chopping a traditional plane

[Mark Baldwin III]

I started chopping out the cavity for a traditional hand plane yesterday (my first one). I'm wondering if anyone has any tips/tricks to do it more efficiently. As of now I've gone after it with mortise chisels. I bored a couple of holes with a brace to try and remove some of the waste as well.

[Chris Fournier]

I made a dovetail plane like this many years ago - for sliding dovertails. I just chopped away. Admittedly no a large plane! I personally find that a good mortising chisel stays registered in the cut better if you don't try to help out with boring holes prior to chopping.

[Leigh Betsch]

I'll be watching, I'd like to build a traditional style also instead of a laminated version for the next one, probably next winter though.

[Tom Vanzant]

Leigh,
That piece of wood will keep you warm this winter without burning it.

[Kees Heiden]

Two things. I drilled a lot of wood away. Used a 4mm drill from the bottom up and forstners from above. And then it's just taking a chisel and hacking away. When I got close to the lines I used rampblocks to guide my shakey hands in the right direction.

You can see pictures on my blog.
http://seekelot.blogspot.com/2011/04/schaafje-maken.html
http://seekelot.blogspot.com/2011/04/schaafje-maken.html

The plane is not perfect at all! But it was a good prototype and I hope to find some time to do more.

[Pam Niedermayer]

The chisels I use for chopping dai (Japanese plane body) depend on the size of the dai. Usually they're for wider blades, so I use wider chisels at sizes too large to be called mortising chisels. Also, mortise chisels can't work all that well at the mouth end of the cuts due to chisel thickness. Here are a couple of examples I use. The first is a 25mm butt and the second a 30mm full size.

Pam

[Mark Baldwin III]

Kees-I like your drill from the bottom idea. I cut a mortice in for where the mouth is, but didn't try drilling like that, I'll have to keep that in mind.
Pam-Those are some massive chisels! I bet you could really whack away at something like that. I don't know anything about Japanese planes, but I would imagine that some of the operations are the same for chopping the cavity out??

[Zach Dillinger]

Roy Underhill did an episode where he makes an interpretation of Durer Melancholia plane. He does a lot of chopping and shows layout tricks. If you can find a copy, it would be well worth it for you.

[Mark Baldwin III]

Roy Underhill did an episode where he makes an interpretation of Durer Melancholia plane. He does a lot of chopping and shows layout tricks. If you can find a copy, it would be well worth it for you.

Alchemy and woodwork? Who woulda thunk?!? Interesting history there, and since I'm a geek, it made for some good reading. I'll have to see if I can track down that episode.

[Terry Beadle]

Maybe I'm a little of the track but Pam....where on earth did you find such beautiful chisels?

[Pam Niedermayer]

Maybe I'm a little of the track but Pam....where on earth did you find such beautiful chisels?

I've become a very good ebay shopper for eastern tools and their sellers.

Mark, there are a lot of commonalities between chopping eastern and western plane mortises. The only main difference I know of is that floats aren't really used in the eastern methods, small chisels instead; but floats could be use to advantage. I suspect there's no float tradition in the east.

Pam

[Andrae Covington]

Alchemy and woodwork? Who woulda thunk?!? Interesting history there, and since I'm a geek, it made for some good reading. I'll have to see if I can track down that episode.

2504 The Melencolia Plane—Make the renaissance man’s woodworking plane inspired by Albrecht Dürer’s famous engraving.

Unfortunately that episode predates what is available on the PBS website for The Woodwright's Shop.