Thread: More metal-bodied planes

Originally Posted by IanW

Just two, Brad, unless you count the mock-up...



Cheers,

Ahh, Ok 👍
I had assumed the picture of the plane after the mock-up pic was the finished article.
Now I realise it was the first one.
Still a mighty effort though.

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

......That Rosewood really is extremely dark. If you had not described it as such I would have guessed at Ebony....

'Tis a very dark piece, alright, Paul. I don't remember it being anywhere near that dark when I first got it, I think that has happened over the years it's been kicking around. [It's had quite the journey to end up on the little plane: Brazil (or somewhere thereabouts) to Canada to Victoria to Qld.... ]. I note that the original Rosewood handles on two of my old planes are almost jet black, so I'm guessing the stuff typically darkens over time.

Hard to tell the difference from a photograph, but you wouldn't mistake the Rosewood for the Ebony if you had them in your hand. Apart from the characteristic smell when you work it, which is similar in many species of Dalbergias, Rosewoods have a medium grain-structure that is quite easy to see, whereas Ebony is superfine, the polished surface is like glass. The Ebony on the thumb plane is "Macassar" (a catchall name for several species of Ebony from the Indonesian archipelago, as far as I can determine), and has fine, pale streaks, not jet black like the Ebony I got in Sri Lanka.

The teeny finger planes are cute, alright, but highly functional. I fettled the 'baby' yesterday, eased one edge of the mouth that was a bit too tight & causing shavings to jam, lapped the sole to as good as I can get it, and fitted a new blade (the one I had in it for the photo-shoot was too short). It is now working beautifully, so I'm very happy with it. One of my daughters has put in an order for a very fancy doll house, replete with working Georgian style furniture, so I think this little baby is going to earn its keep before long.

I did try the thumb plane out on something a bit more challenging than the Jacaranda in the 'test' pic. I fed it to some Blue Gum, which it handled quite well. In fact I was surprised at how well it managed fo r a bevel-up iron ground at <30*, which I guess is largely due to the fine mouth. I was expecting the Blue gum to cause micro-chipping of my un-tempered blade, but when I went back to the Jacaranda, it still cut well & left a glassy surface, with no evidence of chipping. So for the moment, I'm not going to bother trying to temper it. I don't think it's anywhere near as hard as the blade I brine-quenched, according to my crude "file test"; the file just skates over that, whereas I can persuade a file to 'grip' just a bit on my Canola-quenched blade.

Cheers,

Well, I've had time to give my new plane a good gallop or two now, & it is performing very well - definitely a keeper (at least until I make something else that takes my fancy!).

I planed up some she-oak for some knife-scales yesterday & the un-tempered blade managed it remarkably well, again with no sign of chipping. Holding an edge for several minutes of planing that stuff is a commendable effort. From the way it takes an edge & the feel of it on my stones, I estimate it is about as hard as my Hock O1 blades. I don't understand this entirely, but all I can think is that the canola oil quench cooled the blade more slowly and it didn't reach maximum hardness. It's a sheer fluke, I'm sure, but a happy one, I don't feel I need to risk domestic harmony cooking it in the kitchen oven..

And the postie brought nme a little present this morning, a couple of 14tpi straight wheels for my knurling tool. I've grown tired of diamond knurls on everything, so I decided to try something different. After looking at the alernatives for some time, I decided on the straight wheels, because I reckon with these plus a bit of 'freehand' turnery I can make thumbscrews with heads quite similar to old Spiers thumbscrews. This was my first attempt: Knob replaced.jpg

I think it needs to be a little more shallow and the coving of the top a bit more accentuated, but itis vaguely like an oldie.

The new wheels take a bit of getting used to, the coarse teeth rattle & rumble away & cut very slowly on my little mini lathe, and it doesn't much like the the hard brass I was using it on. I think I will have more success knurling narrow bands rather than engaging the full width of the wheel with this coarse pitch, but I'm encouraged to play about with it & get it sorted out. I don't think 14tpi will suit smaller diameter knobs (this one is 16mm) so I might lash out & get a slightly finer pair as well, to make smaller diameter knobs. Then I can match lever-cap & adjuster thumbscrews.

Cheers,

Originally Posted by IanW

Well, I've had time to give my new plane a good gallop or two now, & it is performing very well - definitely a keeper (at least until I make something else that takes my fancy!).

I planed up some she-oak for some knife-scales yesterday & the un-tempered blade managed it remarkably well, again with no sign of chipping. Holding an edge for several minutes of planing that stuff is a commendable effort. From the way it takes an edge & the feel of it on my stones, I estimate it is about as hard as my Hock O1 blades. I don't understand this entirely, but all I can think is that the canola oil quench cooled the blade more slowly and it didn't reach maximum hardness. It's a sheer fluke, I'm sure, but a happy one, I don't feel I need to risk domestic harmony cooking it in the kitchen oven..

And the postie brought nme a little present this morning, a couple of 14tpi straight wheels for my knurling tool. I've grown tired of diamond knurls on everything, so I decided to try something different. After looking at the alernatives for some time, I decided on the straight wheels, because I reckon with these plus a bit of 'freehand' turnery I can make thumbscrews with heads quite similar to old Spiers thumbscrews. This was my first attempt: Knob replaced.jpg

I think it needs to be a little more shallow and the coving of the top a bit more accentuated, but itis vaguely like an oldie.

The new wheels take a bit of getting used to, the coarse teeth rattle & rumble away & cut very slowly on my little mini lathe, and it doesn't much like the the hard brass I was using it on. I think I will have more success knurling narrow bands rather than engaging the full width of the wheel with this coarse pitch, but I'm encouraged to play about with it & get it sorted out. I don't think 14tpi will suit smaller diameter knobs (this one is 16mm) so I might lash out & get a slightly finer pair as well, to make smaller diameter knobs. Then I can match lever-cap & adjuster thumbscrews.

