Thread: Some homemade planes

A smallish block plane, with adjustable brass mouth. As it has been now updated, the wood is more likely beefwood than previously assumed silky oak. No problem with the nice wood, but I wonder what kind of "reclamation" should I pass on to my wood salesman .

This plane assumingly carries similar kind of iron as dr. Cohen introduced in his article "Orange Plane". Mine was navy blue. I really do not know where the original body is now, and frankly I have not looked for.

I am intending to update this blade with a piece of recycled metals cold cut circular saw blade, having reasonable 15mm edge depth of the highest quality HSS.

The other plane is (19)70's english Stanley #5, the best the world could get (from there). According to my experience, It's really not very much I got. I put something on that #5 in the last post.

sumu

Familiar shaped smallish smoother, sides are makore and mid-sections movingue. Wedge is wengewood, incredibly beautiful sample of wenge as seen live.

The selection of wood is not especially plane-like, the original purpose of that makore-movingue was to make a small box. I just started to chisel, and because I usually do not have blueprints of any kind when woodworking, and the original plan also seems to get lost somewhere, this is what happened this time. Main tool was 16mm wide straight edge Fiskars chisel, and then some curve-shaped small scrapers to clean and curve up cuts.

The iron is a piece of that metals cold cut saw blade. Bed angle is 45degrees, mouth opening is close to 0,15mm, which is why it does not need chipbreaker too much.

I have to say it is interesting to see how movingue will wear at the edge of the mouth. The plane is not very ergonomical, but in no means uncomfortable.

My kids and their friends like it, for some reason .

sumu

60 degrees bedding, beechwood, piece of that old swedish hardware. No actual plans used to make the plane, except 60 degrees, originally aimed at one certain piece of australian "curly" jarrah. Thanks, guys!

You may see faintly the flag of Krenovia up high when it sails on the wavy english oak board, leaving smooth wake. I really like that what it did to that piece of curly oak. I just had to clean up shavings to take a pic.

This plane can be used as a scraper plane too, but with kinda weird setup. The bevel is honed at 30 degrees, so when bevel up, the angle of attack is 90. The wedge goes too deep without chipbreaker, and if chipbreaker is used, it in it's original projection makes iron-chipbreaker combination too thick (because chipbreaker must be rised up off the bevel. Tapered iron, you see). Only way to work it out is to turn the chipbreaker upside down. Then the combination thickness is good for fitting of original wedge.

sumu

As the last thing of this minor flood, I point out that despite I like to make my own planes for now on, it has not been always so. I have repaired quite many planes, and learned from them quite a much. Mostly there has been European style planes like jointers, horn-nosed smoothers, shoulder planes, spokeshaves etc. Sometimes I tried to restore them, sometimes doing something like no-limits hotrodding '32 Ford.

Certain things are still always the same, smooth true sole and straight-angled, straight line of mouth edge, paraller to he iron edge. That's why those 1970's english #5 and 1980's SB3 got turret milled. They work now well, before they did not work at all.

If possible, just a tiny bit of extra line load at the edge of the mouth, just so little that any part of the rest of the sole actually do not lose contact with the wood surface to be planed. This may sound like some kind of enigmatic nordic shaman spell to talk with the underworld. There is a lot in this I can't actually prove with hard numbers or stone cold examples.

But I think I see something like that in Terry Gordon's planes, or in Steve Knight planes. Those wear piece solutions and what they actually do there, are of this breed of idea, methinks. Dunno.

sumu

EDIT: I can't help it. In so many articles the true sole is said to be obtained with that sandpaper-on-glass -method, implying to that sandpaper surface is of continuous type. I mean, lens makers use that phenomen to make optical lenses of convexity. Machinists have always trued surfaces by scraping, or milling that way that debris leaves the area and does not roll back and forth in between the sole and abrasive surface. I have found that large and very straight, coarse cut flat profile mill cut file works as well. Large teeth of such a file allow the forming debris to be driven aside, and not leaving rolling around inbetween the working surfaces.

