Jaime Metcher writes:

> First off, listen to Ralph - he's forgotten more than I'll ever know.

Ok, so we've established that Jaime has lost touch with reality, but we
won't hold that against him... ;-)

[snip-- why the #55 works better than woodies for Jaime]

Sounds like Jaime has some really lousy luck with woodies.  I will say,
however, that his results are not atypical for *complex* molders.  These can
be very difficult to fettle, but in their favor, once tuned they should stay
that way for 50 years or so.

This is the main reason that I don't recommend complex molders for folks
starting with woodies.  Beads, H&Rs, ovolos and the like are *much* easier
to get working, and less likely to need a lot of work.  H&Rs in particular
are very easy to tune and get good results with.

> 1. matching the cutter profile to the sole (nearly all of my cutters are
nicked or misshapen in some way) is an *very* finicky job.  The precision
required here is well in excess of that required for making joints.  #55's
lack of sole wins here.

For a complex molder, Jaime is absolutely right.  For a simple profile like
a H&R, though, it is dead simple.  Get a 1/2" wide stone for your grinder,
and use a wheel dresser to put a full radius on the edge.  This can be used
to sharpen all but the smallest profiles.

On H&Rs, the goal is to get a 1/64" or so projection in the center that
fades away to nothing at the very edge.  Polish the face of the iron to a
high shine so that it stands out, and place it in the plane.  Sight down the
sole, and you will be able to see where the blade needs to get knocked down
a bit.  Address these areas with the grinder (work slowly, and cool often),
and after 3-4 iterations you should have it perfect.

> 2. reconditioning the bed is even trickier.  #55's lack of bed wins here.

Jaime is dead right again.  If a woodie needs significant bed work or the
mouth has been opened up, don't even bother with it.  Warped or bowed planes
are basically firewood.  If there are small chips in the sole, or a bit of
missing boxing, or slight checks, it's not serious and can usually be
ignored.

> 3. once all of that is done, choking is a major problem for all but the
lightest cuts (and light cuts aren't even possible unless steps 1 & 2 are
well under control).  #55's lack of throat wins here.

Choking is almost always caused by wedge problems.  Check to make sure that
the blade sits tightly on the bed (no gaps), and that the wedge sits tightly
against the iron.  If there is anyplace a shaving can catch, it needs to be
eliminated.

Often choking problems can be fixed by a little reshaping of the wedge, but
this should only be done as a last resort.  In most cases all that is
required is getting the blade and wedge to seat properly.

> I'll end with a question - how tuned are Tony Murland's sets?

Since there's no brass on a H&R, these are normally spared the buff-job.
Tony's stuff is first rate and very reasonable-- I've bought quite a lot
from him over the years.  As Scott said, his woodies are normally in
"as-found" condition, and should only need a little work to make usable.

ralph (all packed up for this weekend's class!)