Thread: Steel bodied shoulder plane

Wow!

How does it feel to use?

Haven't done much planing with it. It planed nicely on a piece straight grained tas oak and had a quick try on some end grain where it cut nicely. Have a project coming up that will involve quite a few tenon shoulders so it will get a workout before too long.

That looks amazing for any number of tries, let alone your first!

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Very nice !

Excellent, Tony! I think that's pretty phenomenal for a first effort & while I'm flattered to hear my pernicious influence might've got the ball rolling, I'm even more pleased to see you have put your own stamp on it.

An adjustable mouth is a good thing, it can take a lot of angst out of the build. I still have trouble getting fine, even openings reliably on fixed mouths.

One little pointer. The shavings seem to be rolling out of the escapement nicely in the ''test" shot, but I've found it's a good idea to put the traditional bevel on each side of the tip of the wedge. It depends on the wood your planing, and the thickness of shavings, but with a 'blunt' ended wedge like you have at present, sometimes the shavings will just keep rolling up & choke the escapement. The bevels on the wedge help to deflect them out of the escapement - you'll still get some choking at times, but far less often. It's really only a problem when planing long-grain, I've never had issues planing end-grain.

Cheers,

That is phenomenal. Would you mind giving us a rundown on what it involved to machine it?

That is an awesome looking plane. I like that you put your own spin on it as well for shape and hard ware.
Did you make the thumb screws also your self? I gather because you said you have access to metal working machines.

How did you make sure that the adjustable mouth travels in line with the sole? I guess that took a bit fiddling so that when you open and close the mouth it is not getting out of flatness.

Absolutely love it!

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You would have to be proud of that for a first go. Adjustable mouth too and good looking. Great job.
Regards
John

I agree with all the above. Beautiful work.

I too agree with comments above,
Awesome plane , an too incorporate a adjustable mouth on your first plane build.
I tip my hat.

Cheers Matt.

Tony

I agree wholeheartedly with all the above comments. Superb work and very nice use and selection of the timber.

May I ask how the steel has been finished? It has neither a polished nor a mill scale finish.

Regards
Paul

Thanks Ian, I have to say that this one isn't perfect :U. Had a hole saw catch and destroy itself while cutting the escarpment and there are a couple of scars on the inside that are mostly invisible. When peening the rivets on the block above the adjustable mouth it expanded the sides slightly causing them to turn in towards the adjustable mouth by a few hundredth of a mm. This was enough to leave a slight lip between the adjustable mouth and the sides. A couple of the rivets aren't perfect but all in all a I am quite pleased with how it turned out.

Originally Posted by IanW

One little pointer. The shavings seem to be rolling out of the escapement nicely in the ''test" shot, but I've found it's a good idea to put the traditional bevel on each side of the tip of the wedge. It depends on the wood your planing, and the thickness of shavings, but with a 'blunt' ended wedge like you have at present, sometimes the shavings will just keep rolling up & choke the escapement. The bevels on the wedge help to deflect them out of the escapement - you'll still get some choking at times, but far less often. It's really only a problem when planing long-grain, I've never had issues planing end-grain.

Cheers,

Did notice the shavings have a tendency to curl up in the escarpment so will give your little trick a try.

I had to check the new 1 1/4" SP I made last year around a 1 1/4" L-N blade, because I couldn't remember what it weighed, but thought it was less than 2.5Kg. JW lge.jpg

Sure enough, mine comes in at 2.36Kg, so Tony's tips mine by a bit more than 100 grams, which surprised me because we've used similar thickneses of metal, but steel is less dense than brass (~7.5 vs 8.6). My plane is 200mm long (Tony's 220). The blade beds look to be about the same, using the blade as a guide, so I'm guessing the toe is close to 20mm longer, and the extra metal in the nose contributes to the difference?

If the extra weight is mostly in the nose, that should make it even better for trimming tenons as it will sit very firmly & flat when you start the cut. Don't know if it was deliberate, but you can claim it was a premeditated design feature, & we'll have to believe you....

Cheers,

Originally Posted by tony_A

...... I have to say that this one isn't perfect....
....When peening the rivets on the block above the adjustable mouth it expanded the sides slightly causing them to turn in towards the adjustable mouth by a few hundredth of a mm. This was enough to leave a slight lip between the adjustable mouth and the sides. A couple of the rivets aren't perfect but all in all a I am quite pleased with how it turned out....

Tony, perfection is a nebulous concept, there are always small flaws in hand-made items, but more often than not, only the maker is aware of them. Bill Carter confesses to small flaws or things he could've got better, quite often, so you're in famous company. Your plane looks bloody good to my eyes, and would be a credit to you if it was the tenth, so a very commendable effort for #1!

Peening does cause things to squirm about - it adds tension in ways that are hard to control. Infill bodies always come off a parallel block with the sides really tight at the tops because they slope in by a degree or so. For my last few infills, I've taken to tapering the peening block slightly (saw it recommended by another infill maker) in an attempt to counteract this. It's a guessing-game as to how much taper to apply to the block, but both bodies I tried it on came out almost exactly 90 degrees, which is better than I've managed before. Makes it easier when fitting the stuffing!

Cheers,