New plane build is completed

[Derek Cohen]

The new plane has been completed and the full details are on my website ..

Part I: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMad...ablade%21.html (http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/NowTHISisablade%21.html)

Part II: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMad...rsJointer.html (http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/CoopersJointer.html)

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Planes/Big%20jointer/Finished13.jpg

Regards from Perth

Derek

[george wilson]

Do be careful when using the plane upside down. Fingers make potato chip slices very easily.

[Mark Baldwin III]

Awesome, Derek, as always. I like the idea of putting it in the vise with the fence on. That seems very very useful, and now I'm getting silly ideas in my head again.

[Matthew Dworman]

WOW - now THAT is a plane!

[george wilson]

I mentioned somewhere that I saw a coffin shaped early German jointer about 7 feet long. it had about a 10" wide iron in it. That must have been a bear to bevel . Why such a large blade? I don't know. Maybe the cooper was making large tubs with 2" or 3" thick walls. Maybe it was just a pride of ownership thing. The mouth of the plane was also carved with an early looking floral design. I didn't take pictures as it was in a private collection,and I was a guest.

I am pretty sure that they had a better selection of natural wheels than we have today(like,1 source). They also used wooden wheels coated with natural carborundum.

[Jim Koepke]

As usual Derek a great write up. Thanks for you inspirations.

A possible answer to your question:


I’m still trying to understand why these planes need to be wide – long is helpful with jointing long staves.

If the staves were bent before the jointing it would be easier with a wide blade.

jtk

[Chris Vandiver]

Derek, very nice plane!

Here's one that I have that was made sometime in the 19th century. It's 35" long with a 2 3/4" double iron and the body is, of course, beech. No maker's mark on the plane. The iron is by Butcher. I have yet be able to extricate the iron from the plane. Hopefully I will eventually be able to remove it.

Cheers

[Tom Vanzant]

Chris,
The wood may have shrunk to the point that the iron is wedged in by the edges. Get it out or you may end up with cracked cheeks. AMHIKT.
Tom

[Derek Cohen]

Do be careful when using the plane upside down. Fingers make potato chip slices very easily.

Hi George

I would love to hear your experiences, if any, using a cooper's jointer. I am specifically interested in technique (and am collecting as much on this as I can).

I'll watch the fingers - perhaps will need to develop a push stick .. :)




If the staves were bent before the jointing it would be easier with a wide blade.

Jim, that may be so. Still, you do not need a wide blade for bent faces. Also, if the work piece is large, surely one would rather take the plane to it, rather than the other way around ...? Lots to learn.

Nice plane Chris ... looks familiar :)

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Chris Vandiver]

Chris,
The wood may have shrunk to the point that the iron is wedged in by the edges. Get it out or you may end up with cracked cheeks. AMHIKT.
Tom

Tom, That is exactly why the iron is stuck. I am pretty sure that it has been that way for some time. Getting the iron out without damaging the plane, is easier said than done!

[Pam Niedermayer]

Tom, That is exactly why the iron is stuck. I am pretty sure that it has been that way for some time. Getting the iron out without damaging the plane, is easier said than done!

I don't see that you have anything to lose. It's unusable either way, so your best bet is to get it out, it may not kill the cheeks.

Pam

[Tom Vanzant]

Chris,
The traditional way to retract an iron is to strike the heel of the plane body. With a stuck iron such as yours, ramp up that action by by holding the plane vertical, heel down and dropping it from a height of several inches to a wood floor, not concrete. There is probably rust involved and it must be jarred loose. Increase the height as needed, and this will eventually loosen the iron enough to remove the wedge and iron. I saved a nice old Scottish wooden plane this way. With the edges of the iron and cap dressed down a little, it works well. Good luck.
Tom

[Johnny Kleso]

If the Iron is tapered you can try to give the blade a wack foward to break the wood/rust sticking

[Terry Beadle]

Some free ( probably worth the price ! ) ideas to Chris Vandiver :

I'd hang the plane by the end of the blade so that the entire weight of the plane was suspended by it. Then I'd tap litely on a twice daily schedule on the heel of the plane with a firm but lite stroke. If it didn't give in after a week, I'd add more weight to the middle of the plane mouth by using coat hanger wire and a couple of small barbells. Repeat lite firm strokes. If it still didn't give the blade up, I'd wrap the mouth area with some tin foil and then use a torch to dry the mouth area as much as possible with out burning or harming the plane body. Of course, this would be a risky play but the idea is to remove any moisture from the wood by a slow bake and not a burn.

