# Wooden Planes



## Iguana (Jun 22, 2011)

*The first one*

My first experience with handplanes were two 70's era Stanleys (the block with a red lever cap, and a Handyman smoother) I "rescued" from a drawer in my dad's garage three years ago. He had a brief flirtation with woodworking around the time I was 5, and the planes had obviously been unused since. The climate here is pretty dry, so there was only minor surface rust to deal with. I cleaned them up, worked on the soles a bit, and without really knowing what I was doing, turned the smoother into something usable. The block never felt right, though. It probably could be made to work just fine, as I've since learned a few things, but at the time, I decided to pursue the down path of making my own.

I should add here that I'm a problem solver and perfectionist, attracted to picky, detail-oriented work, so I suppose it was only natural that I'd gravitate toward making my own planes.

Going solely from Krenov's discourse on making a plane in The Fine Art of Cabinetmaking, I decided to make my own. I fully expected my first effort to be superior to what Stanley could achieve with 100 years of experience. Seriously!










A block, built according to Krenov's description, but taking my own liberties with the pin and wedge.
Walnut body with a beech sole. Hickory pin sleeve. Finish is Watco Danish oil, salvaged from my dad's garage. The Watco is probably about the same vintage as the steel planes I mentioned.

The iron is a cut-down generic replacement for a knock-off block. Happened to be the cheapest I could find. Why not, steel is steel, right?

As a learning experience, it was an excellent venture. Let me tell you what I learned, or, in less euphemistic terms, let me tell you what is wrong with it:

1) It is ugly. It is even less attractive than what the pictures makes it out to be. So, form is important!

2) Sanding end grain by hand sucks. You can clearly see the bandsaw marks because I simply ran out of elbow grease. Some kind of power sanding was called for.










3) Protruding pins pose problems. You can't use it on its side, and your fingers get roughed up.










4) You can also see that the wedge is crooked in this pic. I cut the wedge on a poorly set up bandsaw with a dull blade (bandsaw setup is another set of lessons, for another thread, perhaps), and then had some major sanding to do to get the wedge to fit properly. The crookedness contributes to the plane's ugliness … I mean … charm.

5) Krenov says that the mouth opening should be fairly small. Well, 1/16" is fairly small, right?










Yeah, maybe for a scrub plane.

6) Cutting the iron down so it fits below the top of the plane may seem like a good idea to enhance the fit of said plane in one's hand. It also makes it bloody difficult to effect small adjustments to said iron with a traditional plane hammer. Or with any kind of device, really.

7) Using a separate pin and pin sleeve, rather than a single piece wooden pin that gets glued in place is a really good thing, as long as one can drill a hole parallel to the flat on the sleeve. Drill press setup lessons, coming soon to another thread near you.

8) Applying finish to the plane bed, pin sleeve and wedge are all no-nos. Wedges need to say put, not ride on some friction-reducing surface coating.










9) Sharp counts. That generic knockoff iron really isn't ready to use straight out of the package. Not even close. You can probably argue that this iron shouldn't be used for any purpose. Since then, I have learned how to sharpen well.

10) Mass counts. A single, thin iron in a plane made out of a fairly light wood (walnut) tends to chatter.
Well, how does it work? Honestly, do you need to ask? With a really sharp iron, it will make shavings. If I'm lucky in how the iron drops in, I even get thin-ish shavings. I can't adjust the iron in any practical way, so I don't know if it could be a user. I suppose I could get another iron ($11 or so) if I wanted to find out. I quickly moved on to the second plane, which did (and still does) work very well, so I never bothered.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Iguana said:


> *The first one*
> 
> My first experience with handplanes were two 70's era Stanleys (the block with a red lever cap, and a Handyman smoother) I "rescued" from a drawer in my dad's garage three years ago. He had a brief flirtation with woodworking around the time I was 5, and the planes had obviously been unused since. The climate here is pretty dry, so there was only minor surface rust to deal with. I cleaned them up, worked on the soles a bit, and without really knowing what I was doing, turned the smoother into something usable. The block never felt right, though. It probably could be made to work just fine, as I've since learned a few things, but at the time, I decided to pursue the down path of making my own.
> 
> ...


I must say, my first one came out better. Now that's not bragging, it's just saying I had better beginners luck, because I a have remnants of partially built plane throughout my shop.

It's nice to read other experiences. Thanks for sharing yours.


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## Timbo (Aug 21, 2008)

Iguana said:


> *The first one*
> 
> My first experience with handplanes were two 70's era Stanleys (the block with a red lever cap, and a Handyman smoother) I "rescued" from a drawer in my dad's garage three years ago. He had a brief flirtation with woodworking around the time I was 5, and the planes had obviously been unused since. The climate here is pretty dry, so there was only minor surface rust to deal with. I cleaned them up, worked on the soles a bit, and without really knowing what I was doing, turned the smoother into something usable. The block never felt right, though. It probably could be made to work just fine, as I've since learned a few things, but at the time, I decided to pursue the down path of making my own.
> 
> ...


A good read Mark and good information also.


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## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Iguana said:


> *The first one*
> 
> My first experience with handplanes were two 70's era Stanleys (the block with a red lever cap, and a Handyman smoother) I "rescued" from a drawer in my dad's garage three years ago. He had a brief flirtation with woodworking around the time I was 5, and the planes had obviously been unused since. The climate here is pretty dry, so there was only minor surface rust to deal with. I cleaned them up, worked on the soles a bit, and without really knowing what I was doing, turned the smoother into something usable. The block never felt right, though. It probably could be made to work just fine, as I've since learned a few things, but at the time, I decided to pursue the down path of making my own.
> 
> ...


Nice wood combo. I need to make me a little block plane like this.


