At 09:57 AM 08/20/1999 BST, Paul Womack wrote:
>Following the recent discussion on woodie smoothers,
>esp WRT steeper pitches
>(consensus seemed to be more effort, less tearout)
>
>Following the "opposite" logic,
>would it make sense in a woodie scrub to drop the
>angle a bit (say 35-40 degrees)
>
>You can't go lower than that because you need relief for
>the blades bevel.
>
>I know the venerated #40 is 45 degrees, but I would take that
>as more of a "production" decision than a design one.
>

I would not go to a shallower angle on a scrub plane.  The cutting edge of
the scrub iron takes quite a beating.  A 45deg bed angle allows for a 35deg
bevel on the iron which is tough enough to give good edge life.

Adam