Wood for repairing or replacing a transitional plane body?

[Jay Maiers]

I've got a transitional that I would like to use as a dedicated shooting plane. I'd like to repair the sole, and I'm probably going to add a strip of wood to the side for stability. Any recommendations for a wood that's stable and will wear well? My shop area is in our basement, so temperature swings aren't an issue. Humidity, however, will change quite a bit during the year.

If it matters, I believe the original body is beech.

Thanks!

ETA: Dimensional stability is my #1 concern. Longevity is a distant second, and looks aren't a concern at all.

[David Weaver]

Hard maple or beech would be my choice, nothing splintery or porous. If it's oriented correctly you shouldn't have to worry about what humidity does to it - it should move in a way that doesn't affect its use and still present mostly face grain to the sole for durability.

[john brenton]

My transition planes are all beech, and all with traditional horizontal-ish grain bark side down. I have a few modern woodies with vertical grain and they are holding up just fine too. As far as the "strip" of wood goes, something ultra-hard would be a good idea. Maybe lignum vitae or hornbeam, or just some really hard maple.

[Jay Maiers]

Thanks guys. Maple or beech it is for the repairs.
The lignum vitae sounds great, but I'm at the mercy of the local Woodcraft for small bits of (exotic?) lumber. I'll check in with them tomorrow and see if they have it available as thin stock. If not, I guess I'll keep the maple theme going :)

[george wilson]

All the transitional planes I have seen are beech. Lignum Vitae is very expensive,and is so full of wax and oil it may not stick well. The German planes you see with it on the soles usually have a special joint to greatly increase the glue surface.

[Zach Dillinger]

I'm with George and the others here. No need for lignum on a shooting plane. You won't be using THAT much I'm sure, so beech should be plenty hard enough, easy to work and inexpensive. Only thing is it might be tricky to find in 12/4

[john brenton]

Right, and even with the wavy joints or trowel notch looking joint I've still seen a lot of seperated soles. Yes, I guess it was an overkill suggestion, but I was thinking oily maybe to see how it glides.

Teak is known for being good for wood on wood stuff isn't it? Still overkill I guess. Just a thought.


All the transitional planes I have seen are beech. Lignum Vitae is very expensive,and is so full of wax and oil it may not stick well. The German planes you see with it on the soles usually have a special joint to greatly increase the glue surface.

[george wilson]

Blood wood is hard as can be. I had to make a stand for an antique(really antique!) Roman head from it. Exceedingly hard wood,and Woodcraft carries it. Suggest toothing it before gluing.

[Terry Beadle]

I resurfaced one of my transitionals soles with lignum vitae. The lignum is 3/8ths thick and was cleaned with japan drier just before gluing with Tight Bond II. It's been three years now and no separation indicated. I bought my lignum from a lumber yard in PA for about $100. It was a big chunk about 6 inches square and 3 foot long. I mention this as I highly respect the opinions given above but to show it depends on the wood, luck, and conditions of use. Personally I would have liked to have made the sole a two part sliding dove tail but it would have made the sole a little too thick and I would have had to take more of the beech body down into the mouth area. I'm not fearless and as Clint said "a man must know his limitations" , Hoot!

I think a transitional for a shooting plane is a little lite. I would prefer something heavier to give the stroke some heft. However, if you replace the beech with rock maple, I'm sure you will be happy with the results. If you added a lignum side strip to each side of the transitional it would add some weight or heft to the plane and that would be a good thing IMO. It would also contrast with the rock maple very well.

If you could do one in Blood Wood, it would be too pretty to use ! Steve Knight made me a Blood Wood smoother that makes my wood appreciation vibes see beauty and natures elegance. It would be costly...atleast Blood Wood in Atlanta is pricy.

Above all, do it your way. No risk = no reward.

[Jay Maiers]

I think a transitional for a shooting plane is a little lite. I would prefer something heavier to give the stroke some heft. However, if you replace the beech with rock maple, I'm sure you will be happy with the results.
...
Above all, do it your way. No risk = no reward.

That thought had crossed my mind, but it's probably still better than the low-angle block plane I'm using now. Fortunately, I'm only working with drawer stock and other lightweight jobs. Thin and narrow-ish.

I'm hoping the additional strip on the side of the plane will act like training wheels, both on the sliding face and the fence face. I tried my #4, but it wasn't as stable as I would like. It probably boils down to bad technique, but I'll take a break wherever I can find one.

FWIW, this all came about when I decided to learn dovetails. I bought a decent saw and a couple of appropriate chisels thinking I'd be ready to start. I completely neglected cross-cutting and cleanup of the ends. Oops!

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. I'm going to start with maple since it's easy to find, fairly inexpensive, and easy to work.

Totally OT: Terry, where do you do your wood shopping? Also, are you a member of any of the Atlanta area wood clubs?

Jay M