Question about Hock Blades in Stanley Planes

[bandit571]

I would never want to trust a piece of commission work to that craftsman plane as the frog looks like a third grader put it together but it can be made to be serviceable.

[bandit571]

Craftsman?  Sears NEVER< EVER actually MADE a tools..ever....remember that fact.

Frog?

   
This is the frog frog the Millers Falls No. 900 I just rehabbed....

Question...just exactly HOW does a frog cut wood?    I always thought it was the iron that did that
 

I realize it may be hard to see such things, if the nose you are looking down gets in the way...

[Belle City Woodworking]

Didn’t realize I was looking down my nose at anyone

[Bibliophile 13]

Vintage Stanley blades are usually very good. They take a wicked sharp edge, and the edges hold up well.

If the stock iron is damaged--back not flat, back pitted, blade won't hold an edge, blade bent, etc.--then by all means replace it. Hock makes a good iron.

But if your current iron is serviceable, then you probably won't see a huge step up in performance with a new iron.

[WoodTinker]

You need patience to fettle a hand plane. You also need the know-how.

All things being equal, A hand plane is only as good as the sharpness of the blade. And we know that all planes were not created equal. A few need fettling.

My formula for a good handplane, buy one from TableSawTom and add a hock blade and chip breaker. I have done this 4 times with a 4, 5, 7, & 8. After using them for a short time you get to know where the "There" is. Then you get to understand the blade will need to be sharpened as it is not performing as well as when you first got it. It will get very expensive to just buy a new blade. The training wheels need to come off and you get comfortable with sharpening your own blades with a Veritas MK II.  Well, at least I have.

I have never needed to file my Stanley plane mouths with using the hock blade & chip breaker, but have watched videos of someone doing it with the thick blades that Rob Cosman endorses.

[UpstateNYdude]

Didn’t realize I was looking down my nose at anyone

Don't bother, trust me I've seen like 30 of these threads and he says the same thing every time. 



Back to the original posting I've used the Hock blades and I actually prefer the PM-V11 stanley replacements from LV, they hold their edge far longer than any blade I've ever used and way less sharpening between planing. I get at least 2 almost 3 times as long, maybe it's just the way I work or what I plane, but I like less sharpening/honing, they even fit in LN planes I have them in my 3 and 7.

[bandit571]

And this fellow is always stalking me...follows where ever I go.   Almost like a fan club.  




How is those plane sales doing?    Still getting a commission ?  


 

Whatever this guy says to buy...don't.

[bandit571]

Original question was about Hock blades in STANLEY made planes, if I recall correctly.

have had one such set up come through the shop one time.   A friend was having trouble getting it to work.....

Underneath the frog, someone had set a metal plate for the frog to somehow sit on....didn't work,  removed plate and tossed it away.     Frog sat right down and stayed put, no issues.

Frog was too far forward....to the point anything over 3 microns thick would jam up in the plane.   Moved frog back to it's normal setting.....no more clogs.

Yoke has having issues with reaching through the iron, to engage the slot in the chipbreaker.   May need a plane hammer to adjust on the fly, after the setting is set up..

We even tried a normal Stanley iron and chipbreaker, taken from one of my planes.....no issues found, no "chatter" heard, could take as thin of a shaving as he wanted. 

Placed the Hock back into the plane...worked fine, no clogging the mouth.   Asked him why it was set so far forward...said it was the way he was told to do it....

Wished him luck, and sent them on their way.   Did NOT need the mouth on the plane filed....just the frog was worked on.


The Hocks will work...IF the plane is set up correctly....most times, the iron costs more than the plane it is going into.....