Thread: Infill Block Plane Restoration

Thankyou, Derek, that's the very 'tute' I was thinking of. If you don't have a knurling tool & some way to use it, that's the best way I've seen to make a very acceptable thumbscrew.

I used similar methods to what Derek shows to turn spigots on clamp screws & shape small brass bits, but found you can turn brass pretty easily by hand on your wood lathe, with a bit of care & practice. An experienced wood-turner should soon pick up the knack, so that could be an alternative & potentially more accurate method for making the grub screws. Some folks use their regular HSS tools, but rounded "pointy' tips work best on brass, & I think you are better off re-grinding an old narrow parting tool or similar to a 'proper' metal-turning profile. There is plenty of info on the web on tool shapes & clearance angles for metal turning.

I also prefer to saw out the shape of my lever-caps with a jewellers' saw, it's a bit tedious, but highly controllable and reduces the amount of filing required (which I find more tedious!). For 1/2" thick brass, use the coarsest blades you can get, a #6 is good if you can get hold of a pack. Be bold with the shaping - I was bit timid with my first couple of attempts and they looked a bit lumpish. Perhaps the main thing is to put a good taper on the lower edge that meets the blade or lever-cap. If you make the lever cap too 'blunt' it can block the shavings & cause choking of the throat. This depends a lot on blade bed angle & how far down the LC reaches, but I had a lot of trouble with one of my early high-angle efforts when the LC looked like this: LC a.jpg

After re-shaping it to something like this, the choking was largely eliminated: LC b.jpg

One other tip - use fresh new files on brass, when you can, files that are a bit worn tend to skate on brass & prolong the job unnecessarily.... :U

Cheers,

Thank you gents, I'll be digging in the repository for brass bolts and screws.

I am lucky, one of my wood turning predilections is oland tools with solid carbide or m2 tooling, ala metal working tooling, and being a reasonably experienced and competent wood turning, who may have turned non ferrous metals at low speed on his lathe a few times before, this maybe an option.

Cheeky request, does anyone have scaled drawings of lever caps for reference? I just find it easier to conceptualise in my brain the shape and proportions, but I have worked off enough photo's to get by.

I might have to wander over to my local Junker/Recycle centre for the brass. It's but 5 minutes away and has all sorts of goodies, including tool at reasonable prices.

Originally Posted by Pat

......Cheeky request, does anyone have scaled drawings of lever caps for reference? I just find it easier to conceptualise in my brain the shape and proportions, but I have worked off enough photo's to get by.......

Pat, even if such things existed, I'm not sure a drawing would help much, unless it was specific to that plane because the curve of the sides and actual width will be unique to it. Having existing pivot holes sets that in stone, so you need to figure out the distance from there to where you want the LC to rest on the cap-iron (or blade, if you choose to go without a cap-iron). Look up some lever caps for infills on the web & that should give you a good idea of the general shape, but a mock-up or two is the way to go, I reckon, that will help you sort out the details.

The distance between pivot & thumbscrew is important, it needs to be at least the same as the bottom part, or preferably a bit longer so it can put plenty of pressure on the blade without excessive torque on the screw. If you are using a cap-iron, make sure the thumbscrew doesn't foul the cap-iron screw (in other words, decide on your blade or blade/cap-iron assembly first, before starting on the lever cap).

I suggest what would help you a lot would be to have an existing lever cap from a similar plane to have a good squiz at - know anyone who owns a Norris or Spiers??

Cheers,

Originally Posted by IanW

I suggest what would help you a lot would be to have an existing lever cap from a similar plane to have a good squiz at - know anyone who owns a Norris or Spiers??

Cheers,

Thanks Ian, but I don't know anyone with the equivalent of Rocking horse feces , so it's back to looking at pics and making cardboard templates, then wooden mock ups.

I just thought that I'd ask first.

Try print that and see if fiddling with the scaling will get you close.

If you need more pics, just ask and I’ll do my best

Colin - your Spiers has a much more elegant lever cap than my (late) Norris!

However, might I respectfully plead, Pat, that you don't try scaling from an existing lever cap, it is unlikely to get what you need. Use the general shape as your model, by all means, but what I was trying to explain above is that there are some crucial factors that make a difference between a LC working, & working well. These mainly revolve around the shape & position of the part which bears on the blade, the upper part is more a matter of aesthetics than function.

