Thread: Another mini-plane

Ian

Very nice again. Although I knew it was a mini, because you had told us, it still was striking when placed against the coin and the full-size, small plane.

Running out of time? This sounds like something for the coming festive occasion.

Regards
Paul

Ian,

You could all most call that “Cute” but I won’t embarrass you, but it’s come out very nice.

So what is the consensus on the superglue, stick with a tongue and grove joint, use a V joint.
Or is the superglue the new way ?.

Cheers Matt.

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

.......Running out of time? This sounds like something for the coming festive occasion.....

Nope Paul, activities related to the silly season have certainly cut into my time, but the planes are part of my entry for a competition, which a few have guessed already. When I was bitten by the idea of having a go, the deadline seemed very far away, but as deadlines do, it sneaked up behind me and is looming large....

Originally Posted by Simplicity

....You could all most call that “Cute” ....

Whaddya mean? "Cute" is just what I'm striving for! Got to impress the judges somehow....

Originally Posted by Simplicity

......So what is the consensus on the superglue, stick with a tongue and grove joint, use a V joint.
Or is the superglue the new way ?.....

Matt, while the superglue held the sole pieces well enough to mark out the sockets for the tails, for a "full-sized" plane I'd stick with the conventional T&G joint, or at least a V joint if you are too intimidated by the T&G. Once the sides & sole are locked together, the join does nothing, or very, very little for structural integrity of the plane body, it's only to register the bits securely for marking out & provide a bit of support for the sides of the sole during peening. There isn't much metal on the sides where you cut out the blade bed & it's all too easy to distort that part when you are peening down the tails from the sole side (damhik!). If the bottom of the socket on the side is straight & true, there shouldn't be much movement, but the sides of this tiddler are only 2.5mm thick & the brass is softer than the 380 I usually use & compressed enough to cause the dip. It was only a couple of thou, but that adds a substantial amount of work to the lapping phase when you have to take an extra couple of thou off the rest of the sole!

If I had used mild steel instead of stainless for the sole, I would have tried soldering the bits together with a scarf joint, but I didn't have any flux suitable for SS (I tried Baker's but it didn't cut the mustard), so quickly abandoned that course.

On one of the "Pass makes" videos he made a block plane & silver-soldered the sole pieces together, so it has precedent.

Using superglue was a desperation measure - my advise would be to stick with a T&G join or the sliver-soldered scarf join if you really wish to avoid the T&G. It isn't anywhere near as difficult as I first thought it would be, for a 5mm thick sole. I know 3.2mm isn't all that much less & I'm sure it would be possible to cut a T&G in 3.2mm if I was prepared to put the time & effort into it, but I decided that could wait for another day.....

Cheers,

In between a few yard jobs like cutting some grass (about 1 1/2 acres of it!) I had a fiddle with my little plane. Looking at the pic of it beside the the full-size plane I decided the handle part of the wedge was much too tall (funny how staring at a photo shows up faults that you don't notice so much with it in the hand). and not in proper proportion. So I pulled it out & lopped several mm off the top. I think it looks much better now & it hasn't made it any less comfy to hold. This is 'before & after':
Mini chariot a.jpg Done a.jpg

So I'm happy to say it's done & dusted now...

I also finished off the little OWT router I've been working at sporadically for at least two weeks:
Done c.jpg

It works quite well, I tested it before tidying up the woodwork and it certainly did what a router is supposed to do: 2 Test.jpg

It has a 3mm blade - I won't bother making a wider blade as it will only be used for very tiny jobs, & not too often at that!

So time for a summing-up. These are all the scaled-down planes I've made for the project.
All minis b.jpg

As I said, I was sort of planning to add a fillister, but I need to crack on with the container to hold all these treasures, so that one may not happen in time....
Cheers,

Yep got to say Ian it looks better with a haircut, an yep totally agree, an I don’t know why,but looking at pictures gives a different perspective.
Maybe be cause we are distant from the reality of the object in front of us.???

Cheers Matt.