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## Iguana (Jun 22, 2011)

*A Jack*

Conceptually, a plane is a fairly simple device. It holds some kind of cutter that can be passed over a piece of wood to effect a cut. To work well, it needs to hold the cutter securely, and may have fences, guides or stops to help control the path of the cut. And even those fences, guides and stops aren't there to help with making the cut, just to ensure consistency.

So that's it. Hold the cutter securely. In a Krenov-style plane, there are a small number of pieces that factor into this. The bed, the iron, the wedge, the pin sleeve, and the pin. And the more traditional plane style with internal ears to hold the wedge in place has a smaller number of discrete pieces. The key is that those pieces need to fit together nearly perfectly for the plane to work well.

To be useful, most planes needs to be capable of taking shavings in some small multiple of 1/1000th of an inch. A thicker shaving can be useful when dimensioning or doing rough work, but we like our smoothers to be capable of taking us to surfaces that are ready for finishing. And blocks to be able to do final fitting or trimming of joints, among other things.

To create this plane that is capable of thin shavings, we need to be able to work wood in small tolerances. Wood is relatively imprecise at the 1/1000th of an inch scale - that is getting close to size of a wood cell. A board of wood can move more than this amount in a single day. This is why well set up woodworking machinery only aims for a tolerance of 1 or 2 thous - anything finer than that is often irrelevant.

So, when you need to stack the bed, the iron, the wedge and the pin assembly together - as simple as those individual pieces are - it is hard to get them to fit together so that the end result is within a spec that allows for a 1 or 2 thou shaving consistent across the width of the plane.

It boils down to getting the bed flat and fitting the wedge properly. And having a sharp iron, but how to achieve the pointy end is debated endlessly, so no need to cover the same ground here.

It obviously can be done. Witness the many examples of fine wooden planes that have survived 100 years and are still capable of producing good work. And the newly made ones where the wood hasn't suffered the effects of many seasons of movement.

For my second plane, the first good decision I made was to get myself a good iron. Not wanting to deal with a double iron, I picked one of the thick Lee Valley irons designed for wooden planes. http://www.leevalley.com/en/Wood/page.aspx?p=60009

And I paid a lot more attention to the little details that make a plane work. The bed flatness. The drilling setup for the pin assembly. The wedge shape and fit.

And the aesthetics, of course. First, making it comfortable to use, and second, making it comfortable to look at.

The result was this:









A jack plane with a hickory and beech body, beech sole and walnut wedge. Finish is tung oil.

To my eye, it has flowing, organic lines to it, aided by the natural color in the hickory. To my hands, it fits as if it were molded. It is fairly heavy, but can be used all day. The significant mass is a good thing.










I was cautious in opening up the mouth, and left it set at less than 1/32" of an opening. A bit more than 1/64". So, it really doesn't function like a traditional jack would, but more like a large smoother. Recently, I opened up the mouth to about 1/16" as I have other planes that are more appropriate to smoothing tasks and this one needs to be able to take off thick shavings.










At one point, it was the only plane I used. Clumsy in doing smaller work, though, so I realized I needed to revisit the block plane format. With how well this jack worked, I thought I had the plane-making thing all figured out, so plane number 3 would be a different kind of block plane. Stay tuned…


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Iguana said:


> *A Jack*
> 
> Conceptually, a plane is a fairly simple device. It holds some kind of cutter that can be passed over a piece of wood to effect a cut. To work well, it needs to hold the cutter securely, and may have fences, guides or stops to help control the path of the cut. And even those fences, guides and stops aren't there to help with making the cut, just to ensure consistency.
> 
> ...


Nice blog Mark. The plane looks great.


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## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Iguana said:


> *A Jack*
> 
> Conceptually, a plane is a fairly simple device. It holds some kind of cutter that can be passed over a piece of wood to effect a cut. To work well, it needs to hold the cutter securely, and may have fences, guides or stops to help control the path of the cut. And even those fences, guides and stops aren't there to help with making the cut, just to ensure consistency.
> 
> ...


Its a beauty!


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## Iguana (Jun 22, 2011)

*The Mouse*

I wanted plane #3 to be another block plane, but I wanted it to be a different kind of block. By this point, I'd done a lot of reading about planes in general and plane-making, and some of it was starting to sink in. Low angle, bevel-up planes sounded like a good thing because of the versatility, so I hit on the idea of making one from wood.










The Internet is a wonderful resource for finding information on just about any conceivable topic. Usually, there is too much information, requiring you to sift through dozens, hundreds or even thousands of pages and decide what is good and what is not. Wooden low angle bevel-up hand planes, however, is one of those few topics for which very little information is available. There is some, yes, but most of what I found related to the problems to be encountered in trying to build one and get it to function well.

And yes, there are problems. First, the mouth opening. On a bevel-down plane, the cutting edge of the iron touches the wood somewhat ahead of the front of the bed. It depends on the thickness of the iron and the bed angle, but at 45 degrees and using decently thick iron like a Hock or the LV, the iron hits about 1/4" ahead of the bed. Add a small opening ahead of the iron, and you have a total mouth of a bit over 1/4".










Why is this important? The standard practice is to glue up the pieces so that you start with a smaller than desired mouth opening and then open it up using some kind of tool. A float, a file, or perhaps some kind of sanding board. Obviously, the tool has to be narrow enough to fit into the small mouth opening, but still function well enough to accurately remove wood. For a bevel-down plane, it is easy to make a sanding board that is exactly the thickness necessary width using 1/8" MDF and sandpaper.

For a bevel-up plane, the cutting edge of the iron hits immediately in front of the bed, and in order to get a fine mouth opening of, say, 1/32", you need to have some way of gluing it up so that there is a finer opening, and then find a very thin tool to fit into that very thin opening and still be able to remove wood.

