Stanley No. 5 Hand Plane (1242) In Stock Now

13" long, bevel-down plane

TIPS:

The blade and chip breaker are held in place with the lever cap. Release the Lever Cap and slip it off of the screw, then lift the blade and chip breaker out of the plane carefully. The blade is sharp so watch your fingers and be carefully when you insert this assembly.

You may need to adjust the blade and chip breaker. If yes, loosen the screw holding them together, you can use the Lever Cap as a screwdriver to do this. Adjust chip breaker so 1/32–1/16 inch of the blade extends beyond the chip breaker for fine to medium cut.

Re-insert the blade and chip breaker into the plane, onto the depth adjuster. The blade will be on the bottom, closest to the body of the plane. The screw for the chip breaker will be down and it goes into the recess.

Slip the Lever Cap back onto the main screw and start to close the lever. You want the Lever Cap to be snug but not tight. Do not use the screw that goes through the Lever Cap to tighten the blade system, use the lever. You may need to ease off the lever slightly to adjust the cut depth in the next step.

Adjust blade depth with brass wheel. The plane should take very fine cuts and create thin, continuous ribbons of wood shavings. If you have to push hard, you're taking too deep a cut. Ease off the cut depth.

 At the top end of the blade assembly, there's a narrow lever to adjust the blade angle to the left or right. Use the lever to adjust blade if it's cutting too much on one side or the other. This is how you control whether the ribbon of wood the plane cuts is the full width of the blade or the piece of wood.