My second plane.

[BobL]

Pics will probably tell all on this 1/2" baby.

Timber is bit of curly jarrah from Misan timber, usual old file blade and brass bits etc. Adjustment works adequately even with back lash.

Comparison with bigger (3/4") brother made last week provided in last two shots. The 1/2" baby is much easier to hold than the 3/4" because of the unclutered top.

Works OK although if I made it again I would try to make the chip escape bigger and use a bigger locking screw.

Cheers.

[DJ’s Timber]

That looks neat and compact Bob. Beautiful piece of jarrah

[martrix]

Ditto Bob. I love the refinements you have done.

Starting to get a very slick simple look.http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/images/icons/icon14.gif


I need to get started on mine, as today I had to use a beat up old mathieson & son jobbie. It will be sacrificed as a prototype though:rolleyes: :D

Brass arrived on Thursday DJhttp://www.ubeaut.biz/approval.gif, looks like top shelf gear and should make a ripper plane, as long as i can hold up my end of the bargain:rolleyes:

At a guess, how many hours do you think it took you?

[BobL]

At a guess, how many hours do you think it took you?

Thanks for the feedback.

Prototypes are a really good idea, if they work it's a bonus if they don't they fullfilled their design purpose.

The first plane took me around 25 hours. Mainly because I had to make a couple of the parts twice, making the blade for this plane took some care and patience and I lost count of the number of times I assembled and disassembled the unit to check for fit etc.

The second plane took a lot less - maybe 12 hours even though it is a different design it's also a bit simpler and I already had a load of knobs. If I was organized I reckon I could make the same thing in about 4 hours. . Anyway I don't really care about the time, for me it's about bringing my ideas into reality.

Humm . . . what next??? choices - choices!

[martrix]

Hey Bob, what are the three brass screws purpose on top of the plane?

[Clinton1]

Good one Bob.

Did you say you had a pdf of the design of the first one... and if so, can I get it, I'm interested in how you did the adj mouth???

[martrix]

Hey Bob, what are the three brass screws purpose on top of the plane?
"its to adjust the mouth of the plane stoopid" :o i knew that:rolleyes: ....what about the one at the back?

[BobL]

Hey Bob, what are the three brass screws purpose on top of the plane?

They are screw in plugs. Underneath them recessed well down inside the body sit the 1/4" brass screws that hold the brass soles onto the bottom of the plane body. The ones at the back just hold. The one(s) at the front allow for mouth adjustment. It actually turns out to damn useful to be able to adjust the back and front soles relative to each other and the blade. (Have you ever tried to drill 3 x 1/4" holes in line through 50 mm of wood to within 0.05 mm?) This will be much less of a problem using the Channel because it can be made to slot into the wood. I have already drawn up PowerPoint/PDF plans and instructions for the 3/4" bar sole design, and PowerPoint/PDF plans for a 1" with adjustable mouth using channel (no instructions). The 1" using channel design is somewhat simpler than using the brass bar soles - it should be a fun build.

The 1/2" brass bar sole shoulder place was quite challenging to make because there is very little room for mistakes. I have no drawn plans/instructions for the 1/2" but I will draw these up eventually, I would like to keep some of the ideas I used to myself for the moment. I have 3 more plans (lotsa meetings this week at work) that I plan to try over thge next few months. So many plans - so little time.

If anyone wants the 3/4"/1" plans/instructions just PM me with their email address

Cheers

[BobL]

Sorry, I didn't post "how I adjust the mouth".

Well obviously you loosen the adjusting screws holding the front sole to the plane body, but before that you have to have the blade sharpened and approximately in a cutting position ie blade just exposed above the sole. You can do pretty well by eye, if you have at least one good one, I use a head magnifier and can set it between 0.7 - 0.4mm. However for reproducible results I have found the following works,

1) with adjusting screws tightened up a little I tap the sole lightly until it is about 1mm away from the blade.
2) I then use pieces ofPET from a softdrink bottle as a feeler gauge and tap the sole up to the blade. Using two thicknesses of Coles brand softdrink PET which is 0.54mm. You can get even thinner stuff like business shirt box lid covers if you want to. I tap the sole inwards until the PET just grabs.
3) tighten the adjust screws, adjust blade and try planing.

After using this method I used an optical microscope and measured the actual mouth to be consistently between 0.52 and 0.50 mm. Of course your actual mouth opening will depend on how precisely you have made the mouth and blade

Cheers

[Pops]

Hi Bob,

Uet another fine job you have done there. Nice choice of timber too, looks like Terry Gordon's Snake Wood. Keep the ideas coming.

Cheers
Pops

[Ramps]

Hi Bob
been away for a week
new one looks even sleeker. Looks great.

[BobL]

Thanks guys. Yeah even though it's small, the half incher is real nice to hold and use probably because of the clean top. I also did a better job of making the blade, (maybe because it is a bit smaller) and so it cuts more evenly.

Currently I'm working on a low angle spokeshave - now there's a pig of a blade to prepare! Should be ready to post a pic by Sunday.

Cheers