Replies

1. 
   Jercarp | Nov 01, 2009 01:15am | #1

   I have mostly the Stanley LN planes but have 2 Veritas. To me, it really doesn't matter, they're just different.
   You want really different, get a Japanese style & learn to adjust with the little hammer, and then do all your cutting on the pull.

2. 
   mrfu | Nov 01, 2009 03:13am | #2

   In real life I don't think it really matters, your going to get used to whichever one you have. I think the overall quality of the plane and your abilities is what is important. A sloppy norris style system is going to be more frustrating than a accurate stanley style one. I personally use mostly wooden planes that you adjust with a hammer. It's just my preference and is the best system for me.
   Tom

3. 
   roc | Nov 01, 2009 07:32am | #3

   http://forums.taunton.com/fw-knots/messages?msg=43984.32

   roc

   Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )

4. 
   dkellernc | Nov 02, 2009 04:02am | #4

   Neither one is "better", and in fact, what is often called a "Norris Adjuster" isn't - it was invented by Leonard Bailey, and made it onto a few very rare Stanely planes from the 1870s.  Why Norris was granted a patent on it is a mystery - it may well have had something to do with the lack of international patent law at the time.

   Anyway, Norris certainly popularized the mechanism in the teens and twenties of the early 20th century.

   There is, though, one key point to be made about a Norris adjuster - you cannot adjust the extension of the blade with the adjuster while the lever cap is cinched down as it will put extreme stress on the adjuster's threads.  Many, many old Norris planes are found with the threads "bell-mouthed" by an ingorant user.

   One other comment about Norris adjusters - they generally cannot be used to adjust the blade extension on the planing stroke as one can with the Stanley bevel-down design.  That might be a big deal to you , but it might not.

   One disadvantage that the Stanley bevel-down Bailey adjuster has over a well-made Norris "look alike" is lash - even a very well-made Stanley adjuster will have siginificant slop between forward & backward blade extension adjustments.

1. 
   philip | Nov 02, 2009 08:27am | #5

   To add some :
   Even the original Norris 1913 patented mechanism had a fair amount of back lash/lost motion, as did subsequent modified versions in 1923 and 1930. This is mainly because they had two sets of threads-one left hand and one right hand, in addition to that arising from the other moving parts . It means that they are not all that positive -but still streets ahead of any Stanley type Y lever model.
   I cannot see why it was thought that two sets of threads would be good unless there was a screaming urgency for rapid movement of the iron.
   In passing: you may be interested to know that I have been making a Norris type adjuster, but single thread, for my planes, having 28 threads per inch, but have recently changed to using either a 36tpi or a 40tpi on some planes. The convenient thing about 40tpi is that one turn results in a movement of .025 inches: so if you use the clock ray method it is a cinch to advance or retract the blade by 1 thou or less very positvely.
   So I would tend to think that a single thread Norris type (ie one that has a stem screw with peg to engage the blade and also controls the lateral movement function) is "better" than even the most well made Y lever type-because you get precise movement of the blade and virtually no lost motion. Philip Marcou

1. 
   tkarlmann | Nov 02, 2009 11:02pm | #6

   Thanks for the info!

5. 
   user-87215 | Nov 25, 2009 05:31am | #7

   Phillip, I have adjusters from Ray Isles and St. James,  IIRC they are around 40 tpi.  I have a post war Norris, and the adjuster is extremely aggressive - too fast in my opinion.