| Blog series by Div | updated 725 days ago | 6 parts | 25074 reads | 128 comments total |
Part 1: First you gotta do some thinking...and find iron
During the recent posting by Bertha on the hand planes of our dreams, the issue of wooden shoulder planes came up. I had some requests and PM’s to blog on the making of a wooden shoulder plane so I will give it my best shot. Be warned, I work in the metric system so measurements are in millimeters. For those who use King George’s thumb to measure, dividing by 25.4 will at least give decimal inches. I’ll gladly answer any question but have patience: No computer will survive in my dusty worksho...
Part 2: About body parts and even a mouth...
24 hours later and I’m back in my favorite chair! It sounds like some has already sourced plane irons in many different ways. Good! Bertha is ordering a brandnew blade, Derosa found some old plane blades at a local junk store and his Dremel with cutting disc is eager to go! Grittyroots has some old molding planes and wants to use an iron from on of those. Bearpie in Jacksonville has some old worn out metal cutting saw blades about 1/8” thick by 2” wide and 18” long. Good ide...
Part 3: The mouth. Don't open wide, we are not at the dentist! (sorry Ken)
As I write, my blue Monday is behind me but some of my American friends are still busy dealing with theirs! Let’s get rid of the blues and go back to our project. The glue is dry and we can pop the clamps. I’ve always liked this stage of a project, that moment when you can take off the clamps and clean up the glue lines. Again, a reminder of what we want to achieve: This is where we are. Cut the pins close to the timber and clean up the glue lines. If there is glue squeeze ou...
Part 4: Let's make us an iron!
If this is happening a little too slow for your liking, it is because I have to make sawdust all day long to keep the wolf from the door. That is 10 hours gone. Making these little planes and blogging about it is mostly a night time affair, after taking care of normal daily chores and duties! We have made a plane body and it is looking pretty good! Time to do some metalwork.This is what we want to achieve: At the top is the finished plane iron, below is the material I made it from; ...
Part 5: Let's wedge it!
It makes me REAL happy to see that some guys have been inspired to make their own planes! For that reason, I will patiently bear the slowness of my backwater farm style dial up connection….. The last part to be made is the wedge. Just a simple piece of wood but with a very important function! Not only does it hold the blade firmly in position, it also acts as a chip breaker of sorts. Remember when we made the plane body (Part II) there was this little off cut piece to be saved? This...
Part 6: Tune me finely...but how do I adjust the iron?
Body done, wedge done, plane iron done. If you are anything like me, eagerness to see some shavings has replaced all other desires at this stage! With a bit of luck, paper thin shavings will be curling out of the mouth. Isn’t it great! If not, don’t despair…. LET’S FINE TUNE: 1. True the plane sole. This is done with the blade in place but well away from the mouth and the wedge set up tightly as it would be in use. Why? With the wedge set, our plane is in “tension”. The wood actuall...