The second problem is that of a relatively thin bed. Typically, a low-angle plane has a bed of 12 degrees. A wedge of wood 3 1/2" long and tapering at 12 degrees is only 3/4" thick at its thickest. That's not particularly strong.

And there is a lot of pressure on the bed at the point immediately behind the cutting edge of the iron. Precisely where the bed tapers to a thin point. This makes the bed susceptible to cracking or chipping.










The third problem is created by requiring a fairly large opening in the body to accommodate space for the iron, wedge, pin assembly and clearance for shavings to escape. On a bevel-down plane, this opening is typically 60 to 70 degrees of arc. On a bevel-up, the opening would need to be larger, a minimum of 80 degrees, if only to allow a line of sight to the tip of the iron from directly above the plane. A larger opening means weaker cheeks on the plane.

Thinking through all of this, I came up with a design. First, build the plane seriously overlong in the front, and with zero mouth opening. After glue up, use my jointer to take down the sole until the mouth opening appears, and then cut off the unnecessary length in front. Second, build a small flat into the front of the bed, about 1/16", so that the bed doesn't actually taper to a point. Third, forgo the pin assembly arrangement, and glue in a piece - I won't call it "ears" - for the wedge to act against.










The plane is wenge and purpleheart, with paste wax as a finish. It works quite well, and I've successfully used it with blade angles of 25 degrees to 50 degrees, for effective cutting angles of 37 to 62 degrees. Simply swap out the iron (or regrind), and it becomes a plane for a different use.

Despite my concern with structural integrity, it is solid. That is partially due to using two strong, hard woods, and (I'm pretty sure) partially due to the inner piece the wedge jams against.

It isn't perfect, of course. There are two primary issues which prevents it from being my daily user. First, it is too wide to be comfortable for single-hand use for any length of time. I used the LV wooden plane iron, and the narrowest available is 1 7/8" wide. Add to that the cheeks and clearance spacing around the iron, and the plane is about 2 1/2" total width. For someone with large hands, that might be OK, but something closer to 2 1/4" would be more comfortable for me.

The second flaw is that the bed slipped slightly during the glue-up and I didn't notice. As a result, the iron sits at a slight angle to the cut. There isn't enough clearance around the iron to skew it to compensate, so the cut ends up being uneven. I suppose I could grind an iron with a slight skew to match bed and solve the problem.










I tend to pull this plane out when making chamfers. The slight skew doesn't matter, and the plane works well with a two-handed grip using knuckles as fences.

I might make another of these, but build it for a narrower iron. Ron Hock sells a 1 1/2" by 4 1/2" iron which would be just about perfect.


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## CFrye (May 13, 2013)

Iguana said:


> *The Mouse*
> 
> I wanted plane #3 to be another block plane, but I wanted it to be a different kind of block. By this point, I'd done a lot of reading about planes in general and plane-making, and some of it was starting to sink in. Low angle, bevel-up planes sounded like a good thing because of the versatility, so I hit on the idea of making one from wood.
> 
> ...


This is a beauty, Mark. Too bad about the skew. Thanks for sharing your plane making journey.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Iguana said:


> *The Mouse*
> 
> I wanted plane #3 to be another block plane, but I wanted it to be a different kind of block. By this point, I'd done a lot of reading about planes in general and plane-making, and some of it was starting to sink in. Low angle, bevel-up planes sounded like a good thing because of the versatility, so I hit on the idea of making one from wood.
> 
> ...


Another great build Mark. I've thought about building a BU block as well. I wonder if you could taper the sides to the top of the plane is narrower to help with comfort.

I like your wood combo to.


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## JayT (May 6, 2012)

Iguana said:


> *The Mouse*
> 
> I wanted plane #3 to be another block plane, but I wanted it to be a different kind of block. By this point, I'd done a lot of reading about planes in general and plane-making, and some of it was starting to sink in. Low angle, bevel-up planes sounded like a good thing because of the versatility, so I hit on the idea of making one from wood.
> 
> ...


Mark, thanks for sharing your plane building journey. I have marveled at some of the beautiful planes you have posted and now to find out you have only been making them for three years! It's great to hear of your successes and struggles so that others like me may be able to use your experience to improve our own learning curve.


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## Timbo (Aug 21, 2008)

Iguana said:


> *The Mouse*
> 
> I wanted plane #3 to be another block plane, but I wanted it to be a different kind of block. By this point, I'd done a lot of reading about planes in general and plane-making, and some of it was starting to sink in. Low angle, bevel-up planes sounded like a good thing because of the versatility, so I hit on the idea of making one from wood.
> 
> ...


Could you skew the sole to counteract the bed?

Interesting build, something I would like to try.


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## Iguana (Jun 22, 2011)

Iguana said:


> *The Mouse*
> 
> I wanted plane #3 to be another block plane, but I wanted it to be a different kind of block. By this point, I'd done a lot of reading about planes in general and plane-making, and some of it was starting to sink in. Low angle, bevel-up planes sounded like a good thing because of the versatility, so I hit on the idea of making one from wood.
> 
> ...


Tim - Took me a bit to figure out what you meant, but I think that would be possible. It would give the plane a bit of a lean 

Don - yes, there's enough meat at the top of the plane so that I could taper it in. I might just try that.


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Iguana said:


> *The Mouse*
> 
> I wanted plane #3 to be another block plane, but I wanted it to be a different kind of block. By this point, I'd done a lot of reading about planes in general and plane-making, and some of it was starting to sink in. Low angle, bevel-up planes sounded like a good thing because of the versatility, so I hit on the idea of making one from wood.
> 
> ...


Very interesting design.


