Louis Bois
10-12-2004, 9:07 AM
Well...I made a statement a while back to the effect that I would post my experience in building a Shepherd Smoother. Guess I better stay true to my word or this will turn into a "fisherman's" post (tall tales, etc...).
I obtained a kit for a Spiers smoother early last summer and was debating about the best approach to building this thing. I must confess that I have literally no metalworking experience...similar to most woodworkers I would imagine.
I e-mailed the fellas at Shepherd tool to inquire about a few details about building the kit and they suggested that I trundle on down to Cambridge and build the plane there. Too good to pass this one up so we arranged a mutually convenient weekend day and the plan was set. I was thrilled to be able to build my kit with a coupla guys that could answer all my questions "on the fly".
It was a dark and stormy night...er...it was actually a lovely summer morning but drama is one of my fortes. I arrived in Cambridge at about 9 a.m. to start the build. Ben was unburdening his car of a plethora of plane parts and carting stuff into the shop.
After the usual introductions and niceties, Ben ran me through the procedure that I would be following as well as giving me an idea of where I should be, progress-wise, at the end of the day. So off I went.
I began by filing the double-angled dovetails...fairly easy to do once you get the basic feel for filing metal...and had the sides and sole plate ready to peen in about 35 minutes. I didn't have to make a buck block since Ben had one on-hand for me to use.
Now, this is where the fun begins. Did I mention that I've never really worked with metal before?!? Hmmm... Once I got the assembled pieces onto the anvil, Ben gave me a few quick pointer about peining, espousing the virtues of trying not to stray too much from the areas to be peined...since it would take an awful lot of sanding to get rid of dents in the side (or sole) of the body. I took a deep breath and hit my first pin. Success! I hit it. At this point, Ben gave me a larger hammer and told me to, and I quote: "pound the snot out of it"....so I did.
I think that peined shell of mine is still in the Shepherd Museum of Peining Nightmares!!! Needless to say, I must have been somewhat wound up or had too much pent up energy because I ended up bashing the pins below the surface of the sides...sorry don't have a photo of it...but I'm sure that Ben or Doug could snap a quickie and post it here!
Back to the drawing board...and a gentler hand...and smaller hammer. Ben gave me another set of plates (I offered to pay but he refused) and I began the process anew....file dovetails...assemble parts on buck block...back to the anvil. I cannot stress enough that a little at a time is the best policy when working with metal. This applies to filing, bashing, sanding, etc. I was much more successful this time. Whew.
Once the sides and sole were locked together, I took the shell over to the belt sander where Ben showed me how to remove material from the protruding pins. This works extremely quickly and caution is recommended. Check the shell often and only remove the material that stands proud of the shell. Stop once the shell is reached. (cont'd)
I obtained a kit for a Spiers smoother early last summer and was debating about the best approach to building this thing. I must confess that I have literally no metalworking experience...similar to most woodworkers I would imagine.
I e-mailed the fellas at Shepherd tool to inquire about a few details about building the kit and they suggested that I trundle on down to Cambridge and build the plane there. Too good to pass this one up so we arranged a mutually convenient weekend day and the plan was set. I was thrilled to be able to build my kit with a coupla guys that could answer all my questions "on the fly".
It was a dark and stormy night...er...it was actually a lovely summer morning but drama is one of my fortes. I arrived in Cambridge at about 9 a.m. to start the build. Ben was unburdening his car of a plethora of plane parts and carting stuff into the shop.
After the usual introductions and niceties, Ben ran me through the procedure that I would be following as well as giving me an idea of where I should be, progress-wise, at the end of the day. So off I went.
I began by filing the double-angled dovetails...fairly easy to do once you get the basic feel for filing metal...and had the sides and sole plate ready to peen in about 35 minutes. I didn't have to make a buck block since Ben had one on-hand for me to use.
Now, this is where the fun begins. Did I mention that I've never really worked with metal before?!? Hmmm... Once I got the assembled pieces onto the anvil, Ben gave me a few quick pointer about peining, espousing the virtues of trying not to stray too much from the areas to be peined...since it would take an awful lot of sanding to get rid of dents in the side (or sole) of the body. I took a deep breath and hit my first pin. Success! I hit it. At this point, Ben gave me a larger hammer and told me to, and I quote: "pound the snot out of it"....so I did.
I think that peined shell of mine is still in the Shepherd Museum of Peining Nightmares!!! Needless to say, I must have been somewhat wound up or had too much pent up energy because I ended up bashing the pins below the surface of the sides...sorry don't have a photo of it...but I'm sure that Ben or Doug could snap a quickie and post it here!
Back to the drawing board...and a gentler hand...and smaller hammer. Ben gave me another set of plates (I offered to pay but he refused) and I began the process anew....file dovetails...assemble parts on buck block...back to the anvil. I cannot stress enough that a little at a time is the best policy when working with metal. This applies to filing, bashing, sanding, etc. I was much more successful this time. Whew.
Once the sides and sole were locked together, I took the shell over to the belt sander where Ben showed me how to remove material from the protruding pins. This works extremely quickly and caution is recommended. Check the shell often and only remove the material that stands proud of the shell. Stop once the shell is reached. (cont'd)