined effort to bend the blade, & likewise, straightening it would not be easy (I certainly wouldn't attempt it). In any case, you shouldn't have to rectify such faults, so let's see what LV have to say. As Luke says, I think they will be pretty keen to sort out your problem.....

Cheers,

Yeah, I don't see how anything I have done could have bent the blade and cap iron like this - they're bent in opposite directions, and unlike the Stanley irons, they are significant chunks of steel and I am not Superman.

I think that if the cap iron were shaped correctly then it might compensate for the slight bend in the blade, but there is no chance of it working properly with the cap iron bent like it is.

The thing is that I don't recall them being like this when I received them. I am a novice but I know enough to look for a fault like that. I guess I could have missed it because you can make the two meet properly using finger pressure only, but they spring apart once you tighten up the cap iron screw.

I have only used the new blade for cleaning up the edges on some 19mm ply making some workshop jigs so if they have been like this all along it is a testament to a) the quality of the blade and b) my inexperience!

I have sent the info to Lee Valley, I will have to wait and see how it goes.

Cheers,
Tom

They'll (LV) fix you up right.

The cap can be bent, but that's something you'd do only if you have to (given you can get a fresh new one).

Well, Lee Valley's legendary reputation for good customer service is proven again!

I got an email from them today and they're going to send me a new set, they said that they had a few faulty items a while back and mine must have slipped through. They've checked the replacement set have been manufactured correctly and I should have it next week.

I get to keep the dodgy set so I might have a shot at bending the cap iron, but from the quick attempt I made the other day I am not sure I have the strength to do it by hand in a vice! Maybe I need to make a bending jig...

Cheers,
Tom

Nailed it.

I received a replacement cap iron and blade today and they are spot on.

For comparison, here is how a properly fitted Veritas replacement cap iron and blade for a Stanley #6 should look - no gap at the tip!

IMG_20160614_203344.jpg

What to do with the old ones? The spare blade might fit the new cap iron, but the old bent cap iron is A2 steel and I can't straighten it by hand, it has absolutely no give in it at all. It might be useful if I ever need to make a custom iron...

Originally Posted by letaage

.....What to do with the old ones? The spare blade might fit the new cap iron, but the old bent cap iron is A2 steel and I can't straighten it by hand, it has absolutely no give in it at all....

I'd not noticed before that the Veritas cap-irons are A2, & had assumed (as I think some other respondents have) that they'd be soft-ish stuff like the older cap-irons. Seems to me like gross overkill to make them so hard, it simply isn't necessary. You could probably bend it back enough if you have a press, or can get access to one. I wonder how difficult it is to anneal A2??

Cheers,

Hi Ian

A couple of thoughts:

The reasoned one - Wear occurs on the back and front of the bevel when planing. aif the chipbreaker is close to the edge of the bevel, then it will be expected to wear in the same way. A2 will be more durable.

Probably the real reason - A2 is one of the more stable steels for manufactuting. It moves least when hardened. This saves time and cost in the manufacturing process.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Shim out the tail end of the cap iron until the gap at the tip closes. You might need some shims to support where you screw the two together. You then have another less elegant but still functional cap iron blade pair.

What to do with the old ones? The spare blade might fit the new cap iron, but the old bent cap iron is A2 steel and I can't straighten it by hand, it has absolutely no give in it at all.

I have re-shaped chipbreakers many times.

Clamp it in a vise and insure that it is square/vertical. Then tap it with a hammer - ensuring you strike it squarely - until you have enough curve or straightness. There are other ways to do this (such as laying the bend over the gap between two boards).

Regards from Perth

Derek

Derek, point two is probably much closer to the truth - the fewer steels they have to order & stock at the factory, the more economical it would no doubt be for them.

On point one, I think you might be over-thinking the case. The chip-breaker on my old 5 1/2 is a couple of years shy of 100, & has done its fair share of planing tough woods in its day. The front of the chip-breaker is nicely polished, but I think you'd be flat out detecting any significant 'wear'.

If the cap-iron is making clean contact with the back of the blade, no matter how close it is set, shavings won't affect that. So I simply can't see that a cap-iron needs to be hard, other than it would benefit from a little 'spring'. The old factory-fitted cap irons are all dead soft & easily filed, but have sufficient spring to do the job.

Which brings me back to an earlier comment - how hard is the LV cap-iron? I'd make a small wager it isn't as hard as the blades. Letaage, maybe you could settle the matter by trying a file on an edge of your dud cap-iron. If the file bites easily, it certainly isn't as hard as an A2 blade...

Originally Posted by derekcohen

.....Clamp it in a vise and insure that it is square/vertical. Then tap it with a hammer - ensuring you strike it squarely - until you have enough curve or straightness.....

If you have no other option, this is the way to go, but is likely to produce a sharp bend. I'd much prefer to use a press, which is more easily controlled, and could give you a more rounded bend if you set it up to do that.
But now I'm being too fussy, I suppose....
Cheers

I suggest using your vice as a press.
Stick two pieces of Hardwood to one side of the blade, making sure they are at 90 degrees across the blade, then stick a pice of hardwood dowel or round steel dowel across the other side where you would like the bend in the cap iron to be.

Place the assembly in the bench vice making sure it is horizontal, and GENTLY tighten the vice.

This gives about the best control you can get over the process, and it does work, as I have used it several times.

Much better than ever increasing hammer weights.

Regards

Wow ! What a great suggestion !