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## Andygulfcoast (May 15, 2013)

Iguana said:


> *The Mouse*
> 
> I wanted plane #3 to be another block plane, but I wanted it to be a different kind of block. By this point, I'd done a lot of reading about planes in general and plane-making, and some of it was starting to sink in. Low angle, bevel-up planes sounded like a good thing because of the versatility, so I hit on the idea of making one from wood.
> 
> ...


I appreciate your candor re: all the mistakes you make and what you learn from them

I've never shared a project on LJ because I've never produced a perfect piece. But your work is beautiful, and the honesty about mistakes will help prevent me from repeating them.

Thx


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## Iguana (Jun 22, 2011)

Iguana said:


> *The Mouse*
> 
> I wanted plane #3 to be another block plane, but I wanted it to be a different kind of block. By this point, I'd done a lot of reading about planes in general and plane-making, and some of it was starting to sink in. Low angle, bevel-up planes sounded like a good thing because of the versatility, so I hit on the idea of making one from wood.
> 
> ...


Andy - while perfection is almost always the goal, don't let that get in the way of making something really good. If nobody notices the flaws until you point them out, you've done your job well.


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## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Iguana said:


> *The Mouse*
> 
> I wanted plane #3 to be another block plane, but I wanted it to be a different kind of block. By this point, I'd done a lot of reading about planes in general and plane-making, and some of it was starting to sink in. Low angle, bevel-up planes sounded like a good thing because of the versatility, so I hit on the idea of making one from wood.
> 
> ...


Love this little plane.


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## Timbo (Aug 21, 2008)

Iguana said:


> *The Mouse*
> 
> I wanted plane #3 to be another block plane, but I wanted it to be a different kind of block. By this point, I'd done a lot of reading about planes in general and plane-making, and some of it was starting to sink in. Low angle, bevel-up planes sounded like a good thing because of the versatility, so I hit on the idea of making one from wood.
> 
> ...


Mark, skew was probably not the correct word but yes the plane would lean a little.


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## Iguana (Jun 22, 2011)

*Shoulder Plane*

I don't remember the order I built the rest of the planes I've made, so they'll appear in no particular order.










3/4" shoulder plane. Sapele body and two-piece walnut wedge. Waterlox finish. This pic is a bit harshly lit, but it shows off some subtle figure in the sapele.

Instead of a 4-piece lamination, this was done in two pieces. I drilled out the hole for the mouth area, then cut off one cheek. Hollowed out the cavity for the iron and wedge. Fit the wedge and then glued the cheek back on.

From the rear:









And the front:









The two-piece wedge works, but it doesn't make it any better than a single-piece wedge. Just adds complexity, so I wouldn't do it again.

In use, it is a bit tall to comfortably hold, and I may eventually cut it down by 1/2" or so. Also wish I'd chosen to make it wider, say 1 1/4", but it does work well trimming smaller tenons. Good excuse to make one with a wider iron.


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Iguana said:


> *Shoulder Plane*
> 
> I don't remember the order I built the rest of the planes I've made, so they'll appear in no particular order.
> 
> ...


Thanks for sharing Mark. Looking forward to the wider model.


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## Iguana (Jun 22, 2011)

Iguana said:


> *Shoulder Plane*
> 
> I don't remember the order I built the rest of the planes I've made, so they'll appear in no particular order.
> 
> ...


I'm waiting for the iron - it's on backorder. But soon!


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## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Iguana said:


> *Shoulder Plane*
> 
> I don't remember the order I built the rest of the planes I've made, so they'll appear in no particular order.
> 
> ...


I like it!


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Iguana said:


> *Shoulder Plane*
> 
> I don't remember the order I built the rest of the planes I've made, so they'll appear in no particular order.
> 
> ...


very well done.


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## wunderaa (May 15, 2012)

Iguana said:


> *Shoulder Plane*
> 
> I don't remember the order I built the rest of the planes I've made, so they'll appear in no particular order.
> 
> ...


I like the art deco queues.


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## Iguana (Jun 22, 2011)

*A Pair of Pocket Planes*

Here's a couple of pocket planes:










The one on the left is made from walnut, the right is purpleheart and mahogany.

Meant to carry around in an apron pocket for quick accessibility. They definitely show signs of banging around with all the other detritus in apron pockets…










The irons came from Lee Valley, replacement irons for small planes. The iron in the walnut 7/8" wide and the other is 1" wide.










As long as the irons are kept sharp, they work pretty well for putting quick chamfers on small pieces. However, they are a bit light for anything remotely resembling a full-width shaving. If the iron is dull or the shaving is wide (relatively speaking) they get to chattering, and then it is time to pull out a bigger plane and fix things. That's too bad, because they are very easy to hold and control. A solid brass plane this size might be awesome!


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Iguana said:


> *A Pair of Pocket Planes*
> 
> Here's a couple of pocket planes:
> 
> ...


Sweet. Thanks for sharing.


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## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Iguana said:


> *A Pair of Pocket Planes*
> 
> Here's a couple of pocket planes:
> 
> ...


I like the idea of a small wooden plane though, it doesn't weigh you down so much in the apron.


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## Iguana (Jun 22, 2011)

*A Short Smoother*

I use this one as a smoother for some woods. It is short-ish for a smoother at 8 1/2", but does its job quite well.










Has a nice weight to it in use - not too light and not too heavy. Feels very solid.










Made from wenge, with beech stripes and an ipe sole.










Finish is tung oil and wax










The bed is 50 degrees and the iron is another of the LV wooden plane irons. I cut it down with a Dremel and about 10 of those tiny cutting wheels.










-Mark Kornell, Kornell Wood Design


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Iguana said:


> *A Short Smoother*
> 
> I use this one as a smoother for some woods. It is short-ish for a smoother at 8 1/2", but does its job quite well.
> 
> ...