Getting the bottom end in the right spot is obviously important - it needs to be close enough to put pressure on the blade where it's needed, without being too close & causing obstruction (& it doesn't take much to discourage thin shavings from coming out into the open!). In Colin's example and these two, note that the end of the LC is a good 10mm back from where the cutting edge of the blade would be when engaged for a light cut: Infill LC1.jpg

The top side of the LC needs to be well-tapered & fit neatly on the cap-iron or blade to encourage shavings to slide over it rather than curl back on themselves as they will do if it's too blunt. If you get it a bit close or not sufficiently tapered, that's much better than the opposite situation, you can always modify it after testing, as I've had to do on more than one occasion. Removing more metal is just a chore, putting it back is a lot more challenging! I made my first infill from scratch, without any known dimensions to work from, and ended up modifying the bottom of the lever cap twice. l was grateful for my decision to use screws rather than a rivet to retain it! (In retrospect, considering my ignorance at the time, it's a miracle that it worked at all ).

The reason you can't work to any set formula is that different makers put the pivot point at different heights relative to the sole, so the size & length of the bottom 'half' of the LC varies accordingly. Compare the Norris (on the left) with the cast plane made by my unknown warrior, for an extreme example of this. The person who completed the casting drilled the holes way too high, imo, so that the bottom part of the LC on the plane on the right is very bulky, and the top half is proportionately short.

You can best appreciate this on a side view. I've marked the pivot points with a "P", which is barely visible, but the screw on the old cast plane is obvious: Infill LC2.jpg

The next question is how long to make the upper half & where to position the thumbscrew, I prefer to have it placed so that you get as much 'leverage' as possible, but try to keep it over the bed, so that the whole unit is as solid as can be. However, you'll see examples of the rear-bun type planes like yours where the screw meets the blade above the bun (which forms the bed) & so the blade isn't supported under the pressure point. I would have thought that might make the blade a bit 'springy' & prone to chatter, but it seems to work ok (possibly because they tend to have very thick blades, but might be a problem with thin blades).

Just trying to pass on some experience gained through making my share of mistakes, in the hope it might save you some anguish........

Cheers,

Thanks Ian, I'm trying to absorb the wisdom and information before mocking up a few examples, in cardboard, then wood, then committing to Brass . . .

Try the Plane Iron Shop on eBay for blades.

OK, what you have there is a 5" coffin sided smoother - which is nice to have as I've always personally liked small smoothers. There's just something about them that appeals to me.

The plane is not factory made, nor is it from a kit. It's just a user-made plane made from steel plates that have been somehow joined together. I say "somehow" because they're not dovetailed in the traditional way, as the line for the sole is continuous along the body. It may be welded on the inside, or silver soldered or even just screwed to the wood and the screw heads hidden by filing them flush. I'll examine the photos more and try to see if I can spot anything conclusive as to the construction.

UPDATE: Just checked and the sole is indeed screwed on to the wood, with the screws filed back flush. Not ideal but it is what it is. Having said that, the less you spend on the plane, the better. It should be fine in use, but it's resale value isn't going to be much. The good news though is that you have free reign to make this plane much better than it is now, without the fear of it losing much in value. There's also a good chance that your family member made this plane from scratch, so keeping it in the family would be great.

The wood used is not your standard plane wood. Kinda looks like native/woody pear or something similar. Could also be a plum or some other fruit tree wood. I love the fact that it has the sapwood in the front bun. When the old makers (Spiers, Norris etc.) used woods containing sapwood, these were considered as lesser grade planes - though there's absolutely nothing wrong with sapwood in my opinion. Sometimes it was also because stocks of better quality woods were low and they made do with what they had. I like planes with sapwood because it just makes the plane more interesting.

There's a bit of a problem with those holes for the lever though. They're in the wrong spot. They need to be more central to the hump to allow for the double iron and wedge - I believe this plane would look much better with a cupids bow style lever and wedge, and not a lever and screw. You could use a lever and screw if you had one, and you can buy these from St. James Bay in the States (via the site or eBay) if you need to. The threads on the SJB screws are not exactly traditional but they work well enough. You can get the levers in rough form or finished. St. James Bay also make a nice 5" dovetailed kit, but it's parallel, not coffiin sided. You could also just find some flat brass bar (about 1/2" thick) and make a lever from scratch. I agree with IanW that Derek has a great-looking design which I first remember seeing a dozen or so years ago.

