OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

270394 Erik Levin 2020‑04‑05 Re: appeal to MFia (Millers falls illuminati agregate
Claudio wrote:

> But really, now that I am older and supposedly wiser, who the hell else is
ever going to really care?


You can't tell in the current condition. The plate won't be original. The screws
won't be original. No one here seems to know what the screw thread actually
*should* be (so far, at least), and if no one here does, it is unlikely that
anyone else ever will. Do whatever works, is my suggestion.



As for what the original was:


If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, don't think platypus. MF was an
American manufacturer, which, based on Stanley, means not a lot. Going over my
limited collection of MF tools (planes, measuring tools, spiral screwdrivers), I
find all 60 degree vee thread, including the posts for the knob and tote on a
#140 (14 inch bench plane, roughly a #5 Stanley) and the screws on a #85 rebate
plane (pretty much a clone of Stanley #78). A few screws match the Stanley
equiv, but many don't, like 1/4-20 for the fence rod for the #85 to Stanley's
1/4-28.


Kent (1916- 9th ed) shows 10-30 (0.190-30), 60 deg vee thread, to be the ASME
standard screw, and 10-24 and 10-32 being the special at the time. SAE 1911
(Machinery's 8th ed) gives 10-32 and 10-24 as the standard sizes. I don't know
which MF would have followed, but would guess one or the other.


If the 10-32 hangs up, I would see of a 10-30 does a better job. I might also
try threading in a chunk of wood-- bamboo skewers work well, and the ones I have
on hand are perfect for #10 screws, being 0.180" diameter-- and measure the
thread impression over as many threads as possible.


No idea if this is any help at all, but what else am I going to do on a sunday
morning?


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Recent Bios FAQ