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Thread: Mouse plane
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1st November 2013, 05:05 PM #1SENIOR MEMBER
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Mouse plane
For those of you who spend as much time on eBay looking at the tools as I do, you would have noticed this mouse shaped metal bodied infill shoulder plane for sale in the last few weeks. I had a bid but it went for more than I was willing to pay. There was another example for sale earlier in the year but made completely out of wood. I missed out on that one too.
Infill Mouse Shoulder Plane (c).jpgWooden Mouse Plane.jpg
Despite the unsuitability of wooden low angle shoulder planes (I am led to believe the mouth distorts as the wedge is driven home to secure the iron), I wanted to have one of these mouse planes so I made my own. Version 1 was made from jarrah burl. I cut a sloped mortise to house the blade and wedge. Unfortunately, it suffered a complete headorectomy despite two jarrah dowels being inserted in its neck for reinforcement and is now part of my local council's landfill program. I think I cut the mouth too large and consequently the neck became too thin.
Version 2 is made from three laminated sheoak boards. It is easier to leave a void for the blade and wedge than it is to chisel out a mortise. Futhermore, the wedge can be fitted to the void quite accurately. Here it is:
Mouse plane(a).jpgMouse plane(b).jpgMouse plane(c).jpg
Once I was happy with the plane, I finished it with boiled linseed oil. I'm not too sure why but after the linseed oil treatment I couldn't secure the blade with the wedge. The wedge came loose far too easily. Any way, I glued some soft pine to the binding surfaces of the wedge and the blade is now held securely. The blade is bedded at 15 degrees and the wedge describes a 20 degree angle. Despite being just a bit of fun it actually does work.
Regards,
Paul
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1st November 2013 05:05 PM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
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1st November 2013, 05:36 PM #2
Nice work Paul! Judging by the rule in the pic, it's more like a very large Rat plane or a Ring Tail Possum plane.
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1st November 2013, 06:02 PM #3SENIOR MEMBER
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Rat plane
Fair enough - I can live with rat plane. I really wanted one of those eBay examples. I think the metal one went for 80 or 90 GBP. Perhaps Terry Gordon would make a batch with an Aussie slant? Gidgee stuffed brass low angle shoulder plane in the shape of a.........bilby.
Also..........
I've just noticed another forum subsection "handmade tools and jigs" that would have been more appropriate for this post. I have posted pics of my mallets in that section:
https://www.woodworkforums.com/f44/jarrah-mallet-178333/
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2nd November 2013, 07:57 AM #4
Homesy - I've also discovered that oiling wedges can cause them to slip. Usually, they will come good again, once the oil dries thoroughly, but you may also have used a bit too steep an angle on your wedge, judging from the pics (though that may be perspective making them look steeper than they are...)
The original sure looks cute. By co-incidence, I've just been reading about decorated planes, and planes made to look like something else (shoes or fish, for e.g.). We could start a whole new genre, like planes made to look like politicians you don't like, so you can rub their noses on some nice, splintery wood each day. BTW, send the broken plane to FF - he can drag it round the shed to amuse his cats.
The 'home-made tools' section should be the place for something like your plane, but the trouble is, if you post there nobody (or very few people) bother to look at it, so it doesn't get much attention. As far as I'm concerned, if it's a hand-tool, it's quite eligible for this section. If you'd put up a jig for some electron-burning thing, I'd have to throw it out.....
Cheers,IW
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2nd November 2013, 08:24 AM #5
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2nd November 2013, 11:45 AM #6SENIOR MEMBER
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I was quite dumbfounded as the wedge and blade were snug before oiling. I should have waited a few more days - the wedge looked better without the pine strips. Thanks for sharing your experience.
As for the wedge angle, one of the sites suggested a wider/steeper wedge and the author gave their reasons. Hence my using 20 degrees but I could have misunderstood the author. I'll try to find the link.
Low angel shoulder plane DIY (Div style plane) #1: Making the body part one. - by mafe @ LumberJocks.com ~ woodworking community Mafe suggests a higher wedge. I interpreted that as wider/steeper, hence my use of 20 degrees
Sorry, FF's cat has missed out - Version 1 is definitely buried by now - bin day was Wednesday in my street and it may have even been picked up two Wednesday ago.
Our politicians do get a tough time...........but this is a woodwork forum so I won't continue. Decorated tools do look desirable (to me) and likewise tools made to look like animals and mythical creatures. Not too sure about pollie planes.Last edited by homesy135; 2nd November 2013 at 11:59 AM. Reason: adding link
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2nd November 2013, 03:22 PM #7
I have had the odd mouse in the shed but it was not a plane.
I like the look of it. Woodwork cant be serious all the time.
Regards
John
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3rd November 2013, 05:17 AM #8
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3rd November 2013, 08:09 AM #9
Great work on the plane. Thanks for sharing your story on the process you took.
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3rd November 2013, 08:16 AM #10GOLD MEMBER
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I had a read of this link and I interpreted his comment to mean wedge needed to be thicker at the thin edge of the wedge to give more support to the cutting edge of the blade. This would imply a shallower angle.
He drew a version here that also allows the blade to be fitted from the rear which closes the mouth.
http://www.felding.net/image/pic/sho...study2011a.pdf
However, being a mouse plane, you won't get a squeak out of me ...
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3rd November 2013, 01:56 PM #11SENIOR MEMBER
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[QUOTE=hiroller;1713062]
Okay, it is making more sense now.
From Mafe's article he says "To hold the blade tight enough you need to make a higher wedge then shown on the photos here." I interpreted a higher wedge to mean a steeper wedge and this appeared to be supported by Mafe's diagram on the right showing a "wedge idea" of about 30 degrees. But I see it now, the wedge is still about 10 degrees - just thicker above the blade.
Mafe's Article.jpg
Thanks for the PDF link. I hadn't seen that. My mouse plane has a large mouth to allow the blade to be inserted mouth to tail. The blade width is 33mm. I did consider a dovetailed sliding nose piece to adjust the mouth............
As with most of my woodwork, "the next one will be even better". Version 3 will be built with a better understanding of the design but I'm hoping Terry Gordon (HNT Planes) is going to seize on this idea.
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3rd November 2013, 02:37 PM #12
Yeah, I have several tools cobbled up as "proof of concept" only, but because they actually worked ok, the 'real' tool hasn't yet been made (and may never be, in some cases!). I guess a functioning tool is more important than a beautiful one, but it's a bonus if you can have both, of course.
In general, the shallower the angle of any wedge, the more easily you can drive it home, and the less likely it will be to slip under load (but not if freshly oiled ) .....
Cheers,IW
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