new smoother

[Mark Baldwin III]

My plane selection lacks a small smoother. So, it was time to make one. This little guy is 5 5/8" long with a 1 1/2" by 1/4" iron (from O1). Made the body and then cut/heat treated the iron all today. Just needs the final tweaks to the body, and the iron needs sharpening. I have the primary bevel done. Angle is 60 degrees. I'm throwing in a pic along side a Stanley block plane for scale. The body is zebra wood and Brazilian rose wood.

[Pam Niedermayer]

That's quite a hunk of iron you've made, look forward to hearing how it works for you.

Pam

[Mark Baldwin III]

Pam- yeah, that's a big, heavy chunk of steel. Nothing a good torch and a vat of oil can't compete with though! I have made the irons for two other planes from the same piece, and so far they are rock stars. I may step down to 3/16" the next time I buy O1. 1/4" is a bit on the massive side when it comes time to grind. Part of me want to find an excuse to make an even thicker and wider iron...just to say I did it:)

[Pam Niedermayer]

You may want to grind out a hollow, makes sharpening a lot easier.

Pam

[Mark Baldwin III]

You may want to grind out a hollow, makes sharpening a lot easier.

Pam

Good idea, I should get my bench grinder set up one of these days. The pic is not a joke, this is how I removed much of the material for the primary bevel.

[Chris Griggs]

That is AWESOME!!! That iron must weigh as much as the plane body itself :) What's your method for heat treating?

[Mark Baldwin III]

That is AWESOME!!! That iron must weigh as much as the plane body itself :) What's your method for heat treating?

Oxy-acetylene, canola oil, and a prayer. So far it has worked, though I'd like to try a more sophisticated method. I'll have to weigh them, I'm curiuos.

[Terry Beadle]

Nice Plane !

I would soften the edges on that wedge a bit. O1 is a really nice choice and easy to keep sharp.

I too am looking forward to some shaving shots !

Good job !

[george wilson]

I assume you also drew the temper on the iron,too? Nothing wrong with Canola oil,or any vegetable oil. I have even used linseed oil back in the 70's,though it thickens the oil. For most years we used automatic transmission fluid. A 5 gallon bucket of it.

[Mark Baldwin III]

I assume you also drew the temper on the iron,too? Nothing wrong with Canola oil,or any vegetable oil. I have even used linseed oil back in the 70's,though it thickens the oil. For most years we used automatic transmission fluid. A 5 gallon bucket of it.

I like the canola oil, it doesn't flame up as much, has a pleasant smell, and presumably non-toxic. I ran into trouble drawing the temper with the torch, but I don't think I screwed it up too bad as the iron is very hard to work on the stones for flattening. I removed the heat when I started seeing a straw color, and then it continued to darken after the heat was removed! Learning this stuff, so the mistake doesn't bother me.

Chris- I weighed the iron and the body. The iron is 8 1/3 oz. The body is 10 1/2 oz. I like the bulk.

[Chris Griggs]

The combination of the mass of the blade with the smooth use of the wood on wood, should make it very nice in use. Be sure to post when you get a chance to put blade to wood.

[Derek Cohen]

I like the canola oil, it doesn't flame up as much, has a pleasant smell, and presumably non-toxic. I ran into trouble drawing the temper with the torch, but I don't think I screwed it up too bad as the iron is very hard to work on the stones for flattening. I removed the heat when I started seeing a straw color, and then it continued to darken after the heat was removed! Learning this stuff, so the mistake doesn't bother me.

Chris- I weighed the iron and the body. The iron is 8 1/3 oz. The body is 10 1/2 oz. I like the bulk.

Hi Mark

Interesting ... it sounds like you just removed the heat source as it got to straw, but did not quench it at that point .. yes/no?

I like the smell of peanut oil. Beats motor oil by miles.

That's a good size for a small smoother. I have a little mugingfang that is a similar size, with a 60 degree bed. HNT Gordon make one as well. Both have a 1/8" thick blade, so a 1/4" in yours will look like a monster! :) The thickest blade I have is a 5/16" D2 blade in a Jack plane I built.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[David Keller NC]

Mark - A suggestion from someone that uses a boatload of wooden planes in the shop - you may want to re-make the wedge so that it's a bit longer and projects higher from the top of the plane. The first time you get the wedge really stuck in there (in my case, typically because I've failed to control the humidity in my shop and haven't used the plane in awhile), you'll be cussing the short length. Especially with user-made wooden planes without a tapered iron, it's tough to get a truly stuck wedge out by tapping the back of the plane. On a tapered-iron wooden plane, you can just drive the iron out through the mouth of the plane to release the wedge, but to me that's not enough justification to spend lots of dollars on tapered irons, nor to set up a tapering jig on a belt sander.

Very nice plane - I've wondered whether zebrawood would make a good, heavy small smoother vs. the traditional woods like beech, birch, maple and cherry. The other typical tropicals that I've seen have been things like cocobolo or honduras rosewood, and the typical wild grain makes them very unstable as far as keeping them flat through humidity changes.

And yeah, get your grinder set up; that's a very inventive use for an angle grinder, but it must be a real pain to get a straight-across bevel (speaks to your skill at holding everything steady as you advance across the width of the blade :D).

[Mark Baldwin III]

Hi Mark

Interesting ... it sounds like you just removed the heat source as it got to straw, but did not quench it at that point .. yes/no?


