Don Schwartz wrote:  "I have a #53 of more recent vintage, and have not been
able to get the mouth and projection in harmony with any predictability.
Sometimes it works for me, sometimes not. Please describe your method."


Damfino how I did it. I remember the first time I set one up it took an awful
long time and was hard, but this time it went in almost without fuss.

On thought, the principle seems to be that when the mouth is closed as far as it
can go, leaving just a tiny thread of light, the shave should give a thin, wispy
curl.If the blade is sticking out too far the curl will jam; if it is not far
enough out, the blade won't cut. So set the blade with the mouth closed down,
where it will be easy to tell if the setting is right; not with the mouth gaping
open, where there is no way to tell just how far out the blade should be.

I am accustomed to watching the blade from the sole side of the body as I adjust
a 151 spokeshave or a plane. However, the moving sole of the 54 makes it hard to
judge the protrusion of the blade from the sole side, so I had to find a way to
judge how much I was altering the protrusion, while looking at the other side of
the blade through the yoke. What I found was that, on mine, the edge end of the
blade slot was close to the rim of the blade hold-down screw, and that by
monitoring the gap between them I could monitor how much I was shifting the
blade. Not how much protrusion there was, but at leas I could see how much I
altered it. Since I didn't turn the body repeatedly upside down and rightside
up, it was easier to keep the blade in the same place as I repeatedly loosened
the screw, shifted the blade, and tightened the screw.


Doubtless some craftsmen, well-accustomed to setting a plane blade with a
hammer, can set the hold-down screw just loose enough to allow a tiny bit of
movement, and then move the blade with taps of a hammer. I couldn't get this
method to work, so I had to shove things around with clumsy fingers; but I have
noted the taps-of-a-hammer technique for future use.


One other detail was screwing me up for a while. When I use a 151 I put my
forefingers down near the ends of the mouth, to give better control and
feedback. I found that with my 53 I was putting my fingers in just the same
places, in fact on the convenient little circular castings at the corners of the
mouth. However, these castings cover the springs that hold the mouth setting,
and when I rested my fingers on the spring covers I opened and closed the mouth
setting unpredictably. I've had to discipline myself, and move my finger rests
away from the spring covers and yoke. This might be part of your problem.

Setting a yoke spokeshave is the tricky part; all the rest is clean sailing. At
leas that's how I've found it.


Tom

Berkeley