Very nice Mark. I like the lamination.


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## 489tad (Feb 26, 2010)

Iguana said:


> *A Short Smoother*
> 
> I use this one as a smoother for some woods. It is short-ish for a smoother at 8 1/2", but does its job quite well.
> 
> ...


Very nice plane.


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## grfrazee (Jul 17, 2012)

Iguana said:


> *A Short Smoother*
> 
> I use this one as a smoother for some woods. It is short-ish for a smoother at 8 1/2", but does its job quite well.
> 
> ...


I think I like this one the best so far, Mark. It looks like a lot of fun to use!


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## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Iguana said:


> *A Short Smoother*
> 
> I use this one as a smoother for some woods. It is short-ish for a smoother at 8 1/2", but does its job quite well.
> 
> ...


so nice, I really like the wood combinations.


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## JayT (May 6, 2012)

Iguana said:


> *A Short Smoother*
> 
> I use this one as a smoother for some woods. It is short-ish for a smoother at 8 1/2", but does its job quite well.
> 
> ...


Beautifully done, Mark. This one really shows the shape and wood combinations I have grown accustomed to seeing from you.


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## BTimmons (Aug 6, 2011)

Iguana said:


> *A Short Smoother*
> 
> I use this one as a smoother for some woods. It is short-ish for a smoother at 8 1/2", but does its job quite well.
> 
> ...


Those colors, so chocolatey. Not sure if I want to make shavings with it, or take a bite.


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## Iguana (Jun 22, 2011)

*Laminated Block*

This one was an exercise in lamination.










6 primary species of wood - western maple, red oak, sapele, cherry, birch and walnut. Two pieces of each species, each piece at a different thickness, and some random veneer thrown in between each primary wood piece, for a total of 23 layers. The sole is white oak.










Glue is urea formaldehyde, so I could glue it up in one go. Didn't think I could get it done with PVA.










The bed is 45 degrees, and was my first double iron plane. I somehow acquired an iron for the Lee Valley low-angle block, and decided to build a wooden plane around it. However, at 1/8" thick, I felt the iron was too thin to be on its own. I ordered a Stanley replacement cap iron from LV, and had to take a dremel to the slot in the iron to make them work together. The cap is about 1/16" wider than the iron, but that overhang doesn't seem to interfere with the operation of the plane.










This is my go-to block plane. The weight is perfect, the iron holds an edge considerably longer than it should, and adjustments are surprisingly precise. (Perhaps due to the rigidity of the UF glue?)


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## Iguana (Jun 22, 2011)

*Checker board block plane*

This is a bevel-down low angle block, bedded at 37°










This one was also an exercise in lamination. Cherry and walnut, with a white oak sole.










Finish is Waterlox and wax. It darkened the cherry considerably (and the cherry has continued to darken all on its own), so the contrast isn't what I was originally going for.










Again, the glueup was done with UF glue. While the number of pieces would have been manageable with PVA, I didn't feel like rushing. It took 3 separate glueups to make the blank. The first glueup was alternating layers of cherry and walnut, which was then sliced into small strips. Every other strip was reversed and then the whole thing was reglued. The tricky part was to get the checkers to line up corner to corner, and get them to say put under clamping pressure. Glueing the sole on to the blank was dead easy.










Bed angle is 37 degrees, and this time I used another iron intended for an LV low-angle block but without a chipbreaker.










The plane is a bit light. Neither cherry nor walnut are very dense, and the combination in a plane meant to trim end grain doesn't work as well as I'd like. Not enough mass, and even with a very sharp iron, tends to chatter. A double iron would have been a good idea just for the extra mass, or making the plane out of something heavy, like jatoba.










The effect where the pieces appear to elongate as the back curves is kind of neat.










The plane feels really good in the hand, but sadly, doesn't get as much use as I'd hoped.


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## ToddJB (Jul 26, 2012)

Iguana said:


> *Checker board block plane*
> 
> This is a bevel-down low angle block, bedded at 37°
> 
> ...


That looks like a lot of work. Beautiful exicution, Mark


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## stillkicking (May 22, 2011)

Iguana said:


> *Checker board block plane*
> 
> This is a bevel-down low angle block, bedded at 37°
> 
> ...


I tried a similar glue up several years ago. Mine was an attempt to mimic a patchwork quilt. It's tedious. But it occurs to me, after looking at your plane, that having blocks of wood glued up like this might be really benefit a carving student. You can almost immediately see when you are drifting away from symmetry. Nicely done from every angle.


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## Buckethead (Apr 14, 2013)

Iguana said:


> *Checker board block plane*
> 
> This is a bevel-down low angle block, bedded at 37°
> 
> ...


Two comments for this work of art? Holy cow!

Mark, like Todd said, a heap of work, but it paid off. Beautiful plane!

I'm perusing to get ideas for some shop made plane innards. I've bee working on an outline, but I'm not sure how to achieve what I want in terms of iron, wedge and mouth. I trying to get a 1/4" - 3/8 dado that holds a back panel in place within a carcass. About the same distance in from the outside edge. (Allowing for a dry, loose fit as opposed to a rabbet and screws.)

Anyhoo, mine is with a specific project in mind, and I stumbled into this. You've inspired me to spruce my build up a notch.


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## ShaneA (Apr 15, 2011)

Iguana said:


> *Checker board block plane*
> 
> This is a bevel-down low angle block, bedded at 37°
> 
> ...


Oh my goodness, that is sweet.


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## Iguana (Jun 22, 2011)

Iguana said:


> *Checker board block plane*
> 
> This is a bevel-down low angle block, bedded at 37°
> 
> ...


Thank you, all.