Cheers,

Ian I’m glad the little fellow is now pulling his own weight, and with out having too strain the house hold harmony, that’s got too be a win win.

Restrictions are finally easing in viruses town, so I may be able to visit my creative zone for the first time in about 5 months mid November.
I probably cry.

We’re did you find your knurling tools if you don’t mind me asking, I “may” need them for something.
(Could be useful in tips and tricks[emoji6])

Cheers Matt.

Originally Posted by Simplicity

.......We’re did you find your knurling tools if you don’t mind me asking, I “may” need them for something.
(Could be useful in tips and tricks[emoji6]) .....

I bought the wheels here, Matt.

Be aware that these are just the wheels, you need the tool to fit them to. I think I bought mine from McJings, many moons ago.

If you are only likely to use it a few times, there are even cheaper ones on the interweb. I guess you can't go by pictures too much, but there are some in the $20-30 range that look pretty dodgy, but would probably work for as long as you need it.

You really need to use them on a metal lathe with a screw-driven cross-slide. I tried doing it on a drill press years ago, but the results were pretty pathetic. To get really good knurling, you need to move the tool along he work, just pressing it into the work will give you a knurl of sorts, but it will usually be second-rate.

Cheers,

Originally Posted by IanW

I bought the wheels here, Matt.

Be aware that these are just the wheels, you need the tool to fit them to. I think I bought mine from McJings, many moons ago.

If you are only likely to use it a few times, there are even cheaper ones on the interweb. I guess you can't go by pictures too much, but there are some in the $20-30 range that look pretty dodgy, but would probably work for as long as you need it.

You really need to use them on a metal lathe with a screw-driven cross-slide. I tried doing it on a drill press years ago, but the results were pretty pathetic. To get really good knurling, you need to move the tool along he work, just pressing it into the work will give you a knurl of sorts, but it will usually be second-rate.

Cheers,

Thanks Ian.

I would be using them on my metal lathe,
Those prices are about the same as I’ve found,
I’ve also been told the clamp down ones, you can get a better knurling,
But having never used one It will be a learning curve,

Cheers Matt.

Matt, I presume you are talking about this type?

I was looking for that kind because I reckoned I'd be able to set it up & use it on the DP, but at the time (it was more than 30 years ago), the only one I could find was a rather expensive industrial quality gadget. When I saw the one I have for about $25, I thought it would do. Well, it didn't, I just couldn't apply enough even force by clamping it in the DP vise & pushing it against the job by hand. I thought about making a jig with a screw feed, but shelved that idea because the amount of side-thrust would probably have destroyed my cheap DP in minutes! One of those clamped types would probably have worked.

So the knurling tool lay idle in a drawer for many years until my little lathe entered my life, and was finally dug out & put to work. I had mixed results at first, until I remembered the book I'd stumbled on a long time ago at a SH bookshop (I think it cost me about $2!). It appears to be a training manual for apprentices, written in the 1950s in very clear baby-bear language that I can understand. In that they say to feed the tool along the work by engaging the lead screw. You take multiple passes advancing he tool just a bit each time. This works really well for small diameter pieces that want to bend if you apply too much force.

The other 'secret' to good knurling I've discovered is persistence. The diameter of the piece you are knurling is almost never a simple multiple of the tooth spacing of the cutting wheels, so on the first few revolutions they cut an overlapping pattern. Depending on the diameter and the extent of mismatch, that pattern persists for a variable number of passes until the workpiece is gradually reduced to a diameter that matches the tooth spacing. You can see the overlaps slowly merging with each pass of the tool, until eventually, a clean pattern emerges. One or two more passes sets that in nicely & you end up with a clean, crisp knurl. With some diameters you think it will never get there, & early on I would give up as soon as I got a half-baked knurl, but I've learned to keep going until it sorts itself out...

Cheers,

Love a good knurling.

Learned in year 7.... it is a fine memory!

Originally Posted by woodPixel

....Learned in year 7.... it is a fine memory...

I don't think there was even a drill-press in our 'manual training' room, WP. Sure wish we'd had a metal lathe to play with - you was lucky, you was!

Cheers,

Originally Posted by Simplicity

Thanks Ian.

I would be using them on my metal lathe,
Those prices are about the same as I’ve found,
I’ve also been told the clamp down ones, you can get a better knurling,
But having never used one It will be a learning curve,

Cheers Matt.

They say the clamp style are easier on the lathe, particularly if it's only a small lathe. I got my wheels from McJings and made the holder.

Originally Posted by IanW

I don't think there was even a drill-press in our 'manual training' room, WP. Sure wish we'd had a metal lathe to play with - you was lucky, you was!

Looking back, the tech rooms weren't too bad. That would be 1983 (?) in Canberra. Ceramics, wood, metals, paints. All the good stuff.

Of course, as a kid you see nothing and expect everyone to have the same, but it was the era of TAFE, trade unions and a visionary country that still made cars.

Wood had a table saw, a lathe and a thicknesser for machines. Thinking back it must have been an old woodfast (??) but it only ever had a sanding plate on it... for end-grain shortcuts Everything else was benches and hand tools.

Woodwork was my favourite, metal work was excellent fun (still have the hammer I made, surprisingly good for a dumb kid). It had a good range of skill on it, including threading, knurling, tapers and a good balance. Probably received a D due to my terrible attitude. How I avoided a flogging I don't know....

But, they were good memories.