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Stanley produced three large-format low angle block planes. One of
these, the Low Angle Smoothing Plane, was only made from 1926 to 1943*,
which may account for the extraordinarily high prices that it commands
on the antique market. Our Low Angle Smoother is based on the Stanley
— it is essentially a shorter version of the Low Angle Jack.
It has an adjustable mouth, and a unique overhead Bailey adjuster for
depth of cut. The Smoothing Plane is useful in a wide variety of jobs
from rough work to smoothing, and can be easily converted from one type
of work to another. The best finishes will be obtained with a very
sharp blade set to take a fine cut, and the mouth opening no larger
than necessary to pass the chip. When you want to cut more
aggressively, open the mouth more and advance the blade for a deeper
cut. For best results on end grain, set the blade and mouth fine.
Geometry:
The blade sits in the body at 12°. It comes with a 25°
flat ground bevel, making the included cutting angle 37°.
Blade Sharpening:
The blade comes ready to use. Slight additional honing will increase
performance. A secondary bevel of up to 5 degrees helps achieve a razor
edge quickly. This also improves edge life in
hardwoods. For more information on advanced sharpening we
suggest David Charlesworth’s DVD Hand Tool Techniques Part 1:
Plane Sharpening.
Mouth Adjustment:
Hold the tool in one hand and loosen the front knob about 1/4 turn.
Adjust with the brass lever. Tighten the knob again firmly, but do not
over tighten.
Blade Adjustment:
The blade is easily adjusted with the adjuster nut over the cap iron.
This unique arrangement provides silky smooth adjustment. Turn
the screw clockwise to advance and counter clockwise to retract the
blade. You do not need to loosen the cap screw to do this. Make sure
the mouth is adequately open before advancing the blade to avoid
damaging your edge. When adjusting the blade, it is a good idea always
to finish on a forward adjustment. This takes up backlash in the
adjuster mechanism and will help prevent the blade from slipping in
use.
Lateral Adjustment:
Like our Low Angle Jack, the Low Angle Smoother intentionally has very
little lateral adjustment of the blade. This is an advantage. As you
adjust the blade, it will track squarely with the sole. The
disadvantage is that you must sharpen the blade square. Today there are
many good jigs on the market that make this easy to do. If you find
that you don’t like this feature, you can grind the blade
narrower to give more lateral play.
Setting the Yoke Plate:
The overhead yoke engages the slotted plate screwed to the blade. The
front of this plate needs to be about 23/8” from the cutting
edge, with the slot toward the front of the blade. You can make a small
jig with scraps of wood to set this distance. Tighten the plate
retaining screw very firmly to adjust the blade.
To remove the cap:
Loosen the 9/16” slotted cap screw several turns. Lift the
cap by the adjusting nut and slip the cap over the cap screw through
the large hole. Reverse the process to replace, making sure the gear
tooth yoke end fits into the slot in the blade adjustment plate. The
tapered shoulder of the cap screw fits into the countersink in the cap.
You should tighten this screw firmly.
Handling the Tool:
You will probably find that, with a full grip around the handle, your
little finger will not have much room. The No. 164
is very short for a handled tool (this is the reason for the overhead
adjuster), and to get a maximum of usable blade, some finger room is
sacrificed. This will improve as the blade shortens with
sharpening. Meanwhile, grip high or with three fingers
— the little finger pointing forward or the index finger
curled around the adjuster screw.
Materials:
The body is cast from Ductile Iron, a very strong alloy that will take
a lot of abuse. These castings are fully stress-relieved, a process
that removes inherent stresses and ensures that the tool will remain
flat and true. The cap is Manganese Bronze. Other parts are Brass and
Steel. The blade is 3/16” thick A-2 Tool Steel hardened to
Rockwell 60-62, cryogenically treated and double tempered. Our heat
treating technique ensures that the blade will take and hold a very
fine edge for a long time. After heat treating, the blade is fully
surface ground on the top, back, and cutting edge, giving a smooth,
flat surface that will take a mirror finish very quickly. The thick
blade provides solid chatter-free cutting.
Maintenance:
The sole is ground flat to .0015” or less. Occasional hand
lapping with fine wet/dry sandpaper (320 grit or higher) on a flat
surface like a glass plate will help remove dings and keep it true. The
cap iron can be polished with any good brass polish, or allowed to
patina with age and use. Occasionally, the tool should be disassembled,
cleaned and moving parts oiled. The blade should be kept lightly oiled
to prevent rust, especially when the tool is not in use. We recommend
Camellia Oil, a vegetable oil based product. It is non-toxic, odor-free
and easy to use. Also, in our shop, we use a fine abrasive handblock to
remove any light surface oxide from tool bodies and blades. Camellia
Oil and the abrasive handblock are available from us.
Guarantee:
Materials and workmanship are guaranteed for the life of your tool.
Call for repairs or replacement parts. We are available for advice if
you ever have a problem using your tool.
*Alvin Sellins, The Stanley Plane, The Early American Industries
Association, 1975.
Proposition 65 Notice: Bronze and brass alloys contain lead, a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects, or other reproductive harm. Wash hands after handling.
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