Thread: How Darksiders make profiles ...

Great post apricot. I've got a bit of a collection of old hollows and rounds that I've tried out a couple of times, but without much success. I probably need to spend some serious time practising setting the depth, sharpening, etc. But in the end, I just say: "bugger it, I'll just use a chamfer", and do it with my LN#102. Good to see someone actually using one 'in anger'.

Not sure about your copmarison of the ogee with the 1/4 round. They are quite different shapes. It would be interesting to compare two ogees of similar profile, one done with a moulding plane, and another done with a router.

I'd be interesting in seeing more pics if you've got em.

Pretty cool to think they used to do everything that way. Must be extremely satisfying to produce a mould that way. Be interested in seeing some pics of the underneath and the blades of your moulding planes?

Appricot

Nice .......
I have made mouldings with a stanley 55 , also get great satisfaction from results. but I still burn electrons proberly more than I should
Rgds
Russell

Good to see a moulding plane used for real. Could you please do a post of how you sharpen the blades. That seems to be the hardest thing to do with these planes.

Anyway I'm up to the stage of putting new mouldings in , in one particular door, and I decided to do it the old fashioned way with moulding planes.

I have quite a few moulding planes. But the one I like the most is a very simple profile. Liked I think because its lean and doesn't bulge out like a regular router bit like a roman ogee seems to.




Is it not amazing how many metres of moulding a humble panel door demands? I am right with you on your (darkside) approach. Satisfying, quiet, authentic

regards
PB

Your full of suprises arn't you tripper....................Top Post!!!!

I enjoyed the read n great to see the top results!!!

Have A greeny!!!

REgards Lou

good work mate, I've thought about indulging in a few moulding planes but was always afraid of the sharpening...

Excuse the lateness of my response. I'm a family man you see Thanks for the complements. I'll have to bring myself down a peg or two; starting to feel a little cocky (we all have a smartass side...don't we ?)

Zenwood.... I've had a hard time learning to sharpen the buggers. The procedure I've got currently can still be improved on definetly. But I will post a description of what I do with sharpening them; with pictures I think to make it clear. In the near future.
As for the Ogee (spelling?). I don't know if moulding planes come with that profile or not. I haven't seen any. Just trying to convey that I think they look nicer. You probably can get router bits similar in shape ; I don't know much about routers. The comman roman ogee is really the only router bit I've got.

Matrix ....I'll get you a picture of the underside.

Ashore...Ya lucky bugga. Envious. I've never tried a 55.

AlexS.... Yep. I'll start a new thread on how I sharpen the blades. Sometime over the next week I reakon.

Peter Burne....always a difference in something hand made eh.

Routermaniac and NewLu ta fellas.

Anyway here's some photos I took before starting the thread.

The first picture is of a tool new to me. I'm not sure what you call them exactly. One of you fella's would know no doubt. Managed to get it working OK. Turned out to be a nice tool. Its pushed like a regular spokeshave and produces a profile very similar to the wooden plane I've detailed above. Two thick blades, Very high bed angles. Whats handy about it mostly is that if you experience tearout going one direction, you can often get a second chance at it, by just using the other side and go in opposite direction. If you get my drift.

The second picture is of another wooden plane and the profile it produces. Don't like this one as much. Sounds silly, but it looks too 'bubbly' if thats the word to describe it ....profiles to me gota be lean, basic.

looking forward to the new installments, apricot. Is the spokeshave thing a beading tool? I've seen similar tools, but not with such a wide profile.

I'm with you on keeping things simple. It's easy to go over the top with these decorative profiles.

Hi Apricotripper,


Great post! I really like the use of a moulding plane like this.

A couple of questions (open to all):

• is a given moulding plane limited to a single profile? (I would guess that it would be)
• How the devil do you sharpen the blade? or is like a big scraper that you just have to go at with a harder piece of steel?
• Is it particularly difficult to maintain a constant thickness, so that the mitred joins line up properly when assembling on the door?
• Does it 'chatter' much? If so, what can you do about it?
• Who makes them, or are they only to be found s/hand?

In any case, Apricotripper, a greenie is heading your way!

Cheers!

Originally Posted by zenwood

looking forward to the new installments, apricot. Is the spokeshave thing a beading tool? I've seen similar tools, but not with such a wide profile.
.

I don't think it is a beading tool. Not really shore ? Maybe its in a class of tools that are called 'beading' tools. ? Not right up with the correct jargon.

