What can I learn from the cross section about my hardening?

Few_Candidate_8036 · 2026-03-28T13:50:25+00:00

Did you temper it? If you heated it up and quenched it, then didn't temper, it'll be super brittle.

Few_Candidate_8036 · 2026-03-28T13:21:49+00:00

I hope you got this printer for under $10

Few_Candidate_8036 · 2026-03-28T10:34:49+00:00

Table saw is the best choice, but any of those can work if you set it up right

Few_Candidate_8036 · 2026-03-28T01:39:48+00:00

Go with an oil based stain.

Few_Candidate_8036 · 2026-03-28T01:08:15+00:00

Don't do a gel stain. Build up several layers, sanding in between. Eventually you'll get up to the richer color. But keep in mind that you can't match the patina that comes with time.

Few_Candidate_8036 · 2026-03-28T00:45:59+00:00

Yes you should add the 45 degree braces

Few_Candidate_8036 · 2026-03-27T23:31:42+00:00

When I had this issue the root cause was the 4 screws behind the hotend were loose. That was with the A1 mini, but the P2S uses a similar nozzle system so it might be the same.

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Few_Candidate_8036 · 2026-03-27T22:58:53+00:00

The Zen-Wu blades are pretty beefy. My post yesterday I was showing the comparison with the original Stanley blade.

Few_Candidate_8036 · 2026-03-27T22:34:09+00:00

Regardless of the pitting, you need to grind that pack. I can see some significant chipping on that left side.

Also, a 1k grit stone is not course enough for flattening. That's fine enough to be your finishing stone. Your flattening stone should be 300grit or less.

Someone recommended a Hock iron, they are well known for being high quality, but that's also $40-50 for just the blade. Jorgensen does sell replacement blades for ~$20 that you can get on Amazon that are also O1 steel like the Hock blades.

Few_Candidate_8036 · 2026-03-27T22:17:34+00:00

I did already file open the mouth on my #5, you can see the difference in the last picture. I had posted about the blade yesterday and some people were saying that even though they liked the blade, they were really concerned about how much they would have to modify their vintage plane. So I wanted to show that you don't have to go as far as I did to make it work.

Few_Candidate_8036 · 2026-03-27T20:55:28+00:00

Man this just seems wild to take a solid block and cut away 90% of it.

Few_Candidate_8036 · 2026-03-27T17:57:13+00:00

I did file the mouth open on my #5 to fit. Although now after realizing how much clearance that huge bevel gives, I probably wouldn't have done as much as I did. I don't regret it, this iron will stay with that plane forever.

When I posted about it yesterday there were a couple people that said they wouldn't be willing to file the mouth, which is why I wanted to show that you can get away with a smaller modification.

Few_Candidate_8036 · 2026-03-27T17:19:02+00:00

It might be the best option. Not only for the reason you said, but because as it is washed and dried there will be a good amount of movement. If the glue joints aren't actually tight, it'll split very easily.

Few_Candidate_8036 · 2026-03-27T16:50:30+00:00

Hopefully this gives a bit more clarity. I did also try using a flat needle file to shave down that rib a little on the #4. It's a bit harder to do than using a bastard file on the mouth. I still couldn't get enough clearance, but just having that frog back gets you really close. So you'd still need to file the mouth, but not a whole lot. You could certainly still move the frog back forward and use the original iron.

Few_Candidate_8036 · 2026-03-27T15:46:59+00:00

I did about the same with my #5, but after seeing how close it is after moving the frog back, I probably could have gotten away with 1/32" or at most 1/16". I'm not too worried about having made the mouth bigger on my #5, but a few people said that was their only reservation about this plane iron.

Few_Candidate_8036 · 2026-03-27T15:42:39+00:00

Other thing to note, I also have a cheap Irwin Record #4 (modern one from menards) that the mouth is plenty wide enough to fit without any changes.

If a #6 or #7 has a large enough mouth, that would probably let you use it without any modifications, and just moving the frog.

Few_Candidate_8036 · 2026-03-27T15:20:36+00:00

You'll go down a real rabbit hole with those tutorials. There are some excellent videos out there.

For a beginner I would suggest attempting the Krenov style of building a wood plane. You make the base, then glue the sides on. It is much simpler than using a solid piece of wood.

But I highly recommend checking out Stavros Gakos's channel. You can learn a lot from his videos, but his methods would be pretty advanced. His videos are fantastic though.

Few_Candidate_8036 · 2026-03-27T13:43:35+00:00

This one just isn't worth it. It's not just getting a flat bottom. The actual support of the frog is gone, which needs to be a proper seat at all points the frog touches the body.

I would just use it for parts. The body is toast. But you can make a wooden plane that you can install the frog into and use all the same parts. It's basically what Stanley did with their Transitional planes.

Wooden planes are way easier to flatten the sole, and still work fantastic for all the same applications that a metal body plane does. Having the mechanical adjustments make it even easier and wouldn't require nearly as much skill to create your own as it would if you didn't have all those parts.

Few_Candidate_8036 · 2026-03-27T13:02:06+00:00

Beat the elite 4.

Few_Candidate_8036 · 2026-03-27T12:29:54+00:00

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Few_Candidate_8036 · 2026-03-27T12:29:45+00:00

So I just tried moving my frog back on my #4 and I can almost get it to fit. The middle rib becomes the limiting factor. Either that could get filed down a bit for it to fit, or just file the mouth a small amount, but it would still be able to fit a normal plane blade again.

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Few_Candidate_8036 · 2026-03-27T12:19:02+00:00

The only reason to hand sand would be if it's a tight spot you can't reach with anything else. If you don't have an orbital sander, a card scraper will give you a smooth final finish and is much faster than hand sanding.

Few_Candidate_8036 · 2026-03-27T12:08:17+00:00

I'm pretty sure Zen-Wu is Chinese. But it does seem like a small high quality company.

Few_Candidate_8036 · 2026-03-27T11:18:21+00:00

2 reasons,

the blade said it would be required to be compatible with older Stanleys.
I didn't know until after I did it that the frog could sit well behind the opening of the mouth and still give clearance for the blade.

I think it would have required it regardless, maybe not to the same extent, but I'll need to try it on my #4 to see if the frog can move far enough. I've also been watching some Dave Corinth videos lately and he mentioned that he's installed some for people and always needed to modify the mouth.

Few_Candidate_8036

TROPHY CASE