Shoulder Plane

Here’s my first plane build which I made for my son’s 13th birthday. A buddy recently gave me a box full of planer blades which I’ve been dreaming up uses for. Top on the list was a shoulder plane but I had been putting it off as I thought it was going to be more difficult than it was. As it turned out it went really well and ended up being a fun project. More importantly the plane works great. The design is not unlike Ron Hock’s kit but I made the side panels in a large dado which made locating the pieces easier. After glue up I planed the side panels to match the body (beech, walnut, and purple heart wedge) and to width, then trimmed the top off, and finally shaped the body on the bandsaw. I cut the blade out with a cut off wheel on my small angle grinder, free handed on the bench grinder, and finally to the stones. This one was just under 3/4”, next 1/2”, and then some profiles I guess.

-- Ray - Spokane, WA - “Most people don’t recognize opportunity because it’s usually disguised as hard work.” - Unknown