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Hey folks. I have a Craftsman combination plane (most likely built by Sargent) that's the equivalent of a Stanley 45. It's only missing one part - the depth stop inside the fence -- and is overall in mechanically good condition, although the spur cutters aren't even as sharp as my butter knives. There's just one problem... it doesn't work.
Here are the two problems I've been having.
1) I've been trying to cut a 1/4" groove (with the grain) in red oak, and it just won't do it. The iron is sharp enough to shave (one hair at a time), and if my face were narrow enough I could use the back and bevel as shaving mirrors. To reduce the complexity, I used a saw to cut the edges of the groove and tried to just use the plane to remove the waste. No good. It skips, it refuses to cut, and when I do manage to make it cut it tears big pieces out of the fence side of the groove. The iron is held tightly (I can tap it with a mallet without it moving), and I have no idea what's going on. Ideas?
2) When attempting the same cut in pine, I don't get a cut perfectly parallel to the edge unless I loosen the back screw on the fence. If I do that, it works just about perfectly, although the cut is rougher than I would have expected.
So what's going on here? Is red oak just that much harder to cut? What should I be checking? Is there some piece of setup I forgot about? What angle should the iron be ground at? Maybe someone in the past just screwed that up, and I need to fix it.
Any advice would be welcome.
Here are the two problems I've been having.
1) I've been trying to cut a 1/4" groove (with the grain) in red oak, and it just won't do it. The iron is sharp enough to shave (one hair at a time), and if my face were narrow enough I could use the back and bevel as shaving mirrors. To reduce the complexity, I used a saw to cut the edges of the groove and tried to just use the plane to remove the waste. No good. It skips, it refuses to cut, and when I do manage to make it cut it tears big pieces out of the fence side of the groove. The iron is held tightly (I can tap it with a mallet without it moving), and I have no idea what's going on. Ideas?
2) When attempting the same cut in pine, I don't get a cut perfectly parallel to the edge unless I loosen the back screw on the fence. If I do that, it works just about perfectly, although the cut is rougher than I would have expected.
So what's going on here? Is red oak just that much harder to cut? What should I be checking? Is there some piece of setup I forgot about? What angle should the iron be ground at? Maybe someone in the past just screwed that up, and I need to fix it.
Any advice would be welcome.