Knight Plane Kit Instructions?

[David Turner]

Steve Knight has taken down his website. Does anyone have instructions for assembling one of his smoother kits?

David Turner
Plymouth, Mi.

[Jim Foster]

What was the original URL, it my be possible to find the info on an old indexing of the site in the waybackmachine.

[Andrae Covington]

What was the original URL, it my be possible to find the info on an old indexing of the site in the waybackmachine.

That was my first thought as well. I checked, but unfortunately although the main page and a few others are there, the plane kit instructions link was not archived.

There is the overview page of instructions and photo tours:
http://web.archive.org/web/20110129140207/http://knight-toolworks.com/?page_id=176

[Stephen Kazmierski]

Try these links...
http://showcase.netins.net/web/iabonsai/knight/index.html
http://showcase.netins.net/web/iabonsai/knight/building1.html
http://showcase.netins.net/web/iabonsai/knight/finish.jpg

[Jim Matthews]

You might want to employ Ron Hock's method of dowels at each corner to align things as you glue up.

I just built the Hock block plane kit, and the thing is a gem.
The Knight planes have a built in adjustment for mouth width, which I consider superior.

The single most important alignment step is to assemble the works - including the blade and wedge - before you set the front infill section.
This, more than anything else, determines the mouth opening. If you get that right, other adjustments are easy.

[David Turner]

Thanks guys for trying but the information that has been provided is for Krenov stlye planes. Steve Knight's smoother is two halves with all the machining already in the cheeks of the plane.

David Turner
Plymouth, MI.

[Mike Holbrook]

David,
I finally found your PM & sent you Steve's plans, was not sure I should just make them public here. I think the four kits I have are very close to what you have. The only difference I know of is in the plane mouths. Steve use to ship two mouths, one adjustable, one fixed. My adjustable mouth is just a simple block of wood held in place by a screw/bolt in an elongated groove. I think your adjustable mouth is made to ride in grooves in the two sides of the plane body.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/16891057@N05/6297648074/in/photostream

I sent you a little info. on making the wedge from the way over sized piece of wood that comes in the kit, let me know if it was not clear. Making the wedge may be the least explained and most important functional part of these planes.
If there is anything else I can do to help...

[David Turner]

No Mike, I think I have all the information I need. I am pretty sure the wedge I received with the kit is not thick enough to wedge the blade before hitting the bottoms of the abutments. I have your email address for future questions if they arise. Thanks, and Happy Holidays.

David Turner
Plymouth, MI.

[Mike Holbrook]

All the wedges I got were way too thin on the small end too. I think I cut 1- 1 1/2 inches off the thin ends of my wedges to get a leading edge large enough so it could not bottom out in the wedge groove. I believe each wedge groove in each of my planes was a little different too. I know the first wedge I made did not fit the second plane I put together.

[David Turner]

I am thinking that I will add "wear strips" to each side of the existing wedge. If I add about 1/8" to 5/32" to thicken the wedge, then it should fit and lock the blade. If it doesn't, then nothing lost as I would have had to make another wedge anyway.

David Turner
Plymouth, MI.

[Mike Holbrook]

Maybe a picture will help. Does your wedge blank look like the blank next to my smooth plane? My plane does not have a blade in it just a wedge I made from a blank similar to the one beside the plane.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/16891057@N05/6515922007/in/photostream

[David Turner]

Maybe a picture will help. Does your wedge blank look like the blank next to my smooth plane? My plane does not have a blade in it just a wedge I made from a blank similar to the one beside the plane.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/16891057@N05/6515922007/in/photostream

Mike:

No, mine does not look like your's in the attachment. Mine has a vee cut out of the middle just like the picture of the wedge (left one) on page 12 of 13 in the PDF instructions you sent.

David Turner
Plymouth, MI.

[Bryan Schwerer]

Try these links...
http://showcase.netins.net/web/iabonsai/knight/index.html
http://showcase.netins.net/web/iabonsai/knight/building1.html
http://showcase.netins.net/web/iabonsai/knight/finish.jpg
Sorry to break into this but can you explain what that wedge in the front is for? The instructions really don't seem to make it clear.

[Jeff Schmidt]

Not on topic, but I like your adjustable mouth design, Mike. Very slick.

[Tom Vanzant]

Bryan, it's not actually a wedge but a constant thickness piece used to establish a tight mouth. Set your iron, then adjust the mouth opening by sliding the mouth piece into the mouth, against the iron. File the end of the mouth piece to establish clearance with the iron, then move the mouth piece to protrude very slightly below the sole and set the screws to hold the mouth piece in place. Re-set the iron back within the plane body, then using sandpaper on a flat surface, lightly joint the sole (and mouth piece) until the mouth piece is flush with the sole. Adust the iron and you're good to go. It's a trial and error thing, but it goes much quicker than describing it.

[Mike Holbrook]

Actually my planes are Steve Knight kits. I just cut individual mouths out of a whole stick full of them and shaped them to fit exactly in specific planes. You can not see it but I ran a threaded metal receptacle for the screw/bolt into the bottom of the plane that the mouth bolt is screwed into. Getting that small block to fit perfectly is some exacting work, complicated by the fact that the wood the mouth block is made of is even harder than the Purple Heart. I bought Steve Knight remaining plane stock when he shut that business down so I have extra parts for the four plane kits I built.