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Project Information

Metal infill Smoother
-9" by 2", brass, steel.ebony, MOP
-o-1 steel blade 5/16' thick, set at 55 degrees
-oil and wax finish
-designed to plane difficult grained woods
-takes .001 to .002" shavings chatter free
-adjusting hammer: brass and walnut

It took me several months to build from scratch. Steel: 5/16" starrett O-1 for blade, milled , heat treated and tempered using a homemade propane forge, RC 62. 360 brass .41" thick for sole, 3/16" 1018 steel for sides(back of plane was bent with a wood vise and hardwood forms (tricky to keep straight).Milling was done with a knee type manual mill(wells-index). Moldings and round shapes were done with a rotary table and end mills. Metal was cut with a jigsaw and metal blade.
Sides were through riveted with 3/16" mild steel rod on 5/8" centers. this created very rigid sides that are perpendicular to the sole. Tolerances were held to one thousandth or less, including the length of the sole. This method limits the flexing and movement of the sides (which happens when dovetailing).
Threads were cut using 1/2-13 tap and die, by hand. Inlay was done with a dremel and small chisels.
The tight tolerances and thick plane blade make for effortless and chatter free planing. The blade is easy to change, adjust and sharpen. The O-1 steel holds an edge as well as the A2 blades on my LN and is easy to forge and heat treat.At 55 degrees and 1 5/8" wide (the blade) it is easy to push the plane through harder woods. Woods I have planed are : bubinga, birdseye maple, quilted cherry, purpleheart, mahogany with grain in 2 directions. It takes a thin shaving with no tearout, even against the grain.

thanks, Russ

Gallery

Comments

· Registered
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755 Posts
Wow! Absolutely stunning plane! Must be a joy to use as well as look at. Some more details on how you made it would be nice. Welcome to Lumberjocks!
 

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287 Posts
beautiful plane, just gorgeous.
Thanks for sharing
 

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5 Posts
Nice going, that's quite some infill! Must have a nice heft to it to.
Please elaborate on how you fabricated it! Water jet, CNC mill, manual mill, or old fashion hacksaw and files? Bending the steel. Number of hours to build? I'd love to see some transparent rosewood shavings.
 

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20,131 Posts
definitely a work of art!! Welcome to LJ.
 

· In Loving Memory
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977 Posts
Wow, that's just too nice to use. I'd like to have one just to admire.
 

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19 Posts
That has to rank as one of the best looking planes I have ever seen! I don't think I could bring myself to actually use it, but then again…. isn't that what it is meant for? Or is it? Maybe? Well…
 

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7,027 Posts
that´s a tool that everyone wuold
like to have in the shop

thank´s for sharing but a little more info wuold bee nice

welcome to L J

Dennis
 

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1,527 Posts
Incredible plane, but you can't leave us hanging. Tell us about it and yourself.
 

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4,567 Posts
Very nice. Lots of work went into that project! Excellent results.
 

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34 Posts
tool art.
 

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A true thing of beauty! Please some background on how you learned your skills. Welcome and please post more!
 

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93 Posts
You are an inspiration Russ. I'm about to start a wooden jack plane in the Krenov style and I feel a bit intimidated because of the precision necessary. Your work here is terrific. Thanks for sharing.
 

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19,753 Posts
Hatcha MA MA what a plane ,As cool as it gets
 

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416 Posts
wow…. more.. details please…
 

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you should build a display box and put it in the trophy room with the other mounts!! Too nice to use.
 
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