Bull Nose Plane

Tony, heat the steel up with a torch if you have one, and then quench it in cold water, that ought to harden that steel some and make it hold an edge longer. I’ve even heard of guys putting steel in the oven and putting the oven on high and doing the same thing, I’ve never tried it though. mike

-- Mike. mwurm13@yahoo.com

When I make plane irons, knife blanks etc. i usually harden the steel by taking the grates off of the bbq or firepit, toss the steel in and bury it, then leave it until red-hot. (Bluish purple as it cools)

Then I quench it in used motor oil, and start polishing. This will result in a hardness of about RC-54 to 56

-- The only easy wood project is a fire

its good

-- oliver potts

I like that Tony.
I’m going to make one too.

p.s. tool steel usually dosen’t come tempered.
You have to do that after you work it.

To add to what Mike said, if you heat the polished blade up about an inch from the cutting end and chase the yellowish brown color to the sharp edge then quench it in water or oil ( I use Corn oil) you should have a pretty hard blade.

cheers
Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

And my education continues on. Nice plan I like the idea. I never knew that is how you could harden steel. Thanks Tony for posting and everyone for answering. My addiction has been justified I will be back.

-- Ron Central, CA

Looks very useful!

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Tony – it’s always interesting to see how a person chases a problem thru to a solution with a shop-made tool. Follow the advice given about hardening and you will be happy with the result.

Phil

-- Phil in British Columbia

That is cool as heck… I didn’t know how little I knew until I got on this site…

That’s a great looking plane… does it feel good in your hand when you use it?

-- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17) †

There’s a nice writeup by Ron Hock himself here: Some thoughts on Do-It-Yourself Heat Treating of Tool Steel

Of course, to accomplish that you need to get the metal hot enough. Sure you can use the coals in a firepit etc, but a mini forge built with a coffee can and a Mapp gas or propane hand-held torch works nice too. Check these out:
Mini Gas Forge
How to Make a small Gas Furnace
Free Gas Forge Plans

There’s more than you ever needed to know about treating tool steal.

-- Waylan Limberg, Warren PA

DON’T PUT IT IN WATER AFTER YOU HEAT IT. COOLS TOO QUICKLY. AFTER YOU HEAT IT, DIP IT IN OIL.

-- http://ye-olde-cabinet-shoppe.com/

That is an interesting plane. looks like just the ticket for cleaning dadoes.

If you do plan on heat treating the blade – I thought I would get my $.02 in too:

The general idea in heat treating steel is to get it above its critical temperature then freeze the molecular lattice before the carbon atoms can migrate. As Mike said, If you have a torch (rosebud) that works well if for most steels, take it beyond cherry to orange. or you can test it with a magnet or temperature stick. if the magnet doesn’t stick to it, it is ready. Quenching depends on the type of steel you have. O1 tool steel for example, the motor oil quench is perfect. Other types can be quenched in water, be careful with this. The steel can shatter like glass if cooled too quickly. also the oil can catch fire. (highly unlikely on a piece this small) I usually have a bucket handy that I can just place upside down over the oil container and smother it.) After quenching, the steel is very hard (60+ Rc), but also brittle like glass. This is were Mike’s “sticking it in the oven on high” or as Bob said by bringing the light amber / straw color back from behind the cutting edge tricks come in. These are ways of tempering it (make it tougher and less brittle – (and softer)).

-- A thing of beauty is a joy forever...

Very nicely done, Tony. I am sure that fits your hand comfotably, too. You got a wealth of info on tempering the steel, so you should be able to get-r-done! It is always much more gratifying to use a tool YOU made, yourslef when working on wood, ain’t it?!?

God Bless,
Hawg

-- Saving barnwood from the scrapyards

This is cool, Tony. What A simple solution to a problem. I know you will use this a lot. I have a “Record” (metal) bullnose/chisel plane and I use it more than any other hand tool for cleaning out the insides or corners, frames, etc. Its great for getting rid of beads of glue squeeze out inside boxes.

-- Check out my new website! http://www.blakeweberwoodworking.com

Great solution always more satisfying when you use a tool you have made yourself

Thanks for the post

Callum

-- For wood working podcasts with a twist check out http://thetimberkid.com/

A very useful tool for cleaning dadoes. I was looking for some such means to clean a very narrow dado. I hope I can try one for it. Very nice.
Sharad

-- patanjali

A perfect example of KISS. Keep it simple stupid! Great idea!

-- Bob A in NJ

Wow – thanks guys for the input, especially on the tempering. I’ll give it a try soon, just got to find some oil. I’ll let you know how it works out.

I was just thinking about modifications to the design – I might make another body for the blade, with an even lower bed angle, maybe 12° or 15°, and a shorter version for those tight places to get into.

If this all works out, I can see me making a few more tools – providing I can get the steel (difficult to find here in Finland)

-- Tony - All things are possible, just some things are more difficult than others! - SKYPE: Heron2005 (http://www.poydatjatuolit.fi)

looks great and functional

-- making sawdust....

good looking little plane! if you need more tool steel – check out admiral steel and online metals

I’d imagine that some online metals outfit would ship to Finland…

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

Dorje – Thanks for the links – but the shipping costs are 3 x the value of the order $33 for steel and $105 shipping costs. This is why I need to buy locally or find a kind person who gives me the steel.

-- Tony - All things are possible, just some things are more difficult than others! - SKYPE: Heron2005 (http://www.poydatjatuolit.fi)

oooh – got it…didn’t realize the shipping would be that steep!

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

Excelllent work, and also very interesting reading the stories about hardening and tempering.

-- Colin, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. "Every craftsman was once an amateur"

Thanks again to ALL – I heated the blade up in my wood burner, just added a little compressed air to get the temperature higher.

Cooled the blade in some Oily stuff, then re polished, Flattened and sharpened the blade.

The result – a first class blade, which not only removed the hairs from my arm, but will actually slice them length ways.

Time will tell how it holds it edge – but I am more than happy with the results – Thanks for the steel Obi.

-- Tony - All things are possible, just some things are more difficult than others! - SKYPE: Heron2005 (http://www.poydatjatuolit.fi)

I recently read that a blade with an angle less than 20 degrees is almost impossible to get a lasting edge. Your honing comes close to that mark, so maybe the article was valid. Makes since as there is very little there on the tiny angles regardless of blade quality.

-- Jeff, South Carolina

Good to see how you put the steel to use. When you coming back to the US? : ^ )

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

Jeff - I have not found a problem with 20° grinding – some of my chisels are ground to 20° and are a pleasure to use, but they are reserved normally for softer woods, they seep to cut better than those at 25°.

Wayne No plans at the moment, I am trying to persuade the wife to go back for the winter of 2009/2010 – it is a huge expense to travel and ski – got to get more work to pay for the trip.

-- Tony - All things are possible, just some things are more difficult than others! - SKYPE: Heron2005 (http://www.poydatjatuolit.fi)

Hopefully you will get the work and be able to come again. Lots of other shops to visit.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov