OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

271334 "dks@t..." <dks@t...> 2020‑06‑24 tapered plane irons
Many years ago, on a work-related trip abroad, I visited London markets at Penny
Lane and Bermondsey. I was feeling flush, and chanced upon a Spiers panel plane
at a price I won't mention. This is a worker plane, not a collector's item,
fitted with a 2-1/2in Sorby iron. I scraped the bottom a little to flatten it
out, and have used it from time to time when it seemed the right thing to do.
But I have always been vaguely dissatisfied with its performance, or perhaps, my
own performance with it. At any rate, more recently, I chanced upon a Marples
iron and cap to fit it, and picked it up for no special reason except the
coincidence of our meeting. Yesterday I compared the two irons and found, among
other things, the Sorby has a primary bevel of about 27deg., and the Marples a
little larger yet. I decided to grind Marples down to 25deg, my favoured primary
bevel, which I finished just in time to send this msg off and cleanup for
dinner.

SO, here's the question. What primary bevel angle was historically or is
currently favoured for these beefy cutters? Have I made a mistake by grinding
the Marples primary down to 25deg., or could it go even lower?

Don

Recent Bios FAQ