Please explain my new/old Stanley 60 1/2

Dan Thibert

Member
Messages
183
Location
Leominster Mass
Hi All,
I just picked up a nice Stanley 60 1/2 low angle plane from eBay and it looks like it is in great condition.
My question is, the front part of the shoe moves:huh:

Why does it move? Where is the best place to set it?

I appreciate all your help
Dan
 
without PIC's

we normally dont give out valuble advice:) depth of cut adjustment device when adjusted with the blade adjustment. small opening fine cut....
large opening thicker cut set up.
 
Where is the best place to set it?

Far enough out so that your freshly sharpened iron doesn't bang into it when you are reassembling the plane . . . not that I have ever done that :rolleyes:. I believe you are talking about the front part of the sole that controls the mouth opening. As Larry said; the narrower this opening (in conjunction with iron depth), the thinner the shaving. We have some folks over int the Neander sub-forum that live and breath this stuff. They are a wealth of information; I know just enough to use a plane without breaking it; beyond that I'm pretty useless.
 
A low cutting angle is much more prone to tear out the grain than a higher cutting angle. It's much more likely to get under and lift the grain rather than cutting it off clean. On low angle block planes, the adjustable mouth is an attempt to counter this. The thinking is that, by pressing down on the wood very close to the cutter, the wood is less able to bend up and more likely to break or shear off than it is to separate and lift.

By contrast, if the mouth is wide open, the distance between the cutting edge and the portion of the sole that's pushing the wood down is pretty great. This gives the wood room to bend as the cutter is trying to get under and lift it up - tear out.

I'd tune up the plane, pull out a piece of scrap, and start experimenting a bit. It's easier to figure out than it is to explain.

The low angle block is one of those "essentials" in my shop. It's the block i reach for the most. It's a pretty versatile tool and handles end grain better than anything else. You picked up a really nice tool. Have fun with it.

Paul Hubbman
 
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