Derek

I didn't quench when I heated it for the temper. I just laid it on an aluminum table to draw some heat out. The other two blades I made were tempered in a kiln, but that's at work. I did this one at my shop and wanted to try my hand at tempering with the torch using the color.

[Mark Baldwin III]

And yeah, get your grinder set up; that's a very inventive use for an angle grinder, but it must be a real pain to get a straight-across bevel (speaks to your skill at holding everything steady as you advance across the width of the blade :D).

I've become rather proficient with angle grinders after working on old choppers the last few years. I'll keep in mind your advice about the wedge length. So far, I've been making my planes with about 1/8" on either side of the iron. My jointer got stuck up pretty tight this spring, and I was able to free it up by tapping the blade side ways. And yes, I was cursing my short wedge as I did it.

[Mark Baldwin III]

This plane has been an absolute pain to fettle. I think in a large part due to the escapement. I should have made the angle up front a bit lower. Things tend to clog. With the 60 degree bed, I should have thought about that. I figure I have two options: chop the front part of the escapement a bit to allow the shavings to feed better...or make a new one with the appropriate angles (and possibly reduce the bed to 55). I am leaning towards the second option, and using a different wood because I had a pretty bad allergic reaction to the wood. My skin is all swollen and red and ugh...I'm miserable!!!! I fear that If I spend the time working the plane again, I'll only get worse. Version two will likely be ash or maple, or a combination of the two.

[Tony Shea]

Do you think it's the zebra wood you're having a reaction to? Not that it's the same thing but my cats seem to have a terrible reaction to zebrawood saw dust. I resawed a 8" wide by 20" board by hand not too long ago and my cats hated it. Their sinuses were a mess for a week after.

I personally have never reacted to any wood yet. And pray that I never do.

[Derek Cohen]

Mark, you could first try a new wedge. The one you have appears to be solid. Try one with the central section removed. That will effectively widen the escapement.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[george wilson]

I think the best way to temper tools is to carefully heat it up till by practice,you can tell when the correct color will be reached,then let the blade cool slowly without quenching. It lets the temper sink in to the heart of the metal more thoroughly. It also gives the metal one less chance to warp when quenching. Of course,if your metal starts to go over the color,you must quench or go too soft.

Did you heat the end of the blade opposite the cutting end,and let the colors creep towards the cutting end? That is the best way to do it.

[Mark Baldwin III]

Tony- It could be either of the woods. Zebra wood and Brazilian rosewood are both irritants. They are both sensitizers as well (or so my brief research suggests). I have worked with Zebra wood before, but this is the first with Brazilian rosewood. If I choose either again, it will likely be outside with a dust mask and long sleeves and long pants.

Derek- I'm not sure if it's the wedge. Well, not anymore. I cut it down and reshaped it. Though I like your idea. You're suggesting something like a traditional wedge, yes? I think I screwed up the geometry on the front block. If it wasn't for the reaction I had, I'd chop right into it to find out! I think with version 2 I will run with your idea, or just make a new wedge out of maple and give it a go. The cross pin could be a factor as well.

George- I started the heating for the temper well up into the meat of the iron to avoid over heating the edge. I was (so I thought) very careful to only lightly heat it. As soon as I saw the light straw appear, I removed heat. Then, right before my eyes, two spots of blue appeared. They are well up from the cutting edge, thankfully...so I should get some use out of the blade. It grinds like it's hard, and takes a pretty keen edge. I have enough O-1 for another iron. I imagine torch tempering is a technique that takes a bit of practice. This was the first time I tried it, my first two irons were put in a kiln at work (which is calibrated!).
It just occurred to me, that with the thickness of the iron, the core might still have been too warm to start the temper cycle, while the outside felt OK. I wonder if that may have played a role??

Thanks, as always, for the input and advice. It's always appreciated. Sorry about the novel:rolleyes:

[Zahid Naqvi]

I've always had issues with the escapement in the laminated planes. After some trial and error I have settled on creating a slightly curved profile on the front ramp, sorry don't have any pictures to show you right now. I made a 55 degree plane and ran into the exact same issue. My next plane is going to be the same laminated approach but with the traditional V shaped support on the sides for the wedge. This wooden peg stuck down the middle of the escapement for holding the wedge is a design limitation in my opinion (with all due respect to James K.). I have made the same design with a much thinner metallic pin instead of the wooden dowel and it makes a huge difference in terms of clearing the shavings.

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Mark

Try a wedge with a reduced area in front of the mouth, as I suggested earlier. This will increase the escape area. Should this fail, then you will need to chisel out the escapement area, lowering it.

The problem lies with not taking into account the high bed angle. Zahid's recommendation of a curved escapement profile is what I use to increase the area. Here is a Brese kit with a 60 degree bed ..

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolReviews/TheBreseSmallSmootherKit_html_m7e706fc7.jpg

In addition to the curved area, I also reduced the thickness of the lever cap. None of this is seen in the final plane.

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolReviews/TheBreseSmallSmootherKit_html_28a5c2c2.jpg

Article: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolReviews/TheBreseSmallSmootherKit.html

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Mark Baldwin III]

Zahid/Derek-I think that's an idea I will incorporate into version two. It will also be made from domestic wood, to avoid the allergy problems of the last several days. I have plenty of ash and maple to make a few planes with. I should probably get away from the crazy exotic combinations anyway, that fascination has run out.