Sargent 409

[tablesawtom]

First off. I am not a fan of Sargent planes. I was at an auction last fall and there was this rusty Sargent plane that I was not even going to bid on. The plane looked to be really in bad shape because I got it for $2.

I got to thinking about Paul Sellers. He used a #4 for a scrub plane, so I took it apart, cleaned the years of grime and rust off with a wire wheel on my bench grinder and then I milled the mouth opening bigger. I am not sure 
how big the opening should be. If I got it to big I am out $2.

   

I reground the top and bottom of the plane iron and then I ground about a 4 inch radius on the blade. There is about 3/32 arc on the blade Again I don't have a clue id it is big enough or if the radius needs to be smaller. 

   

   

I need to go over to my shop and take it for a spin. Our winter storm warning just ended at noon today and since my shop is unheated it will have to wait for a better day, but I am looking forward to using it.

just a couple more pictures,

   

   

   

   

This is not restoring this is repurposing.



I hope this gives you something to think about.


Tom

[clovishound]

I have a #4 set up with a radius a little shallower than yours. I set the frog back some, and left the mouth untouched.

It's not a scrub plane, but it does remove stock very quickly and easily.

Yours looks like a good example of repurposing, and should work well as a scrub.

[AHill]

Both Lee Valley and Lie-Nielsen put a 3" radius on their scrub plane blades. The LV and LN blades are bedded at 45 deg and use bevel down blades The LV blade is 1-1/2" wide. The LN blade (modeled after the Stanley No. 40-1/2) is just a hair under 1-1/2" wide. A wider blade - like the 2" blade in a No. 4, will require a larger radius to achieve the same thickness of shaving. I'd say around 5-6" is appropriate for a 2" wide blade where you want to remove 3/32" max per pass. That's fairly aggressive. Opinions vary a lot on what camber is appropriate. Your personal preference on how aggressive you want the plane to be, how hard is the wood, etc. all factor into the "right" answer. A 4" radius on a 2" wide blade is on the aggressive side.

[tablesawtom]

Both Lee Valley and Lie-Nielsen put a 3" radius on their scrub plane blades.  The LV and LN blades are bedded at 45 deg and use bevel down blades  The LV blade is 1-1/2" wide.  The LN blade (modeled after the Stanley No. 40-1/2) is just a hair under 1-1/2" wide.  A wider blade - like the 2" blade in a No. 4, will require a larger radius to achieve the same thickness of shaving.  I'd say around 5-6" is appropriate for a 2" wide blade where you want to remove 3/32" max per pass.  That's fairly aggressive. Opinions vary a lot on what camber is appropriate.  Your personal preference on how aggressive you want the plane to be, how hard is the wood, etc. all factor into the "right" answer.  A 4" radius on a 2" wide blade is on the aggressive side.

When I wrote that the 3/32 I was referring to the cord of the circle exposed from  the cutting edge to the chip breaker. I think asking for a 3/32 depth of cut is asking an awful lot from my arms at my age. Depth of cut is adjustable.

IF LN and Lee Valley put a 3 " radius on that would equal I inch of radius per 1/2 inch of width  so 4' radius on a 2 inch wide blade  is still 1 inch of radius per I/2 inch of width. The 4 inch radius was a place to start. When it comes to depth of cut, it is like having a car that will do !20 miles an hour. Just because it is possible to 120MPH doesn't make it a safe operating speed and amount of traffic also play into the equation.

The radius is easy to change.

[Stwood_]

Put some radius on that baby. Mine takes the wood off,,,,easily. The more radius, the easier.

This is a 1-3/4 blade in a 5-1/4 plane.

   

   


I should resharpen it a bit. I have the radius wore almost flat in the middle.