My grandfather's hand plane finally works right after 2 years of messing with it

I spent most of last Saturday tuning up an old Stanley hand plane that belonged to my grandpa. It sat in his garage for probably 30 years before I got it, and I could never get it to cut right. I sharpened the blade probably 8 times over those 2 years, but turns out the chip breaker was bent and I never noticed. Took a file and some gentle bending to get it flat again. After that, the thing shaved wood like butter on a warm day. Anyone else ever chase a problem for that long just to find it was something small and dumb?

2 comments

2 Comments

coleman.jamie27d ago

Drove me crazy helping my buddy Mike fix his old Craftsman table saw last year. He swore the blade was dull but I could tell it was sharp. Turned out the throat plate was slightly warped and catching the wood on every cut, making it look like the saw was binding. We spent three weekends swapping belts and adjusting the fence before I just happened to look down and see the gap. Replaced it with a flat piece of aluminum and the saw cut perfect after that. Felt like idiots but we laughed about it over beers.

the_wyatt27d ago

Actually throat plates are supposed to have a slight gap for wood expansion.