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## Iguana (Jun 22, 2011)

*Curly smoother*

This one is a smoother with a 45 degree bed. About 10 1/2" long










Curly maple, jatoba stripes and ipe sole. (I have half a plank of 1×4 ipe - what else am I going to use it for besides soles for planes?)










And another cut-down LV wooden plane iron.










Finish is tung oil and wax.










The configuration of the stripes was inspired by a picture of a AC Cobra in racing trim. Not a typical stripe configuration for a Cobra, so it stuck out.










This one loves making beautifully fluffy and see-through shavings


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Iguana said:


> *Curly smoother*
> 
> This one is a smoother with a 45 degree bed. About 10 1/2" long
> 
> ...


Very pretty Mark.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Iguana said:


> *Curly smoother*
> 
> This one is a smoother with a 45 degree bed. About 10 1/2" long
> 
> ...


you been hoarding these post?

Nice smoother!!


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## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

Iguana said:


> *Curly smoother*
> 
> This one is a smoother with a 45 degree bed. About 10 1/2" long
> 
> ...


Mark, think I asked this before so please excuse the repetition. How hard was it to glue the ipe'? I have two bins full of cut-offs from my deck.


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## Iguana (Jun 22, 2011)

Iguana said:


> *Curly smoother*
> 
> This one is a smoother with a 45 degree bed. About 10 1/2" long
> 
> ...


OF - I haven't had any issues glueing ipe. I wipe the surface with a acetone-dampened rag, wait 10 minutes. Wipe again and wait 5 minutes. Then glue as normal.

It makes for a tough, hard-wearing sole.

Don - just catching up.


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## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

Iguana said:


> *Curly smoother*
> 
> This one is a smoother with a 45 degree bed. About 10 1/2" long
> 
> ...


Thanks Mark


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## terryR (Jan 30, 2012)

Iguana said:


> *Curly smoother*
> 
> This one is a smoother with a 45 degree bed. About 10 1/2" long
> 
> ...


You do very nice, work, Mark! Any vintage car lover would HAVE to love your style of planes. Sexy, aerodynamic, and tons of hand-sanding, I imagine?

And that lovely piece of curly is easy to fall for as well! 

Thanks for sharing the inspiration!


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## Iguana (Jun 22, 2011)

Iguana said:


> *Curly smoother*
> 
> This one is a smoother with a 45 degree bed. About 10 1/2" long
> 
> ...


Terry, I try to do as little hand sanding as possible. I do shaping with band saw, router, rasps, edge sander and spindle sander. The hand sanding is just taking it through the grits in preparation for finishing. Usually no more than 15 minutes per plane.


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## Iguana (Jun 22, 2011)

*High-angle Block*

This one doesn't see much use because it is fairly specialized. The bed angle is 60 degrees, highly useful in certain applications. Completely useless in most others.  That's too bad, because it is a nice fit in the hand.










It tends to be hard to adjust. Tapping the iron to advance is fine, but tapping the back of the plane is just as likely to either do nothing or loosen the wedge as it is to retract the iron. The applied shock when you tap it at the back doesn't mesh well with the bed angle, and tapping it on the top just behind the iron - besides feeling just wrong - likes to loosen the wedge. There's probably some sweet spot on the arch of the back that works well, but I haven't found it yet.










Iron is a 1 1/2" Hock. I've left it at the bevel angle it came with, although I'm considering steepening it as it needs grinding, maybe eventually getting to something like 40 degrees. Considering that it isn't used often, it may take a couple decades to get there.










And in case it isn't obvious, the body is beech and the sole is purpleheart. Finish is tung oil.


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## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Iguana said:


> *High-angle Block*
> 
> This one doesn't see much use because it is fairly specialized. The bed angle is 60 degrees, highly useful in certain applications. Completely useless in most others.  That's too bad, because it is a nice fit in the hand.
> 
> ...


Nice! I want one like this.


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## Nels (Dec 10, 2013)

Iguana said:


> *High-angle Block*
> 
> This one doesn't see much use because it is fairly specialized. The bed angle is 60 degrees, highly useful in certain applications. Completely useless in most others.  That's too bad, because it is a nice fit in the hand.
> 
> ...


I've used and seen a lot of planes, but other than a scrape plane, I haven't seen this steep of angle. What do you use it for?


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## Iguana (Jun 22, 2011)

Iguana said:


> *High-angle Block*
> 
> This one doesn't see much use because it is fairly specialized. The bed angle is 60 degrees, highly useful in certain applications. Completely useless in most others.  That's too bad, because it is a nice fit in the hand.
> 
> ...


Nels, it comes in handy when working hard wood with gnarly grain. I've got some nasty jatoba that none of my other planes work well with.


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## Iguana (Jun 22, 2011)

Iguana said:


> *High-angle Block*
> 
> This one doesn't see much use because it is fairly specialized. The bed angle is 60 degrees, highly useful in certain applications. Completely useless in most others.  That's too bad, because it is a nice fit in the hand.
> 
> ...


Mauricio, is that a hint?


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## Iguana (Jun 22, 2011)

*Jatoba block*










Next up is a 50 degree block plane.










The body is jatoba with an ipe sole. The stripe in the middle is ebony and beech.










Iron is a Hock 1 1/2". Finish is Waterlox and wax. Thanks to the jatoba and the Hock iron, this thing weighs more than some metal block planes. It fits very comfortably in the hand.










Jatoba is extremely hard and dense. Sanding end grain is about the same as sanding hardened steel. That's a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much. Forget about doing any shaping by hand, it was all done on a belt sander starting at 60 grit and moving up to 180. I did use 220 and up by hand to polish it a bit.










