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Twelve weeks ago I cut my fingers very badly with an knife and an angle grinder. I made this plane over the last few days to celebrate getting the use of my fingers back. It is mostly made of Oak from an old Mantle Clock. I had given the wood to my students to make something of but they weren't very interested so I thought I would show them what was lurking inside just waiting to be set free. The sole is Wenge.

I am please with the result for a number of reasons. It cuts well and true. The carvings are quite delicate with the smaller one of Netsuke size. Rather amazing that such fine detail can be obtained from a coarse grained wood like Oak. Fits nicely in my hands and runs freely over the work piece. The sole has been hollowed in front of and behind the blade in the Japanese style. The very front, bottom of the plane is at a right angle to the sole so that any shavings or dirt on the wood being worked is pushed away. A bevel on the front can cause the plane to rise up slightly over loose obstacles. The blade is angled across the body.

Gallery

Comments

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Excellent work. Love the carving.
 

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Thats impressive way to make your tools pieces of art! Do you feel bad tapping the wedge on the head with a hammer?

Also, how the heck do you cut your finger with an angle grinder and a knife at the same time!!!
 

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Great looking plane. That is such a cool design. Great carviings. All you planes are so interesting and wonderful
 

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Very nice! I really enjoy those carvings. One observation--I would have thought the guy with the "sad" face would be the one who gets tapped on the head with a hammer. :)
 

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Thanks Guys for all the comments. I cut my fingers holding a very sharp knife in the left hand and an angle grinder in the right. I wanted to cut the end off the knife. Predictably the angle grinder blade caught and ripped the knife out of my hand. 60 stitches later, a 6 hour operation and 4 days in hospital resulted.

I don't mind tapping the wedge with a hammer. The top is shaped so it shouldn't deform from light taps. I never thought of putting the sad face on the wedge. I don't think tapping his head regularly would cheer him up though.

I am working on two more planes at the moment so will soon have some more to show you.
 

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What a lovely plane.
So sweet carvings.
Best thoughts,
Mads
 

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Beautiful plane.
Excellent work.
 

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Thank you again everyone for the comments. I mostly only with work the hand tools I have made. Slowing discarding all my power tools and a lot of the antiques. The ones I have made seem to suit me better and perform exactly as I want them to. I have one plane called "The Mother of All Planes" that I use to make all the other planes. Its a Wenge Smoother with a 63 degree blade angle. It is shown along with one of my earlier projects.
 

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John so you like Wenge for plane soles? I wouldn't have thought it would be a good choice since its so porous. I have a Walnut smoother that needs a more durable sole, Wenge would look nice.
 

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Yes I used Wenge on this occasion. I have never had a problem with it being porous though. I like it because its very hard and smooth. However I usually need to use my 63 degree "Mother of All Planes" to successfully smooth it. Other planes just seem to bounce off. Have made two planes totally out of Wenge but its very hard to come by here in NZ. Other woods I use for soles are Maple, Jarrah, Oak, Matai (a NZ wood). Anything hard. Cheers - John S
 

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An additional comment. I agree Walnut is to soft for the sole. Same with Mahogany. I once used a wood called Kwilla. Every time I used the plane long fibres fell off the sole.
 
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