8 Attachment(s)
Using "exotic" metals for plane making..
I thought this would slot in here better than in 'Hand tools unpowered'. I'd like to see all the plane-making threads put in this section eventually, but it would be a biggish job.
Anyway, certain “friends” seem determined to place temptation in my way & someone who I’ll not name (he can out himself if he wishes :; ) dropped by one afternoon a few months back, with an armful of rescued stainless steel plate. There were several thicknesses, 3.2mm, 5mm & 8mm. The 3.2mm is, I think, regular garden-variety 304 and I used a bit for the sole of a mini infill (western rosewood (Acacia rhodoxylon) infill):
Attachment 495912
There is nothing much to say about the 3.2mm steel, it cut & peened easily enough, I didn’t find it much different from the mild steel I generally use. So far so good.
The other pieces were covered in a scale which cleans off easily enough, leaving a surface covered in very shallow pits which take a bit more elbow-grease to sand out, but come out eventually. I think my benefactor said they had been used where they were exposed to heat & steam for a long time. Attachment 495911
I cut a little piece off & beat the heck out of it & it seemed to cold-work ok, it spread out to more than twice its original width without any sign of cracking. It seemed much the same as the thin plate. I decided to make a smallish plane that would be quick & straightforward, & I had in mind something like this small rear-bun smoother I made a couple of years ago. This plane has the cute factor, but I’ve found it a really useful size & wonder how I ever got along without it: Attachment 495910
Long story short, the thick plate turned out to be something a bit more challenging than the 3.2mm stuff. Whether it was just the added thickness, or a slightly different alloy, it was definitely less easy to work with. I didn’t do any WIP shots, you’ve seen enough of those, and photos wouldn’t show my problems anyway. I demolished a hacksaw blade, several files and many more jewellers saw blades on this one small plane, much more than I expected. Starting with a new blade or file, it felt much the same as sawing or filing mild steel, but very quickly, I could feel things going downhill. I can normally saw at least 70mm in 5mm mild steel with a good quality jewellers saw blade before it becomes dull & slows down, but I found the blades giving up the ghost in less than half that distance on the SS. Cutting out the dovetail sockets & filing the mouth & blade bevel took me much longer than I expected & I used up at least twice as many blades as I would have on mild steel. One of the files I was using was about half worn out at the start, it’s totally worn now!
Eventually I got the sides & soles ready for peening, & again, soon noticed a difference, I had to hit harder to get the metal to move, and strike it many more times. Both increase my risk of mis-hits & I had several big ones – leaving a couple of dings that I can’t file/sand out without removing an excessive amount of metal. :~
At least the infilling step went without any problems. I used the last sizable chunk of some really nice, fine-grained Victorian Bull-oak I’d got about 30 years ago. When polished, it takes on a lovely deep lustre & feels silky in the hand like good traditional rosewood. Attachment 495913
Lapping the sole gave me another major workout – I’ve never before seen the flat area creep so slowly across a sole! Attachment 495909
It’s not quite there, yet, but I got it good enough for a trial run this afternoon: Attachment 495907
I made the blade from a piece of 1/8 x 1.5” 1080 steel I bought here. Some may remember I had some fun trying to heat-treat plane blades, but managed to get a couple to cooperate The blade I’m putting in this plane is actually the first one I made, which refused to harden in sump oil, so I quenched it in brine, which certainly got it hard - I think it needs more tempering yet to get it to what it should be. Those several heating & cooling cycles may be why the blade cupped a tiny bit, which is giving me a bad case of RSI trying to flatten. It is only a fraction of a thou high in the centre, but it takes an awful lot of hand lapping! I got it almost to the edges & decided it was close enough for the trial run: Attachment 495908
It needs some work on the ‘wear’ (the area just above the front of the mouth opening), which is too steep & needs easing back to reduce choking, and I think the angle on the toe of the cap-iron also needs reducing a bit. I hope a bit more fiddling & fettling will soon have it up to standard.
It'ss about 10mm longer and 3-4mm wider, but otherwise a repeat of the gidgee plane & eventually should be at least as good a performer. Attachment 495906
The combination of brass & SS should ensure the body is still sound long after the woodwork has turned to dust. Before I started on this plane, I was contemplating an all-stainless model, just for the heck of it. I know some already exist, so it wouldn’t be unique, but I think it’ll be a good while and a few visits to the physiotherapist before I glove-up for another round with another chunk of the gifted stainless steel!
:U
Cheers,