Chamfer Plane

Since quite some time I have a chamfer plane in my posession, made by Moseley and Sons, somewhere in the late 19th century. It's a rather complex construction. The bottom had a V-shape. In front of the iron is a moveble corebox. The bottom of this box defines the width of the chamfer to be made. This one had a steel sole on the bottom of the box, which is a good idea because most chamfer planes wear fast in this spot.

Allthough an ingeneus device, it does have some problems. The planing iron is attached with two screws in two slots! It should be possible to undo the screws a little, push down the blade and remove the iron over the head of the screws. Allas, the screws are too close together to fit through the holes in the slots. So I'll just have to completely remove the screws when I want to sharpen the blade.

Another problem is the adjustment mechanism on the side of the plane. The screws attaching the brass window to the planebody are a bit croocked. Now you can't move the corebox all the way up, because these screws protrude a bit too much.

I didn't want to remove these screws and seat them deeper. Their holes are usually pretty worn out. So I just got the dremmel and grinded the offending parts away, carefully not to mar the brass or wood. I'm sure the freshly grinded surface will stain in no time again.

The rest was easy. The plane is obviously well cared for. Sharpening was a doddle. A bit of wax on the plane and everything looked nice again. Despite the not so perfect execution of this plane, it works marvelously well. On this piece of ash I was planing into the grain with no sign of tear out. I think the bedding angle of 52 degrees helps a lot in this regards. I wish I had used this plane while working on the kitchen.