I still keep revisiting the drawing board making final adjustments to my new plane the No 985 – seems to go on forever. Whilst I have been doing this I have been making comparisons between non-adjuster planes and adjuster planes and I am working on the basis that having an adjuster does double the price. I will try to explain the difference and why the work compounds.
Since designing my own planes I have moved on a long way from the earlier Norris examples. The Norris planes with their adjusters did tend to be a bit basic, like most planes of this time, almost bordering on primitive. You could literally recess the infill and drop the adjuster straight in, securing with two wood screws.
I will explain with an example of where a lot of the work goes, which doesn’t appear to have much to do with the actual adjuster. My adjuster designs are truly integrated into the plane, I don’t just pop an adjuster in as an extra!
![CI3A2619](http://www.holteyplanes.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CI3A2619-1024x682.jpg)
The photo below shows the swivel which is balled so it matches any irregularities whilst connecting with the blade. This is, like most of my design elements, my own innovation.
![CI3A2626](http://www.holteyplanes.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CI3A2626-1024x682.jpg)
As you can see the lever cap (from my No 984 plane which is blogged here:http://www.holteyplanes.com/blog/category/no-984/, showing the machine working) is stepped/recessed so that it will carry a swivel. This is necessary with adjuster planes as the swivel shoe will bridge the adjuster holes in the blade. From my research it appears that I am probably the first pioneer to drop the chip breaker on bevel down planes. The first plane I made like this was the 11-s (see photo)
![11s ebony](http://www.holteyplanes.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/11s-ebony-1024x768.jpg)
As the 11s has no adjuster drillings the lever cap was quite straight forward and less work. When I made the No 982 I was able to avoid the holes in the blade with the lever cap placement but it put some limitations on the design.
![IMG_2598](http://www.holteyplanes.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/IMG_2598-1024x682.jpg)
This is an example of the adjuster recessing in the No 983.
![CI3A2712](http://www.holteyplanes.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CI3A2712-1024x682.jpg)
This is the bottom for the No 984 showing the adjuster recess.
In summary: to add an adjuster, both adjuster and plane have to be truly integrated. Of course the adjuster has to be made as well.