# Handmade tools-(material)



## Cleveland (Dec 14, 2011)

I am about to venture into something I believe will become partly an obsession, I want to try to make a rebate plane…I have plenty of scraps around the shop but all seems to be from poplar and Oak… People I normally build for want cheaper materials they can paint… I have found myself needing a rebate/shoulder plane and can't justify spending around 100$ on something I believe I can make here in the shop from my scrap bin… Would Red Oak suffice? I don't have any of the woods that are recomended…like mahogany, Beech and what not… I plan on making one that's shallow so I can sneak it into tight places if need be and if it works well I'll make a few more….. but just wondering if the Oak will be alright…..Thanks and please flood me with info!!!!!


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## richgreer (Dec 25, 2009)

I've made one hand plane but I plan to make more. In my case, I wanted a super hard plate on the bottom and the hardest wood available (Janka index of 4000) is Lignum Vitae. I only used about a piece on the bottom that is about 1/4" think but I like having a "steel like" plate on the bottom.

Lignum Vitae may be beyond your financial reach. Still, I would recommend a hard, tight grained wood for the bottom plate.

You mentioned oak. IMO, a white oak would work much better than a red oak but I think a few modestly priced domestics may do even better. Sugar (hard) Maple comes to mind first. I would also consider hickory or ash.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

i made my smoother and scraper from oak


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## dkirtley (Mar 11, 2010)

Oak would be *OK* but I would go with something with less open grain. I suggest grabbing some turning blanks for stock to play with. They are not that expensive and you can get some interesting pieces. I have some purpleheart and wenge I got that way.

That said, personally I just dropped $30 and bought a wooden rebate like they sell at Lee Valley and Japan Woodworker.

Here is one from Lee Valley:


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## Cleveland (Dec 14, 2011)

@richgreer….How difficult was it to flatten the sole?...and what did you use to adhere it to the other and what did you use for the body of the plane>? 
Thanks for the input guys….I might have to pick one up to get through this project…and then make one at my leisure….if leisure is a real word…..Preciate it Go Vols…Roll tide PI$$ on Florida just saying


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## waho6o9 (May 6, 2011)

You can make one no doubt Clevo. I used purple heart, zebrawood, and an oak strip for my first one.
It's a alot of fun to make your own.


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## RockyTopScott (Nov 16, 2008)

Ok Clevo, i am part way there with you sir….see if you can tell from my name.


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## RGtools (Feb 18, 2011)

My wife shoved the same rebate plane that david is using in my stocking this year…not a bad tool but it takes a bit of practice to get everything right.

As far as woods are concerned. Anything dense straight and stable works. Try to get wood that this quartersawn close to the pith (but missing it) and angle any runout so the grain slopes downhill from toe to heal, that gives you a very durable plane (pick up a few surviveing wooden planes…the woods change but the configuration is pretty uniform).


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

A low angle won't work in wood. The pressure of on the bed
below the iron will force the wood to bulge behind the iron 
if you go much less than 45 degrees with a wood plane. 
Metal shoulder planes overcome this by using a material than 
can take the stress without bending.

That said, I've made a rebate plane or two. I did one as a skew
rebate, sort of like a Japanese skew rebate plane. I used
an iron from a block plane.


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## Cleveland (Dec 14, 2011)

My first love is Tennessee…as much as a transplanted East Tennessean can …. But I've always been a bama fan too…so every third or fourth Saturday in October I am sure to be smiling…I would like UT to beat Bama just one more time in my lifetime hahahahh… My three favorite teams are UT Bama and who ever is playing Forida….man I just hate that team…. Any how… I have scoured the internet looking for a rebate plane….Don't think a shoulder plane is necessarily needed as I'll be going with the grain but still haven't found one that is reasonably affordable.. I might just have to get out to the shop and make one….I have a few old block plane Irons I could use for the blade…. I've also seen that a man on here made one out of an old "paddle" bit…seems like a good idea too…but a little more work that I can afford to do at the moment…. If anyone knows where to scurry one up let me know…I'm in Kingston Tn. and would like to keep it local….thanks yall….or as we say in Tennessee thank yunz!!!


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