On 2018-03-16 11:23 AM, scott grandstaff wrote:
>
>   The only real advise I have for using a scraper plane (once you have 
> it cutting)  is to watch the very ends of the workpiece.
>   Try a wild skew when working the very ends. There is a tendency to 
> dig in at the end, so you need to counter that.
>
>   Attacking from another angle besides straight down the work, and 
> skewing the tool, helps a lot.
>        yours again Scott 


Boy that was good timing Scott! I was about to report on my findings 
this morning when I saw this.

First thing I did today was ensure that my practice board was reasonably 
flat, as Tom suggested. It wasn't quite, so I touched it up - good 
enough for smoothing. Then I tried scraping with the same settings I had 
yesterday, with no perceptible improvement. Chatter, 0.005 shavings, etc.

Next I inclined the blade bed ( frog?)  5.1 deg forward of vertical. 
Reset the iron on the glass surface, & hammer-adjusted for equal cutting 
side to side. I expected a more aggressive cut due to the angle, but I 
was wrong. I got smaller 0.003in shavings, no chatter, and a nice 
surface sheen on the cherry.

Then I adjusted the angle of incline to 5.85 deg,and found I can 
consistently get shavings of 0.001-0.002in on cherry, with very low 
effort.  Ditto for mahogany and white oak. Sweet!

I switched over to my project shelves two of which didn't respond as 
well to smoothing as I'd wanted. I got the same results as above. Easy 
going, whispy shavings, and a lovely surface. Skewing helps, as Scott 
says. Only thing is I found I had to be very careful both starting and 
stopping, because the iron wants to dig in. The mouth on this plane is 
wide open!  I had to be mindful of starting with downward pressure on 
the front knob, and finishing with light pressure on the tote when 
finishing the stroke, lifting the front knob very slightly. Very little 
downward pressure in the middle of the stroke.

Kirk: I couldn't find your posts in the archives. Too many hits!

So, that's it. Except for some niggling details. I started this thread 
by asking about flattening the sole of the Stanley 112, then went ahead 
and started flattening before I had a response. But I didn't finish the 
flattening, because I started believing maybe it wasn't necessary, 
thanks to Matthew Groves. Maybe it isn't. Or maybe if I continued 
flattening, the plane would be more manageable at the beginning and end 
of a stroke. Maybe. I might do that sometime, just to see.

Second, Scott and others speak strongly in favour of thin irons for 
these planes, and they may be better - or not. But I have a fairly thick 
one working for me, so for now I'll 'dance with the one who brung me'.

Third, Kirk and Brent both recommend bevel angles widely different from 
the traditional 45 deg which I have stuck with, 60 and 30 degrees 
respectively. I respect those opinions, but won't be going down that 
rabbit hole anytime soon. Too much grinding of good steel would be required!

Somewhere in his writing, the esteemed Mr. Hamler suggests burnishing a 
hook, then folding it over onto the iron, and creating and burnishing a 
new hook there. What's that about?

Finally, I'd like to register my vote for this Stanley No.112 scraper 
plane being the fussiest, most finnickety plane ever!

FWIW

Don, getting ready to wax a shovel and attack some heavy wet white stuff 
impeding passage to the bins in the alley


-- 
I have decided to leave my past behind. So, if I owe you money...I am sorry, but
I’ve moved on.

The harder they come, the bigger they fall." Ry Cooder