The lever could be drilled through and a steel bar used (the traditional way - unless your surname was Slater), or tapped and held in place with screws (Like the aforementioned Slaters). If drilling through is what you want then a drill press would go a long way in making this part easier. Also, make sure the brass is securely clamped as it tends to grab quite easily (and violently) on the drill bit.

I could draw up a cupid's bow lever if you want me to. It's a very simple design.

You could just use a steel crossbar, but it probably won't be such a good plane with that arrangement. Big bullet head nails do work fine, and I've used them myself plenty of times (in levers), but it takes practice to pein them correctly. Basically you have to cut them down to a 1/16th or so, either side, and use small controlled taps with a ball pein hammer and working from the centre of the diameter of the pin/crossbar outwards. Many light taps are better than heavy ones. You want the taptaptaptaptap of a machine gun rather than the heavy pounding of a cannon. The good news here is that the sides are steel plates, so you won't be breaking any castings. Steel is very forgiving.

Drill rods are usually too brittle, unless they've been annealed.

The cutting iron/blade is going to be a bit tough - unless you use a tapered iron. A tapered iron and a wedge is fine and I should have one around here that you can have if you need it. If not then you can grind the side of a 1-3/4" wide cutter with an angle grinder (Be careful not to burn the cutting edge) to get it down to 1-11/16". I could probably do that here first and then send it to you - unless you want to practice on it yourself. Having said that, my blade box is a little inaccessible at the moment as I'm in the middle of a workshop reorganisation so you might have to give me some time on that.

I agree with IanW that wooden mockups are the way to go - especially if you're a bit uncertain. It's quicker and much easier to waste a bit of scrap wood than a bit of scrap metal. The distance between the centre of the pin and the bed is where most novice makers get wrong, as can be seen by the location of the holes on your plane. This is probably the main reason why the plane is unfinished. Fear not though, as new holes can be located and drilled and the old holes "plugged up", without too much effort.

If you need any questions answered, just ask.

Hi C.R. - didn't know you were a forum member - I've seen some of your quite impressive work here & there - great to have you on board!

I obviously hadn't looked properly at the first couple of pics, I was too busy looking at the end view, & totally missed the rather obvious method of construction! Missing the bleeding obvious is one of my specialities. I've made a plane of about similar size using metal sides & wooden (Cooktown ironwood) sole, & seen several old woodies with steel soles glued on - lots of variations on the theme, aren't there?

I'm 95% sure the infill is (northern hemisphere) Beech, but wouldn't take bets without having it in hand. If it is Fagus sp., it suggests it came originally from Britain, as it would be an unlikely choice for a local maker (though perfectly possible, of course, if they went to the trouble of locating some).

I was also of the opinion the pivot point for wedge-pin or lever cap seems to be not very well positioned. I would still prefer a screwed lever cap for this old girl because the construction of the body is not conducive to being struck with a hammer or mallet to loosen wedges, imo. I reckon getting the blade you intended to use, then making wooden mock-ups of either a wedge or lever cap would help to decide which is likely to fit better.

If you decide a wedge is the go, I think a swivelling, flat pin beats a fixed round pin for retaining the wedge. A flat piece with pins or screws works fine, it doesn't have to be shaped as a 'cupid bow', but of course that would add greatly to appearance. However, there are many ways to skin the cat...…..

Cheers,

For want of a reference, Joel at TFWW published scans of Work Magazine from the turn of the previous century. This included an interesting article on making your own smoother.
http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/b...FDUGLdrgif.pdf
This includes the following image. One other factor to positioning the pivot is where the screw ends up when tightened. Ideally the screw is as perpendicular to the blade as possible.
41C08858-1872-47C4-9512-2E61184B6C53.jpg

CR, thanks for the detailed response. I think I need more study on the subject . . .

How come I feel that I am being being dragged down into a Maelstrom of knowledge . . . Willingly

Highroller, I scanned the entire article and found the illustration of the lever cap enlightening
Infill lever cap.jpg
Now to make some trial caps out of scrap, eventually. I hope no one is holding their beer waiting for me to complete this restoration, time line is at least 6 months . . . to infinity