Tap a thread in a block plane

I have a Stanley Block Plane. A newish one of the type sold in hardware stores for $150 or so. It was horrible out of the box but done up it is just great to use. I got it for not much money, unused for hardly any money at a market.

My question is this. LN sell a little bronze plane for running along the edge of boards to get them perfectly square. Could I tap a couple of threads into the side of my block plane and screw a bit of brass to the side of the plane to mimic this as required? Is the metal in the plane going to be suitable for tapping a thread?

I like my my little block plane. I use it all the time and do not want to do damage to it experimenting.

You could try a bit of anodised aluminium with a couple of rare-earth magnets imbedded in it to mimic one of these:
http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/pag...16&cat=1,41182
No holes in your plane required.

I purchased some decent magnets from these guys for some doors: http://aussiemagnets.com.au/ (no affiliation).
You can get a sample pack with a bunch of sizes to see what sticks well enough.

You could also try a Stanley 386 or equivalent which screws on but they are pricey and probably don't fit on a block plane.
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=3...w=1270&bih=592

If you are making one the magnets are simpler.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by chook

Could I tap a couple of threads into the side of my block plane and screw a bit of brass to the side of the plane to mimic this as required? Is the metal in the plane going to be suitable for tapping a thread?

---

That should work okay. The cast iron should hold a thread just fine, however if the side is too thin and you put a lot of force on the screw you WILL strip the thread.

You will also need a packer on your "fence" as the iron on most block planes doesn't come all the way to the side (unless yours is a rabbet block plane). Also, make sure the sides are at 90 degrees to the sole - or make your packer tapered to suit.

It would be a shame to drill holes in a classic block plane, but on a modern one... :q ?!

My tuppence worth.

Cheers, Vann.

You can certainly drill & tap the metal of a plane body. Be sure to use the right size drill for the tap in question, and some sort of appropriate cutting fluid, as cast iron is brittle. Also, careful set-up to get the holes dead square and the tap started straight would be a good idea.

As suggested, a couple of rare-earth magnets might be simpler and far less risky, and leave no permanent scars.

At the risk of starting a raging debate on the merits of using fences on planes, I'll stick my neck out & say 'forget about it'. I think of these sorts of aids as being like training wheels - you probably don't need them half as much as you think you do. For starters, for a fence to work properly, you have to be certain your blade exposure is perfectly even, edge to edge. And that's no mean feat - it's pretty hard to see a difference of .005" in blade projection edge to edge, but that can let a lot of daylight under your trysquare after a couple of passes! All a fence will do is ensure that any small error is faithfully reproduced, and your edge still won't be square. It doesn't take all that much practice to learn to plane or shoot an edge that is sufficiently square for all practical purposes, imo. You can control a plane quite finely by leaning a little more one way or the other, and soon bring an errant edge into line. One 'trick' for those not planing edges every day, is to always use the same plane for shooting edges (at least for the first 20 years or so! :U). That way, you get the feel of the particular tool & it makes the job much easier than if you pick up any plane at random.

And despite my preaching, and more than 50 years of weilding planes, I have days when it takes me 4 or 5 goes to get an edge properly square. It's like riding a bike in that you don't forget, you just wobble more when you haven't ridden for a while. But after a bit, the wobbles steady up..... :U

Cheers,

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by IanW

It's like riding a bike in that you don't forget, you just wobble more when you haven't ridden for a while. But after a bit, the wobbles steady up..... :U

---

Haha, that's great ;)

here's a fence I made to fit my #6, #7 and #8:

Attachment 316724

Attachment 316725

Attachment 316726

made from all shop scraps. easy build. a smaller version for a block plane shouldn't be too hard.

Oh if only it were so. The last bike I had was an 860 Ducati GTS with a big blue tank. I would be happy to have it again, training wheels or no. Sadly the bike and I ended up in little bits by the side of the road many years ago. It went to bike heaven and I went to hospital. Before that it was a 750 Norton with a worked Combat motor that went so fast that the training wheels smoked. Ah but I am old now ....

Anyway I have given up on the idea of butchering my block plane. I have ideas sometimes, but mostly they are the sort that will bring you to the attention of either the police or the mental health authorities, so I keep them to myself. I don't need to use a fence and the chance of damaging my little plane seems too great.

I guess I just wanted an excuse to make some more mess. In a weekend or so I will be off to make my first saw so that should keep me out of trouble for a while.