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Jeff Wittrock
07-25-2010, 4:56 PM
I have made several wooden planes, but decided I would like to try a small infill. I love the looks of the small infills made by Ron Brese (http://http://www.breseplane.com/Small_Smoothers.html), especially the overstuffed version that Ron credits to Jameel Abraham, so I kind of used this as a starting point (I hope Ron doesn't mind my crude attempt at imitation).

For me, this was just something of an experiment, so I didn't want to invest much in materials. I just used some 0.25"X1.5" mild steel from a BORG. I had a small blade from a Japanese style plane that didn't have a good home, so I decided to just use this for my blade.

For the infill I did splurged on a piece of Honduran Rosewood as I had never used it before and wanted an excuse to buy a small piece. Unfortunately, I found out in the process that I have something of an allergy for it which I now understand is not uncommon.

I usually don't take many pictures when I am working on something, but this time I tried to take a few pictures as I went along. I'll attache a few of them here in separate posts because of forum limits.

Jeff Wittrock
07-25-2010, 5:08 PM
And some more pictures:

Joe McMahon
07-25-2010, 5:20 PM
Beautiful job, Jeff. How about some pictures with the see through curlies??

Dale Sautter
07-25-2010, 5:20 PM
Looks really nice Jeff! ...but where's the obligitory fine curls? :)

How long did it take you, and how did the tapping go?

Jeff Wittrock
07-25-2010, 5:47 PM
Beautiful job, Jeff. How about some pictures with the see through curlies??

I'm not sure that poplar qualifies as a fair test, but that's what I have laying around right now :). I'm hoping I have a chance to try it on some curly maple.

Steve Clardy
07-25-2010, 5:52 PM
Awesome. Great job. ;)

David Weaver
07-25-2010, 7:35 PM
Excellent.

That should plane like a bull and be very handy on iffy stuff.

jerry nazard
07-25-2010, 9:38 PM
WOW!! That is beautiful!

Leigh Betsch
07-25-2010, 11:20 PM
Looks great. Plane building gets in your blood. I just finished up an infill also. Now I have another block plane on the drawing board.
How did you cut the large radii on the side plates?

Terry Beadle
07-26-2010, 10:05 AM
Great Job ! Nice curlies too.

I'm courious what you used to anchor the sides to the sole plate? Was it rivets or was it threaded rod or?

Zach England
07-26-2010, 10:21 AM
Can you post some info about the metalworking?

Nice plane.

Jeff Wittrock
07-27-2010, 6:54 PM
...How did you cut the large radii on the side plates?
Leigh, I rough cut these with a hack saw, then an angle grinder, and cleaned up with a file. The steal I used was some pretty soft stuff, so it wasn't to difficult to work like this.


I'm courious what you used to anchor the sides to the sole plate? Was it rivets or was it threaded rod or?
Terry, I used 1/8" dia. soft metal rod to make rivets which I peened in place. I think threaded "rivets" of some kind would have probably been a better idea. I didn't have a tap at the time, so just made due.


Can you post some info about the metalworking?
Zach. I'd be happy to. If there is some interest, I will take the time to write up a description of how I did things, and post them here in a couple days. Just a for-warning though. I made this mostly as a way to get my feet wet. There are probably far better ways to go about making a plane than what I did.

Thanks,

-Jeff

george wilson
07-29-2010, 10:52 PM
Jeff,a very nice first effort. I would encourage you to make an iron at least an inch or two longer,so you can easily tap on the end of it. Also,make another screw twice the size of the one there now. It will be more in proportion. Lastly,always take advantage of the curved area to embellish with a nice "S" curve,or some other carefully thought out curvatures.

You did a great job of making the dowels disappear.

Jeff Wittrock
08-02-2010, 8:02 PM
Thanks for the feedback George.

I know what you mean about the blade length. I made due with the blade I had on hand since it has been one that has always taken a good edge. The little haunch on the front of the infill was my attempt at giving a little easier access to the short blade. It works O.K., but certainly not as easy to adjust as a longer blade would be.

On a side not. I have found that I like the short blade in the sense that it is below the general lines of the infill, so I can rest my hand over the top without hitting the blade. For better or worse, I find myself holding this way at times. Maybe just a bad habit on my part:).