Feel free to laugh. The ideas are priced right ! Hoot !

Good luck.

[john brenton]

Maybe that massive plane was set outside of his shop as an advertisement? How else could a plane like that even be effective?? Seven feet?? That's crazy.


I mentioned somewhere that I saw a coffin shaped early German jointer about 7 feet long. it had about a 10" wide iron in it. That must have been a bear to bevel . Why such a large blade? I don't know. Maybe the cooper was making large tubs with 2" or 3" thick walls. Maybe it was just a pride of ownership thing. The mouth of the plane was also carved with an early looking floral design. I didn't take pictures as it was in a private collection,and I was a guest.

I am pretty sure that they had a better selection of natural wheels than we have today(like,1 source). They also used wooden wheels coated with natural carborundum.

[Zahid Naqvi]

This plane might come in handy for another member who is looking for a way to flatten an 8 foot long edge. Derek, I really like the picture at the end of your article where you have the plane mounted in a vise upside down and the jointing fence attached. Looks like a good replacement for a tailed jointer/planer. Great writeup as always.

[Chris Vandiver]

Sorry to hijack Derek's thread but I was able to get the blade out this morning. With the wedge out of the plane, I was able to rotate the blade forward just enough to have clearence for some needle nose vice grips to fit over the cap iron bolt. I was then able to remove the cap iron bolt and then tap the plane iron down through the mouth opening(it came out quite easily in that direction). After the plane iron was removed, I tapped the cap iron out in the same direction. Piece of cake!

By the way, with the plane iron and cap iron connected, it's not possible to tap them out down through the mouth, there's not enough clearence. With the two irons seperated, it's no problem.

[george wilson]

The big jointer showed no signs at all of having been weathered. In fact,it was coated with the thick,blackish,rather shiny coating of old tallow. I am sure it was a working plane. Maybe it was used in ship building??? Who knows. I tend to think it was for making huge wooden vats,which could have had 2 or 3" thick. We got hold of an old wine vat in Wmsbg. The maintenance area millwork shop used it for making outdoor benches,etc. It was cypress,and over 2" thick. There was an unpleasant smell of old wine throughout that wood,which really came out when the stuff was run through the planer,exposing the interior wood.

Derek,I have not used a cooper's jointer,not being a cooper. I just made planes for the Cooper's Shop to use. They used to put the most acute angle on their blades,I mean really long bevels. Perhaps to make them easier to hand hone for more resharpenings. I wondered how such thin bevels could not chatter when planing the tough white oak they made barrels out of. It seemed to work for them,though.

They weren't happy with the blades that the blacksmith shop made for them. the blacksmith's shop used 1070 or 1075 steel. It welded more easily than higher carbon steels like 1095. Of course,it didn't wear very well,and they were constantly having to resharpen those blades. They appealed to me,and I secretly made them some blades out of A2,which were hand forged to a taper,and left rough and black like old blades. Those blades held up infinitely better than the 1070 blades when working oak. I just felt sorry for them,and none of them were getting any younger. They had a rough life,working in an unheated shed year round.

In England,before coming to Wmsbg.,the master and his brother worked for Whitbread's(sp?) They worked in a shack WITH NO WINDOWS (Why?) Isn't that just like the English? Working by CANDLE LIGHT. They had to make 2 barrels a day to feed themselves. Guess they were too busy to take time to put in a window. This was in the 1960's,too. Now,THAT was a hard,low paying job!!!

I have several English friends,and they(like me) don't always do things the easy way. But,I never worked by candle light in an unheated shack. I did work at night in a freezing school shop for my first year teaching. I had guitars on order,and no place else to work at the time. I'd go back to the school after hours and work till 11:00 every night.