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I recently bought a 10$ block plane just because it had a depth adjustment knob unlike the other block plane that I had.

I took it out of the box, carefully took out the blade and sharpened it using my oil stone as good as I could. Then I installed the blade and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't set the blade to protrude evenly across the width of the mouth. I had a similar issue with my other block plane which proved to be the blade not being square (the edge was not at perfectly 90 deg to the sides).

Looking more closely, HORROR! The mouth is bad. I mean the mouth is not square to the sides of the plane.

Should I try to repair it? If so, how would you recommend? Or should I try to take it back to the shop where I bought it?

Here's some pics:

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Looks like this emoticon:

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Update: I took it back to the store the next day and obtained a refund. Will get a Juuma next time (Juuma is Luban is WoodRiver is ...)

Andrei Rînea
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    That is bad, possibly the worst-ground mouth I've seen on a plane (and I've seen some really terrible ones!) but, it doesn't necessarily matter in actual fact because the worst parts are at the edges where the iron cuts minimally or not at all. And this is a block plane with a fixed mouth, which doesn't have to perform at the highest level anyway. However that said I personally think this isn't acceptable in a new tool (even at this price level) and you should see if you can get it replaced.... unless this is representative of the quality of these planes and they're all somewhat like this! – Graphus Oct 02 '18 at 11:46
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    I will then try to get my money back. – Andrei Rînea Oct 02 '18 at 16:13
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    I realised after writing the above that it's actually the rear of the mouth that you were mostly concerned about, I saw the wavy front edge and got hung up on that because it's so bad LOL Anyway the rear edge of the mouth, and the bed for the iron, (both need to be worked on) can be fixed with careful filing but it's not easy work and makes the mouth bigger. So if you can get your money back that would probably be for the best. – Graphus Oct 02 '18 at 16:33
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    Not sure if you're read this previously but I would recommend anyone who is getting only one block plane to get a low-angle model with an adjustable mouth, basically a 60 1/2 in Stanley's numbering system (either a vintage Stanley or one of the copies from another maker). If there is no secondhand tool market where you are where you might find a vintage plane then maybe consider a Silverline. While they are at the budget end of the market (a step below Faithfull) I saw one recently and it wasn't at all bad — it would need some tweaking to work well, but it wasn't junk as far as I could tell. – Graphus Oct 02 '18 at 16:44
  • @Graphus: I carefully read your comments. I saw and understood that the issue that I was reporting was not the only issue and maybe not even the worst. I went to the store to get my $10 (equivalent in local currency) back and I got them. The store representative tried to convince me to get a replacement which had the mouth slightly better (the rear end was square but the front was wavy too). I chose to get the money back, because I'm (right now) into woodworking not metal works. I might get into metal works later but not now. I will be going to US in November so I could get a good one there. – Andrei Rînea Oct 02 '18 at 20:28
  • @Graphus : Your comprehensive and very useful comments could be compiled into an answer that I will accept immediately. – Andrei Rînea Oct 02 '18 at 20:30
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    Never thought a giant emoji would have something to add to a question...I stand corrected. – Otto Oct 03 '18 at 06:11
  • "will be going to US in November so I could get a good one there." You can most definitely get a good one in the US, but you'll pay quite a bit for a decent new one. At least L-N's are cheaper in the US than elsewhere in the world :-) It's a shame you're not somewhere with a more vibrant secondhand market like the UK, probably only take a couple of weeks to find a good older Stanley or Record (for less than a tenth of what L-Ns cost!) that would either be fine as-is or take minimal work to get working to a good standard. – Graphus Oct 03 '18 at 12:30
  • @Graphus : Yes, L-N are quite expensive but at least they're well tuned out-of-the-box, as far as I hear, so I would at most need to sharpen the blade and start using it. The point being that I would skip shipping to East Europe which costs much, takes a lot of time and you need to get the package through customs. Where you pay again, for customs. – Andrei Rînea Oct 03 '18 at 13:24
  • "L-N ...well tuned out-of-the-box" Yes, very much so. "at most need to sharpen the blade and start using it" Yup. Although to flesh out a previous Comment I made, even they can need some fettling to match customer preference (e.g. significant rounding or chamfering of the leading and trailing edges + relieving long edges of the sole, rounding corners of iron). It does go further, myself if I ever got an L-N plane (never going to happen LOL) I'd be taking a rasp to the rear handle! And I have a few friends, first thing they'd do is put the handles in paint stripper o_O – Graphus Oct 03 '18 at 18:58

1 Answers1

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As you have returned it so not a lot of point discussing further. But just in case:

  1. It could be saved - a careful half an hour with a file might have been enough to square the mouth.

  2. Either an angled grind on the blade, or tilting it in the holder, would have given you even protrusion, and thus a consistent shaving thickness?

Nigel Pearson
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