Its shaped just like a spokeshave, including the way the two blades are seated. Except at a higher angle, so they'd be more accomidating of teary timber I guess. The blades profiles are just like those of that wooden plane I like. The only real difference I guess is that the soles only about an inch compared to 10 odd inches (guessing) sole of the wooden one. So I guess it could handle better timber thats not trued very well (not that I see why you'd want to bother profiling untrued timber...? ) Anyway, it worked well. No tear on both times I've used it. Stops itself from planing once the profiles complete automatically just like the wooden plane. Bit tricky to use at first, in having to keep the same orientation all the way through each pass. But I think that was just because it was new to me.

.

The second picture is of another wooden plane and the profile it produces. Don't like this one as much. Sounds silly, but it looks too 'bubbly' if thats the word to describe it : ....profiles to me gota be lean, basic.[/QUOTE]

That one looks like a beading plane - used to make a strong shadow line and take the eye away from shrinkage in panelling. Very useful. Many darksiders find the Stanley #45 very good for this. Me too.

The other question about having the pieces match at the corners is a very good one. A join of two pieces from the same pass is usually OK. Joins of pieces from different passes don't fit so well. No problem - just 'humour' them with an extra swipe or two of the moulding plane, or a flat plane on the back, or a bit of chisel paring and sanding........

This has been a nice set of exchanges to follow

regards
PB

Originally Posted by Auld Bassoon

Hi Apricotripper,


Great post! I really like the use of a moulding plane like this.

A couple of questions (open to all):

• is a given moulding plane limited to a single profile? (I would guess that it would be)
• How the devil do you sharpen the blade? or is like a big scraper that you just have to go at with a harder piece of steel?
• Is it particularly difficult to maintain a constant thickness, so the the mitred joins line up properly when assembling on the door?
• Does it 'chatter' much? If so, what can you do about it?
• Who makes them, or are they only to be found s/hand?

In any case, Apricotripper, a greenie is heading your way!

Cheers!

First I want to say I'm no real expert on moulding planes. I'm self taught, so I inclined to use terms like 'things', 'gizmos' etc. ie. I'm not up with the ideal terms. But I can give you my thoughts.

- Each moulding plane seems to have only one profile. From what I've read every cabinet maker had a ton of them to cover every profile they needed.

- Sharpening the blades are tricky. I've got a process I'd like to show that seems to work well for me. I'll start a new thread on it in the near future. I need some time to take the photos and try and write something useful.
There just small blades shaped to a certain profile, sitting on a wooden bed just like a normal plane. Except the soles shape is the same as the blades. They blades are good and thick ...up to 5mm thick I reakon.

- Is it particularly difficult to maintain a constant thickness...
I know what you saying. And the answer is no its not a problem. Your right, what tends to happen as you plane is that you tend to shave more timber away from some areas of your pass more than others, dependent on you planing style or whatever. You know the same sort of problem crops up sometimes with normal hand planing. But with the moulding plane when the finished profile is reached the blade is no longer allowed to cut (it just skips). It will however continue to cut where the profile is incomplete (ie. in spots that you've shaved less). So near the end of finishing your profile it sort of , cuts, skips, then cuts again etc,,,,until finally it skips over the entire length ; which means the profiles complete. Its all due to that second fence I talked about when describing picture 1. So the profile is consistant for mitring. They'll match up.

- I've had no chatter. They really new how to make them back then. The blades are very thick, and the bed angles are larger than 45 degrees normally. Actually I think I took a photo of the moulding plane. Thats right, it has a 50 degree bed. I'll attach the picture anyway(if its any good, it may not show much). 'york' pitch ? <- theres a term for it but I keep forgetting what it is exactly. Anyway, they can get as high as 60 degrees. The impression is, the higher the bed the more perfect the results desired, because the higher you get the less chance of tear. ie. the more likely it was owned by a professional cabinet maker rather than a joiner who didn't need such accuracy and was more concerned with churning out a lot of work <- a lower bed would facilitate this because less force is required to push plane.
But of coarse it will start to chatter a little when the blade begins to get too blunt. But this is normal for any kind of planing I reakon.

- I think someone still makes them. Don't remember who. I only get them secondhand. Which can be hit and miss. Being wooden and old they may have warped out of true. From a box of them I got at an auction about 1/4 of them are no good.

good night fellas

G'day again Apricotripper,

Thanks for that.

I think I'm starting to get the picture. Can't wait for the sharpening series
And G'night!

Cheers!