In looking at some older planes, I think I see what you mean about the "S" shape. At the time, I liked the idea of the ends of the large curve angling off the same as the infill material. I guess the aesthetics are something that will hopefully come with time and spending some time looking at other planes I admire.

Thanks again,

-Jeff

Jack Camillo
08-02-2010, 8:53 PM
Uh, WOW, looks fantastic.

Ron Petley
08-02-2010, 9:41 PM
Wow first rate job, what a great looking plane.
Vey nice job, if you post some mor info can you judge how many hours to do this project. also what is the angle of your blade support Cheers Ron.

george wilson
08-02-2010, 10:05 PM
Your aesthetics are not at all bad for a first,or even the latest of a series of planes. My suggestions are mostly ideas to refine it. Did you make the cap screw?

Gaz Palmer
08-03-2010, 10:04 AM
Lovely job. :)

Jamie Bacon
08-03-2010, 10:50 AM
Wow, nicely done. ESPECIALLY for a first. Very impressive.

Jamie

Jeff Wittrock
08-05-2010, 8:42 PM
..... can you judge how many hours to do this project. also what is the angle of your blade support Cheers Ron.

That is a tough question for me :). I'm afraid the way I kind of just putter around and work on things when I feel like it makes it hard to guestimate the hours. If I had to take a guess, I would say maybe 20 or 30 hours? Honestly, most of the time was spent sanding scratch marks out of the metal. Cutting and fitting the parts went fairly quickly. Even fitting the infill didn't take too long, and was an enjoyable part of building the plane.

The bed angle is ~52 degrees.


... Did you make the cap screw?
Yeah, or I tried I should say. What I did was pretty cheesy. I just took a 5/16-24 x 3/4 Stainless hex head screw, and ground the hex head round. I then chucked it up in my drill press to polish it. I cut the knurling with a triangle file. I wish it had a larger head.

-Jeff

george wilson
08-05-2010, 10:50 PM
The cap screw didn't look bad for workmanship in the picture,just too small. If you don't have a lathe,I guess you are stuck with what you can make otherwise.

Leigh Betsch
08-05-2010, 10:55 PM
20 or 30 hours?

-Jeff

If you built that in 20-30 hrs I ain't gonna tell anyone how long it took me to build the infill I just finished!

Len Keimer
08-20-2010, 9:01 PM
Jeff for your first attempt it's very impressive,Len

Casey Gooding
08-20-2010, 9:55 PM
That's a beat!!! I love that you create a metal bed for the iron to rest against. That certainly helps cut down on problems created by wood movement.
I have one of these on my to do list. We'll see.

Tony Shea
08-21-2010, 2:04 PM
I love that you create a metal bed for the iron to rest against. That certainly helps cut down on problems created by wood movement.



That's exactly what I was just about to ask about. I am very new to infills and having any interest in them therefore do not know much about them. But I was going to ask if it is typical of an infil to have a metal bed for the iron? If my memory serves me I recall most of the beds made of the wood infill portion of the plane but I could be wrong. Either way I really like how you made your bed of steel.

Just a fantastic job for your first attempt at an Infill. Very inspiring as this is officially on my to do list.

Chris M Pyle
08-22-2010, 9:35 PM
I would appreciate more info on how you did the metal working as well!

Any/all steps would be appreciated by all!

Jim Koepke
08-23-2010, 4:14 AM
I would like more on the process also as I hope to one day build a beauty like yours.

jim

Salem Ganzhorn
03-28-2011, 8:16 PM
Thanks for sharing Jeff. I really like this one too. And I do like the symmetry of how the infill follows the same angle as the metal sides.
Salem

Peter Pedisich
03-28-2011, 9:41 PM
Nice plane Jeff! looks very comfortable and substantial, like a little locomotive.

Stephen Pereira
03-28-2011, 10:47 PM
Very nice work..thanks for posting pictures.

Metal bed for iron. I believe that most "traditional infills" use the handle to bed the iron. Some people make a steel "ramp" (can't think of the exact term at the moment) and rivet same to sole..ala Kingshot. I think Hotley uses a method similar to Jeff's and uses the steel bed to mount his adjuster. I like this method as any adjuster won't be thrown off by wood movement.