Thread: radius plane

If it's a fixed radius then you can get an old woodie and cut it to the required radius for a convex plane, or glue pads to it and recut for a concave plane. If you want an adjustable plane I'd suggest that even if you were paying yourself only 5c an hour for the time taken to design and build one, it would be cheaper to just buy one.

Mick

Wot Mick sez.
Making a (single) radiused plane is no more difficult than making a standard woodie - just cut the required profile as the last step, unless it's a concave shape, in which case you'll have to plan it that way from the start, or you'll end up with a mouth bigger than mine.

If you want a double radius (very useful for chair seats and such like), it's a bit more complicated, as the second (side to side) radius alters the shape of the mouth. I've only made one, so hardly an expert, & found the easiest way is to assemble temporarily, do the radiusing, & disassemble to get the front of the mouth right.

The mouth takes a lot of wear & tear on these planes - I've long been plotting a new one, & have had a block of Lignum earmarked for the job for several years. But then I decided it would be even better with a brass mouth insert, & maybe even brass sides, so put the job aside while I figured out the best way to do it. Have just started on a batch of chairs for the first time in years, & noticed my old plane is looking a bit worn. Its other problem is that I made it a bit small to hold comfortably, so maybe it's time to get on with it. If & when I do I'll post my failures and successes here......

Cheers,

I posted one a while back: http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...=compass+plane
No harder to make than a flat sole plane.

Cheers,