Lateral Adjustment

The lateral adjustment lever cants the cutting iron from side to side, levering the iron against a pivotal point somewhere near the center of the cutting iron. This swivelling action enables you to line up the cutting edge of the cutting iron parallel to the plane’s sole. This mechanism is necessary because in the daily procedure of grinding and honing the cutting iron, it’s difficult to keep the cutting edge perfectly square.

With the cutting iron assembly and the lever cap in place, swivel the lever from left to right and back again a couple of times. After the final lever, set the lateral adjustment lever in the central position over the handle and check to see how the cutting iron lies in relation to the sole by turning the plane upside down and sighting along the sole of the plane. Cant the lever as necessary until the iron lies parallel to the sole. This the sight test. Now feel the tip of the cutting iron with you finger tips. With a little practice you will soon be able to tell whether the cutting iron is parallel and how much the cutting iron is protruding. This is the touch test. The more you work with the plane, the more sensitive you will become to adjusting the depth of cut.