I find the front of a little bulbous. I used a bandsaw to get the basic curves in, and then a series of round over bits to put on the edges. I got as close as I could, but it apparently wasn't enough, as I wore out the 60 grit belt I had before I could get to the shape I wanted. The higher grits were only good for taking out coarser scratches, not any kind of shaping. I finished it as it was, and while I could take it back to the sander any time, I am hesitant to do any more shaping on it because it fits my hand so well.










Its only flaw is the mouth opening, about 1/16". It is very rigid and will take any kind of shaving I want, from just under 1/16" on softwoods down to ones I don't trust my caliper's reading on. I've been meaning to put a plate in the sole to tighten up the mouth - perhaps make it from brass - but I keep convincing myself that there are more pressing things to do than fix something that already works well. And besides, a finely set cap iron will take care of most issues with a large mouth.










How did I mess up the mouth? I typically make the mouth a hair over 1/8", and then use small sanding blocks to open it up to fit the iron. In this case, the thick Hock iron means a lot of sanding. As tough as jatoba is, the ipe sole is even tougher, so it isn't like I just sanded an extra 1/32" by mistake.

The clue is the line you can see behind the iron in the second and the last pics. When I cut the bed angle, I was very careful to measure it precisely and cut accurately. As it happened, I was measuring the wrong side of the angle, and got myself a very nice 40 degree bed. So I needed to recut the front part of the blank at the correct angle and ended up with a little 10 degree wedge to glue onto the bed. Basically, added an extra saw kerf, and that was enough to leave me a bit short at the front. I knew I was in trouble, but glued it up anyways figuring I could always patch in a plate.


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## Iguana (Jun 22, 2011)

*Jatoba smoother*

This is another jatoba plane. Apart from sanding end grain, jatoba is a relatively easy wood to work with. Machines well, holds an edge and seems to be pretty stable. I've also not (yet) encountered any boards with reaction wood. Kind of smells like a wet dog when being cut. I like it for planes because it is dense - the added mass in a small plane really helps performance.










No stripes this time, just jatoba and an ipe sole.










The bed is a fairly steep 60 degrees, which relegates it to limited use.










The only "decorations" are the indents on the side. Meant as a general area for fingers to hold.










The shape of the indents comes from the rear wheel well of a boattail Duesenberg, echoed by the back of the plane. I oriented the endgrain to try to give the impression of the point of the boattail, too.










The iron came from Lee Valley, a replacement for a Japanese chamfer plane they carry. (http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/page.aspx?p=41197)


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## siavosh (Apr 11, 2013)

Iguana said:


> *Jatoba smoother*
> 
> This is another jatoba plane. Apart from sanding end grain, jatoba is a relatively easy wood to work with. Machines well, holds an edge and seems to be pretty stable. I've also not (yet) encountered any boards with reaction wood. Kind of smells like a wet dog when being cut. I like it for planes because it is dense - the added mass in a small plane really helps performance.
> 
> ...


This looks great. Can almost imagine how it feels in the hand.


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## DonBroussard (Mar 27, 2012)

Iguana said:


> *Jatoba smoother*
> 
> This is another jatoba plane. Apart from sanding end grain, jatoba is a relatively easy wood to work with. Machines well, holds an edge and seems to be pretty stable. I've also not (yet) encountered any boards with reaction wood. Kind of smells like a wet dog when being cut. I like it for planes because it is dense - the added mass in a small plane really helps performance.
> 
> ...


Nice one, Mark. I like the looks and love the finger indents in the sides. Looks very comfortable.


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## JayT (May 6, 2012)

Iguana said:


> *Jatoba smoother*
> 
> This is another jatoba plane. Apart from sanding end grain, jatoba is a relatively easy wood to work with. Machines well, holds an edge and seems to be pretty stable. I've also not (yet) encountered any boards with reaction wood. Kind of smells like a wet dog when being cut. I like it for planes because it is dense - the added mass in a small plane really helps performance.
> 
> ...


I don't know if this one or the checkerboard block is my favorite. So many great designs and wood patterns.


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## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

Iguana said:


> *Jatoba smoother*
> 
> This is another jatoba plane. Apart from sanding end grain, jatoba is a relatively easy wood to work with. Machines well, holds an edge and seems to be pretty stable. I've also not (yet) encountered any boards with reaction wood. Kind of smells like a wet dog when being cut. I like it for planes because it is dense - the added mass in a small plane really helps performance.
> 
> ...


By far my favorite. Grain direction is fantastic.


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## Iguana (Jun 22, 2011)

*Two Cherries Jointer*

Neither as long nor as wide as Derek Cohen's, but still pretty hefty:










24" long jointer, bedded at 45 degrees. The iron is a LV woodie, 2 3/8" wide.










Beech body with ipe sole. The tote is cherry, knob is jatoba. Finish is tung oil.










The knob is threaded in so I can remove it easily. Without the knob, I find it hard to get a good grip for planing or lifting it, so I just leave the knob on.










I must admit that I'm not a hand plane purist. If I need to joint something in earnest, the machine jointer is nearly always my first choice. This does come in handy, though, on parts that would be too small or unsafe in other ways to machine joint, like I had to do in my workbench build. It is also handy to match plane two wide-ish edges in preparation for gluing. Because of this, I left the mouth with a very fine opening, nearly as small as a smoother's.


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## Iguana (Jun 22, 2011)

*A Block for a Friend*

I made this plane as a gift for a friend. He took a woodworking course to build a chair, and ran out of time. Hasn't had any luck finding a shop to get some time in, so the pieces for the chair are sitting on a shelf in his apartment. I was hoping to inspire him to complete the project by giving him a tool he could use without needing a shop. We'll see what happens.










Jatoba body with beech stripe. Ipe sole. Tung oil and wax finish.










45 degree bed, Hock iron. I barely opened the mouth, couldn't even fit a sheet of paper through. Told him he had to put the finishing touches on it himself.