Originally Posted by IanW

So time for a summing-up. These are all the scaled-down planes I've made for the project.
All minis b.jpg

Ian

Without knowing anything about the detail of the competition, I can't see that collection of planes doing anything other than exceptionally well!

All minis b.jpg

I have taken the liberty of making your planes a little larger, in the pix, because they deserve it.



Regards
Paul

PS: Good luck in the comp.

Hi IanW. Truly an impressive collection. Your patience must be amazing (although maybe things happen quicker with smaller scale projects, less material to deal with )

Originally Posted by Mountain Ash

...... Your patience must be amazing (although maybe things happen quicker with smaller scale projects, less material to deal with )

MA, I would not describe myself as "patient" - "obsessive & persistent" might be nearer the mark!

However, being removed from the wage-earning group does make one a bit more relaxed about time. I could never have devoted what must be getting on for several months of shed-time to such whimsical pursuits 20 years ago!

Sorry to disillusion you, but no, things don't happen any quicker when working at this scale, at least not for me. For instance, the small difference in time it takes to cut out the smaller parts gets eaten up by having to work more carefully cleaning up the fiddly little dovetail sockets. Peening is not much quicker either. Although there's less to bash down I have to be twice as careful & go slower to avoid missing the smaller targets. At least filing the mess flush is quicker, but lit takes just as many strokes (but less effort) to lap the soles. I could have made a "full-sized" plane in about the same time it took to make this little chariot plane. The good news is that if you stuff up any piece (like my 3 attempts at getting the front bun to fit properly!), you don't feel too guilty binning it & starting over.

All in all, it confirms for me what I suggest in my "manual", that probably the best place to start for your first attempt would be a small smoother. The amount of material required isn't that much more than for these tiddlers, and you're working at a more human scale....

Cheers,
Ian

Ian, you've done an amazing job on that oversize 20c piece - it looks just like a real one!

I don't know what the comp is but if you don't get a gong of some sort then the standard must be extremely high.

Originally Posted by IanW

... Whaddya mean? "Cute" is just what I'm striving for! Got to impress the judges somehow....

Definitely "super cute".

Hi Ian,

will these mini planes eventually become
users or just for display in a cabinet. I know
someone who has a display cabinet and his wife
is OK with it. Good luck.

Martin.

Originally Posted by labr@

.....I don't know what the comp is but if you don't get a gong of some sort then the standard must be extremely high.

Like any competition, Bob, the standard is variable. Looking at winners & place-getters from past years, there has been some pretty impressive stuff entered. I reckon I'm in with a small chance but you never know, it all depends on who's judging, what their particular tastes are & what else gets entered this year. These things can be very unpredictable and while it would be nice to walk away with a gong, or an "honourable mention", I'm philosophical either way. I'm looking at it as giving me an excuse to have a heap of fun.....

Cheers,

Originally Posted by old workshop

Hi Ian, will these mini planes eventually become users or just for display in a cabinet. I know someone who has a display cabinet and his wife is OK with it....

Martin, I've gone to some pains to ensure all of the tools "work", but some are less practical than others. It's not all that obvious which is which, though. For example, the tiny chariot plane is actually easier to use & probably more useful to me than the panel plane. Even though the panel plane is much larger, it's more awkward to hold because the finger-hole of the handle is too small to get my fingers through. It will produce fine shavings & has a nice action but I have to hold it with a rather awkward grip, so it's not a tool I would choose for a significant planing session. If I need a small plane like that I have a couple of small rear-bun smoothers which are about the same sole size or smaller, but much more comfy in the hands.

So not really sure what will be their fate. Some of them will definitely be used (for making very small stuff like miniature tools! ), but some may not see much use at all simply because they are less practical than other not-quite-so-small tools I already have....

What I can say is that they won't be going into a glass cabinet - I got into a bit of a tool collecting habit many years ago, but soon realised the error of my ways & managed to kick it before it got a very firm grip. My tool cupboard contains strictly 'users', even if they are only used once a year, they have to be seen as filling an on-going need to keep their place....

Cheers,

That is such a great little set of planes. I like them all. Makes me want to start on next plane build, but I have quite a few other projects to be done first....

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