Thread: My "new" wooden plough plane

That's a nice one, MA and a restoration that should please the purists, you've done it proud.

Is that wear from long use at the back/top of the stock, or has someone in the past shaped it a bit to make it more comfy? It looks a bit too neat to be from hand-wear.

I did have some spare blades a while back, but passed them on to someone else several years ago, so can't help there....
Cheers,

Hi IW. You're right, the stock is shaped with tools. The fence definitely has some signs of use but this is hard to see. I hope the purists won't mind that I tried to stain the new wedges to match the patina on the rest of the plane. Thanks for fixing the photos too.

That plane looks very nice.

Originally Posted by Mountain Ash

...The cutters got a citric acid bath and have come up great - they just need a sharpen. 25 deg? That's what they roughly are now but I read somewhere that 35 deg was better. Anyone have any opinion?...

I believe metal plow/combi-plane cutters (Stanley, Record, et al.) should be sharpened at 35 degrees. I have no idea what's recommended for ye olde wooden varieties. I guess you could experiment with microbevels on a cutter (at say 25, 30 & 35 degrees) and see what feels/works best. I suspect the 35 degrees is recommended for longevity.

Cheers, Vann.

Anyone know why there is a difference between metal and wooden versions?

Thanks Vann.

Bevels are traditionally sharpened to 35 degrees. The wedges are the correct way around

Looks good. Have you tried it out?

Regards from Vienna

Derek

Originally Posted by Mountain Ash

Anyone know why there is a difference between metal and wooden versions?

Evolution, metal planes pretty much replaced all wooden types. A single combo plane could “replace” many single purpose wooden planes, but not always perfectly. Wooden planes tend to be fairly limited in their range of uses; ie a side bead basically can only cut that specific sized profile and nothing else. However I don’t believe any metal plane can outperform a wooden side bead in that application.
Your plough is form of early hybrid, in that it uses a single metal skate instead of a sole and allows different width irons to be used. A Record 44 by comparison does the exact same job the exact same way but is much less bulky and awkward to use. I have a Mathieson & Son plough plane very similar to yours and much prefer my Records for actual use!

Edit: Just realised you are probably referring to whether there is a difference in the cutting angles of metal and wooden planes; I don’t think there is any difference. All my combos and ploughs are honed at 35 degrees as are my wooden beaders. My bench planes and spokeshaves are all honed at 30 degrees, both metal and wooden.

Thanks DC and CT. Christmas in Vienna sounds lovely. Collective wisdom settled on 35°? Hope to sharpen asap, still recovering from lunch and pudding!

Cutters sharpened (35° secondary bevel on existing 25° original grind) and they cut well - at least in baltic pine and oregon offcuts. Had to re face fence to square it up with its arms and groove is now cut square to edge of timber. Have to work out best hand position though.

Originally Posted by Mountain Ash

Lots of previous owners stamps on the ends and what appears to be a manufacturer/reseller? "J.Dixon London".

[Done. ]

Wm Marples & Sons had a brand J. Dixon, but as they were based in Sheffield perhaps "London" makes this observation irrelevant?
Cheers,
Geoff.

Originally Posted by Chief Tiff

Evolution, metal planes pretty much replaced all wooden types. .....

それは全く真実ではありません

Sore wa mattaku shinjitsude wa arimasen

Sorry, that is not quite true, Chief Tiff.

Originally Posted by GraemeCook

それは全く真実ではありません

Sore wa mattaku shinjitsude wa arimasen

Originally Posted by Chief Tiff

google translate worked for me !


Graeme

Originally Posted by Chief Tiff

Evolution, metal planes pretty much replaced all wooden types. A single combo plane could “replace” many single purpose wooden planes, but not always perfectly. Wooden planes tend to be fairly limited in their range of uses; ie a side bead basically can only cut that specific sized profile and nothing else. However I don’t believe any metal plane can outperform a wooden side bead in that application.
Your plough is form of early hybrid, in that it uses a single metal skate instead of a sole and allows different width irons to be used. A Record 44 by comparison does the exact same job the exact same way but is much less bulky and awkward to use. I have a Mathieson & Son plough plane very similar to yours and much prefer my Records for actual use!

Edit: Just realised you are probably referring to whether there is a difference in the cutting angles of metal and wooden planes; I don’t think there is any difference. All my combos and ploughs are honed at 35 degrees as are my wooden beaders. My bench planes and spokeshaves are all honed at 30 degrees, both metal and wooden.

All-wooden planes are superior in almost every case (for cutting grooves, etc), but there are two issues:
* hand tool woodworking after 1900 or so in the united states was probably relegated to site work (not sure for the UK). manufactured millwork was available mail order here in printed books in the early 1900s, and buildings exploded with the use of it (it's more repetitive than hand work, but i'm sure it was a lot cheaper). The likely customer for the metal planes is a site worker who would appreciate their portability
* for economy in using all-wooden tools (especially single purpose tools), one has to know how to make them, or have a source for good older ones.

Bench planes, different story, and it depends on the wood, and what you're doing (if you're working really hard woods, you probably won't find much favor in a wooden plane design that was made to work mahogany and medium hard woods and soft woods).

to get a glimpse of just how well an all wood plane works, even when they're simple, you can make something like a drawer bottom or grooving plane with a skate nearly as wide as the iron. If you're making more than a few drawers a year and cutting the bottom in the same place each time, a plane like this will cut a clean groove without nickers, etc, and it will cut the groove every time it's assembled (no setting, no errors in setting, etc).

Hollows, rounds, beads, etc - no contest. They all benefit greatly from having the profile of the iron track the full length of the tool.

Since we're all now (or almost all of us) working in a space that doesn't travel, the metal planes are neat as gadgets, and for one off use, but it's worth making things like open mortise grooving planes. They can be made out of scrap for no more than the cost of making the iron (perhaps a few dollars if you source good stock with a grooving plane - maybe $2).

JMAW Works: Open-Source Hollows and Rounds: Bodies

(not my site, but a hand tool worker - one of the few professionals left here in the states - encouraged me to make this type of plane when I questioned their strength or ability to work as well as a manufactured plane. He was right - they work far better, with the only trade off being whether or not you'll use one enough to make up for the hour it takes to make them).