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Well, I haven't had the money to go buy a planer yet… too cheap. So, I decided to settle for my best "cheap" option for jointing together a bench seat and then smoothing it. Plus, I get an excuse to try something else new. So, I bought the Ron Hock 2" blade and then stopped by the local hardwood store to see what they had for wood. Again, being cheap, I decided to glue together a bunch of hard maple out of the shorts bin in order to keep costs down. Best part was that I found a piece with some decent figure in the cheap bin. The sole, wedge, and pin is made out of Jatoba (Brazillian Cherry).

In the end, I have a very large jointer plane with a fence that can be attached. I also have a smoother plane. The block plane was eaten by the router, so we'll see if I ever get around to fixing it and then finishing it. Both planes have adjustable soles.

I have to say, while it is a lot of work, there is something pretty cool about using a plane with a good sharp blade. It just makes it all the cooler when you made the plane from scratch yourself too. I'd like to eventually get a second blade so that I don't have all the hassles of switching the blade between planes.

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man, those things are sweet. Is that a removable fence on the jointer?
 

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Welcome to Lumberjocks - and nice work JayRay.

I really like the lines of the 'swell' behind the jointers wedge, and the add-on fence was a smart move.

Chris
 

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Welcome. Really nice job on those planes
 

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those sure are pretty planes
 

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Most excellent work JayRay and welcome to LumberJocks.
 

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Wow.. for "cheap" wood I'd say you scored! Really sharp looking planes and they look comfy to work with. Great job..
 

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SWEEEEEEET. those are sharp looking as well as cutting.. very nice… welcome to LJ's..
 

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Beautiful planes.
I love the fact you gave them adjustable mouths.
Really nice work.
Best thoughts,
Mads
 

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these are beautiful, love them! i´m sure they produce a lot of fine thin shavings
 

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Those are freakin cool!!!
 

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Nicely done jayray - thanks for sharing! I have been thinking I need to make a good long jointing plane, and yours is a great inspiration. Do you have any pics of the whole plane with the fence attached?
 

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Here is a pic of the fence attached. The one thumb screw holds the fence in place against the body and the fence is held by being up against the sole bottom of the plane. Note, there is an area cut out of the fence for where the blade would stick out.

I was worried about losing the thumb screw, so I put a threaded insert in the fence. The issue was that the thumb screw would tighten against that as opposed to pulling the fence tight to the plane body. So, with the suggestion from my father-in-law, I put the thumb screw in the drill press and filed off the threads near the top. This allows for the fence to catch the threads of the screw, but when the screw is almost tight, it does not catch any more threads and allows the fence to be pulled tight to the body.

 

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OUTSTANDING! And yes, I'm screaming. They look like they're just begging to be touched. I love the functional curves.
 

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I agree with Al, They look like something you'd have to pick up and hold.
 

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Jayray:

Welcome to LumberJocks!

Your planes are FANTASTIC!

Great work… and the price! You have that figured out pretty well too! LOL
 

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Here is another picture of the fence. It was a fairly easy addition to the jointer.

 

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The fence is really nice. I like the cutaway. Imagine if you used an internally threaded brass rod as your wedge cross member. It could double as the receiver for your fence screw. I wonder if that would work? 'be cool if it did:)
 

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These planes are some of the nicest I've seen anyone make. The adjustable mouths are incredible, as is the jointer fence. Is the jointer usable without a knob/tote (I don't know much about wood planes)? And how hard is it to get a tight fit with the blade and wedge?
 

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The jointer took some getting used to, but I've never really used a plane before this. When I decided to do this project, I decided that the one thing I'd really spend money on was a quality blade. With the Hock blade sharpened and adjusted right, it works really nice for edge jointing. I can see the advantages to a tote and knob, but if this is adjusted right, I don't find myself wishing I had them.

The wedge holds the blade quite easily. A couple of taps on the wedge and it doesn't really need to be touched after that. I have found that it takes more force when hitting the back of the plane to adjust the blade simply due to the mass of the plane.
 
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