Just about kept this one for myself.










(Apologies for the overlit pics)


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## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Iguana said:


> *A Block for a Friend*
> 
> I made this plane as a gift for a friend. He took a woodworking course to build a chair, and ran out of time. Hasn't had any luck finding a shop to get some time in, so the pieces for the chair are sitting on a shelf in his apartment. I was hoping to inspire him to complete the project by giving him a tool he could use without needing a shop. We'll see what happens.
> 
> ...


Its a beauty!


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## Iguana (Jun 22, 2011)

*Miscellany*

*Spokeshave*
Made from the Lee Valley small shave kit. Beech body.










*Knives*


















The outer ones are small carving knives. Jatoba on the left and african mahogany on the right. The middle is an ebony marking knife.

The blades on the carving knives are HCS jigsaw blades, while the blade on the marking knife came from Grizzly.

*Chisel Plane*









Quite possibly the ugliest, crudest plane in my collection. Well, no. Definitely the ugliest and crudest. But it does what it needs to do. Mahogany with a birch cap.


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## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Iguana said:


> *Miscellany*
> 
> *Spokeshave*
> Made from the Lee Valley small shave kit. Beech body.
> ...


Good work man, I need a chisel plane.


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## Iguana (Jun 22, 2011)

*2013 Plane Swap plane - 37° block*

I made this plane for the 2013 Plane Swap. It is also posted as a project, but I thought I'd give more details here.

First, I draw up a plan. Fairly simple, but it helps me work out the shaping details and sort out any conflicts with the mouth opening.










This plan shows a crosspin, but I changed my mind and went with the more traditional eared approach.










It is still a laminated construction, with the ears being glued in after the fact. A bit of a challenge getting them aligned to the iron/wedge and I ended up glueing in one at a time. This primarily had to do with only being able to get one clamp in the opening at a time, but it did result in a good fit.

It was also challenging shaping the ears after they were glued in. I can see why planemaker's floats exist.










The body is jatoba and beech, and I laid out the slices to be a mirrored negative image along the center line. Takes a bit of thinking, particularly factoring in the kerf where the cheeks get cut and reglued. Walnut wedge and ipe sole.










First time I tried making this style of wedge, too. Have to say that it was pretty straightforward.










I found it fit into the hand exceedingly well. And having no crosspin makes for a much easier access to clear shavings. Sad to have to send it off in the swap, but it seems like it found a good home.










The Nice Ash iron (now just Nice Planes) was a good one to build a plane around. He doesn't make this style of iron any more, having gone to a tapered double iron style.

So how did the plane match the plan? I'll let you be the judge.


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## j1212t (Dec 7, 2013)

Iguana said:


> *2013 Plane Swap plane - 37° block*
> 
> I made this plane for the 2013 Plane Swap. It is also posted as a project, but I thought I'd give more details here.
> 
> ...


Wow, all of your wooden planes make me feel like "hey I could definitely make one" I think I'll just keep that in the back of my mind, without actually trying to do that, because I wouldn't want the harsh reality to set in. 

You Sir make some very fine planes, I salute you!


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## sras (Oct 31, 2009)

Iguana said:


> *2013 Plane Swap plane - 37° block*
> 
> I made this plane for the 2013 Plane Swap. It is also posted as a project, but I thought I'd give more details here.
> 
> ...


The more I see your posts, the more likely that I build a hand built plane someday. Very inspirational!


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## Iguana (Jun 22, 2011)

Iguana said:


> *2013 Plane Swap plane - 37° block*
> 
> I made this plane for the 2013 Plane Swap. It is also posted as a project, but I thought I'd give more details here.
> 
> ...


Steve, Jake - you certainly can make a plane if you have any kind of woodworking experience. Planes are fundamentally simple devices that don't take much time, so go for it.


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## Iguana (Jun 22, 2011)

*Another Swap, another block plane*

Made this block plane for the recent swap.










The construction was basically the same as the previous blog posting. Laminated (sandwich) body construction with glued-in ears.










Since that blog post I've made a couple more in the same style, learning a bit more each time. One thing I focused on was how the ears and wedge are shaped. I've been gradually working my way to a more traditional tapering near the mouth. The details don't show up in these pics, unfortunately, but I think it improves how shavings get ejected from the mouth.



















I've made a few of these planes to give away but decided to see if I could also hang on to one this time. The blank I glued up gave me three planes. The one in the pics above got sent away for the swap, but the other two are awaiting final shaping with hand tools. One day…










This plane is posted as a project:


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Iguana said:


> *Another Swap, another block plane*
> 
> Made this block plane for the recent swap.
> 
> ...


Excellent work as usual Mark!


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## Hammerthumb (Dec 28, 2012)

Iguana said:


> *Another Swap, another block plane*
> 
> Made this block plane for the recent swap.
> 
> ...


Great little plane Mark. I use mine a lot.


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## bobasaurus (Sep 6, 2009)

Iguana said:


> *Another Swap, another block plane*
> 
> Made this block plane for the recent swap.
> 
> ...


Mark, that is a beautiful little plane. Wish I had bought some of those blades before he sold out. I still haven't finished shaping my personal plane from the last plane swap.


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## kipibenkipod (Oct 11, 2014)

Iguana said:


> *Another Swap, another block plane*
> 
> Made this block plane for the recent swap.
> 
> ...


What are the woods used? Also, how did you finised it? 
Very inspiering.


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## Iguana (Jun 22, 2011)

Iguana said:


> *Another Swap, another block plane*
> 
> Made this block plane for the recent swap.
> 
> ...


The woods used were.jatoba with beech stripes, and Ipe for the sole. Finish was a tung oil varnish and a coat of wax.


----------

