Wooden bench plane

[Matt Evans]

I have been digging out all my older planes and tuning them up for use.

Mahogany and oak, with a purplewood mouth wear plate.

Dug this one out the other day, looked at the sole, fitted the wedge a little better, and put another coat of wax on it.

Made it a year or two ago, and just never used it much. Took it over a piece of Sapele I had today, and now I am stuck wondering why I hadn't been using it more often. Just more proof that you can do some amazing things with pretty crude shop-made tools. (Although I wouldn't turn down a panel raiser. . .)

Next I need to dig out my wooden jointer I made at the same time. hopefully it is in at least the same condition or better.

[David Weaver]

I like that you cut an abutment for the wedge instead of making a krenov-style bar.

There aren't many secrets when it comes to making a nice performing plane, and regardless of how crude the rest is, a crude-looking plane will perform the same if it's made right where it counts, and you *know* the plane inside and out and how to use it just by virtue of having tested it when you make it and being the sole designer.

I think it's not difficult to make a plane that has it where it counts. What's difficult is making one that is pleasing to the eye - there are not many.

No need to accept or turn down a panel raiser - you can make one in the same style as that quite a bit more easily than you could make a late 18th c panel raiser out of a billet of wood, especially if you have a decent compound miter saw and a template or idea for the sole profile.

[Matt Evans]

David,

Thanks.

Since my long distance move My shop has been my dining room. No power tools really able to be used there, due to dust and noise. I am thinking of making a few more specialty planes, and they are all going to be wood, since I have very little metal working tools at the moment.

Panel raiser, coffin smoother, dado plane, and a wide rabetting plane are in the design and planning stage at the moment.

I like the abutment method best, personally. On a metal plane the cross pin makes sense, but on a wooden plane the abutments seem to be better. They aren't hard to do with some simple hand tools, and I find fine tuning them is easier than getting a perfectly 90 degree hole drilled in a plane with a brace.

[David Weaver]

David,

Thanks.

Since my long distance move My shop has been my dining room. No power tools really able to be used there, due to dust and noise. I am thinking of making a few more specialty planes, and they are all going to be wood, since I have very little metal working tools at the moment.

Panel raiser, coffin smoother, dado plane, and a wide rabetting plane are in the design and planning stage at the moment.

I like the abutment method best, personally. On a metal plane the cross pin makes sense, but on a wooden plane the abutments seem to be better. They aren't hard to do with some simple hand tools, and I find fine tuning them is easier than getting a perfectly 90 degree hole drilled in a plane with a brace.

Don't write off metal planes. So far, I have used a small belt sander (which I didn't need), hack saw, files and a cordless drill to make 3 1/2 infill planes. Two of them were steel and scratch built. That's still an option if you want to do it, and they are very persuasive planes on hardwoods that can be uncomfortable with all-wood planes. The materials to do it cost more, though, unless you already have scrap ground steel or brass in the right thicknesses.

You can get around the issue you mentioned with not being able to drill a parallel hole on an infill plane by fitting the leading edge of the lever cap to the iron so that the plane works well, just as you could tune the wedge on a krenov style plane if you had to and didn't mind that it needed to be near full width (but no reason to do that when you're already comfortable with a superior method).

The only thing I couldn't do easily without a drill press was accurately drill the holes in the lever cap (sides and top), but those can be bought from someone who has a mill to do them properly.

Look forward to seeing the rest of your planes and whatever you come up with next.