If someone needs to use a powered sanding device like cylindrical sander or brush roll, it is ok, but leave the mouth area untouched. Those sander rolls usually have soft rubber body, and roll brush has the softness by nature. Using such smooting mediums gives reasonably true and smooth finish on continuous surfaces (as long as there is excel in operator skills), but no matter how advanced the sander is, drive over any hole on the surface and there will be cavity region around the hole edges. That's how they nowadays destroy otherwise reasonably useful metal handplanes readily in the factory.

Sorry guys, I just had to let it out. I've seen a hopeful guy with his newly purchased cheapish metal handplane, and he ended up cursing the waste of good money. Not because there was low quality tool in question, but because hand tools obviously belonged to the ineffective past history. You see, the true reason was not identified as low tool quality, but the blame was on the entire "hand tool style". Now that's some motivation to use old fashioned hand tools.

Did you ever tried to make copy of viking plane?

I have not made such a plane, don't even know what You are talking about.

I think that era would not have been very succesful for intensive plane development, just because of the bog iron they used. I think most of the tools might have been more like axes and azdes, drawknives and perhaps early models of spokeshaves. Other tools might have been large spoon drills, and treadle powered lathes and bow drills. I think they used wood in green state to get finished planks. Correct me if someone knows this better.

Finns have no particulal viking heritage, that stuff belongs mainly to Norwegians and Swedes, maybe to Danes as well.

Swedish vikings came here occasionally to make trouble, but suddenly it stopped. Might have been early stages of finnish-swedish international matches . Nowadays it's just friendly nagging and pestering over the border.

sumu

Sumu

I am in awe of your handy work and skills these are an excellent example of craftsmanship
I love the designs of the shaped planes

your explanations of design show your heart is well into your final product

Great work sumu,
You are developing a very distinct style, despite the acknowledged Krenov influence! Thanks for sharing the pics.

Cheers,

Originally Posted by Andy Mac

Great work sumu,
You are developing a very distinct style, despite the acknowledged Krenov influence! Thanks for sharing the pics.

Cheers,

Originally Posted by sumu

Familiar shaped smallish smoother, sides are makore and mid-sections movingue. Wedge is wengewood, incredibly beautiful sample of wenge as seen live.

The selection of wood is not especially plane-like, the original purpose of that makore-movingue was to make a small box. I just started to chisel, and because I usually do not have blueprints of any kind when woodworking, and the original plan also seems to get lost somewhere, this is what happened this time. Main tool was 16mm wide straight edge Fiskars chisel, and then some curve-shaped small scrapers to clean and curve up cuts.

The iron is a piece of that metals cold cut saw blade. Bed angle is 45degrees, mouth opening is close to 0,15mm, which is why it does not need chipbreaker too much.

I have to say it is interesting to see how movingue will wear at the edge of the mouth. The plane is not very ergonomical, but in no means uncomfortable.

My kids and their friends like it, for some reason .

sumu

I like the look of the little plane - well done!

I like your work Sumu, well done!

Originally Posted by sumu

The iron is a piece of that metals cold cut saw blade.

Sumu,
Great thread, question how do you cut a piece of HSS to make a plane blade
Cheers Mike

Those planes are really cool nice work.

Ikkyu

Originally Posted by m2c1Iw

Sumu,
Great thread, question how do you cut a piece of HSS to make a plane blade
Cheers Mike

Not really a problem at all, I marked the lines with felt pen and rough cutted the piece with basic handheld angle grinder, using 1mm thick, dia 115mm cutting disc for stainless steel.

Then, I have frequency changer in my stationary belt sander. With that and quite rough water grinding belt (european grit P40), the bevel rough forming and finishing sides was very easy, I'd say. I would not worry too much about softening the edges, those will anyway be curved upwards a bit.

Grit chart for those feeling interested on such things. http://blogs.popularwoodworking.com/...isonChart2.pdf

Cold cut saw blades ment to be resharpen usually have HSS edge, in this case the depth of the edge is close to 15mm. Despite I must remove those teeth, there is still quite a much of EB-welded HSS edge left. Saw blade body is clearly high carbon hardened spring steel. It has also quite hard temper. I just like to recycle good materials .

By the way, I see that I have vented and complained about same things on modern cheapish factory made handplanes already been discussed here. These things are so universal... .

sumu