Converting a #6 to Bevel up?

[jteneyck]

I bought a corrugated bottom Bedrock 606 from Tablesawtom. As with most all his planes, the bottom and sides were ground flat and perpendicular. He also ground the top of the sides parallel with the bottom so it can be trapped in a dado in a shooting board, if desired.

It took some work to get the planed tuned so that it cuts nice thin shavings. I'd like to use it in a shooting board and it should work well as is for that purpose for shooting long grain edges. However, what I'd really like to use it for is shooting end grain and miters and for that a low angle plane iron would be better.

Long winded way to get to my question. Is there a way to convert it to a bevel up arrangement? Or am I missing something about how best to shoot end grain? I'm mostly a power tool guy but appreciate that hand tools are sometimes the better solution. Thanks in advance for your help.

John

[wmickley]

I think the best way to shoot end grain is to knife the board all the way around, put it in the vise, and plane to the knife line.

[PaulC]

Short answer: No.

I can't imagine practical way to achieve what you're after as a retrofit.

[Admiral]

John, I can't see a practical way, other than making a new frog, perhaps out of wood, but it's a lot of trouble. I'm not smart enuf about micro and secondary bevels, but something like that can get you a better effective angle for end grain.

[Donovan78]

I think you should give it a try. Make a frog and see what happens. What have you got to lose? Some fun time in the shop? If it works let me know. I've been thinking about doing the same thing. I've even thought about enlarging the mouth and adding a brass "infill" to allow a skew blade.

[Daniel S]

A guy on this site did it irreversibly.
http://lumberjocks.com/topics/153258

[Jonathan S]

Hove you tried using it on a shooting board? I used to use my #6 before I got the LN #9 miter plane. Although it was not super comfortable to hold, it worked just fine. The LN #9 which I guess they don't make anymore is bevel up with a 20 degree bed, so with a 25 degree bevel gives an effective cutting angle of 45 degrees, the same as a bevel down bench plane. The LN #51 shooting board plane is a bevel down plane and uses the standard 45 degree #6/7 frog.

My point is that a 45 degree bevel down plane works just fine on a shooting board. The weight behind the plane carries it through the cut just fine. Give it a try.

If you really want to tinker around and try to convert a bench plane to a bevel up plane go for it. I would think you would need a maximum of a 12 degree bed angle to really gain anything. I wonder if that would be possible in a bedrock. Might be easier to build a plane from scratch!

Jonathan

[cputnam]

Guess this a simultaneous question for the group and a statement. If a closely set chipbreaker works on end grain, then you have your answer. No need to convert. A very closely set chipbreaker controls tearout as well as a higher angle BU plane on face or edge grain; unsure as to its effects on end grain. Warren's answer suggests that the CB works well on end grain.

[KlausK.]

Hi Curt,

while shooting endgrain, there won't be any tear out so a closely set chipbreaker doesn't give an advantage. Actually there's no need for a chipbreaker at all while shooting endgrain, a fairly wide opened mouth doesn't matter neither.

Generally the cutting angle of 37 or 38 degrees works best while shooting endgrain. So a low bedded (12 degrees) bevel up plane will work if the blade is angeled at 25 degrees. There's a big downside however. Endgrain shooting stresses the edge remarkably. You won't be too happy with the edge holding ability of a 25° blade unless it isn't a super steel like PM-V 11 or so. To all of my experience it's better to work with a 30° blade bevel at least. Then a bevel up plane will loose it's low angle advantage however.

If you can manage it, to create a bevel down configuration with the bedding of 37 degrees, you have all you need. The blade can be ground to a bevel of 30 degrees. There's still enough clearance angle of about 7 degrees. This way you get a low cutting angle and a sturdy edge.

Klaus

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Klaus

A few comments ...

while shooting endgrain, there won't be any tear out so a closely set chipbreaker doesn't give an advantage. Actually there's no need for a chipbreaker at all while shooting endgrain, a fairly wide opened mouth doesn't matter neither.

I agree.

Generally the cutting angle of 37 or 38 degrees works best while shooting endgrain. So a low bedded (12 degrees) bevel up plane will work if the blade is angeled at 25 degrees. There's a big downside however. Endgrain shooting stresses the edge remarkably.

Agree again.

You won't be too happy with the edge holding ability of a 25° blade unless it isn't a super steel like PM-V 11 or so. To all of my experience it's better to work with a 30° blade bevel at least. Then a bevel up plane will loose it's low angle advantage however.

I disagree. In addition to my anecdotal reports of using a LV LA Jack with 25 degree A2 blade for several years, I have also demonstrated that a BU configuration with a 25 degree bevel, whether A2 or PM-V11, will far outlast a BD configuration with a 30 degree bevel.

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolReviews...Plane.html

If you can manage it, to create a bevel down configuration with the bedding of 37 degrees, you have all you need. The blade can be ground to a bevel of 30 degrees. There's still enough clearance angle of about 7 degrees. This way you get a low cutting angle and a sturdy edge.

This is definitely an alternative. I have made a successful strike block plane with a 37 degree bed and a 30 degree bevel using a vintage carbon steel blade. No need for a chipbreaker here. This (square blade) plane works better on a ramped shooting board, but is still good on a simple flat board ...



Regards from Perth

Derek