Wooden Circular Plane

[Trevor Walsh]

Does anyone know of a precedent for a wooden bodied circular plane? I'm talking something akin to a Stanley #20, rather than the #113.

If anyone has a #20 or #113, could you measure the thickness of the steel sole plate for me?

[Trevor Walsh]

The question is directed at being able to plane convex surface rather than the concave one you can with a compass plane.

[Trevor Walsh]

Okay, in an effort to follow my findings in case anyone is remotely interested in this... I've found a reference to W.A. Cole patent # 5,620, wooden body much like a regular compassed coffin smoother with thin, flexible steel sole attached, which is very similar.

A BIZARRE, repeat bizarre adjustable plane by one S. Williams patent # 43,360 which I dislike, but it's hilarious so I think worth putting on the build list.

[Trevor Walsh]

And because I haven't trafficked this thread enough in the last 54 minutes, "bump" :rolleyes:

[Jonathan McCullough]

The sole on my 113 is just ordinary spring steel. You could probably pull the spine off an inexpensive back saw and use that. There are a couple of problems with the first patent. If the sole on that design were adjusted so it was flat, the vertical parts, d, would be at an angle to the plane body and you wouldn't be able to screw them down. Plus you'd want both d parts to be referenced to each other somehow so that the amount of arc from the toe to the iron is the same as it is from the arc to the heel. That's why the 113 has all those doodads. I don't have a #20 but it seems like it may be simpler to make something similar.

[Jeff Wittrock]

I'm kind of liking that S. Williams plane. Kind of reminds me of an adjustable steam bending jig I once made. I hope, for S. Williams sake, that the plane worked better than my steam bending jig.

[Trevor Walsh]

Johnathan, I see what your are talking about, but I think it's a solid concept if the connection to the sides was switched to some sort of hinged plate or bar like on the #20. The original Bailey #20s were made out of bent plate so with some silver solder copying this might become a doable thing.

[Trevor Walsh]

I think it could work rather well, it could probably be a good deal simpler than that. Only three points are needed to define an arc, the blade, an adjustable toe piece and an adjustable heel piece.

[Ryan Baker]

I've seen wooden planes that were done exactly like that -- an adjustable toe and heel piece that could be extended down to change the arc. Of course, the rest of the sole doesn't match the curve, and you will be in trouble when the toe goes off the end of the piece.

It depends on how much adjustment you really need (or want) to have. You usually don't really need to match that closely. You could even make some sub-bases of different radii that attach to the bottom of a regular bench plane. If you want to build it the fancy way, it shouldn't be too hard to find some stainless or spring-steel sheet that would be suitable for a base. If you want an extra challenge, make the flexible base out of wood and use wooden threads for adjustment.

[Brent VanFossen]

Only three points are needed to define an arc, the blade, an adjustable toe piece and an adjustable heel piece.

Yes, but the blade will dig in and gouge the workpiece, and therefore change the arc. If you want to do it, you should have three fixed pieces in addition to the blade, and I would put the third piece immediately forward of the blade so you can adjust the throat.

[Bill Houghton]

The traditional wooden circular plane had a fixed arc on a wooden sole - you might need several of them for different radii.

[Jim Belair]

The sole on my #20 is 0.035" at the mouth, tapering to 0.025" at the ends.

[Jim Koepke]

For working on a convex surface, with a bit of care, just about any plane or flat bottomed spoke shave can be used. I do find my #113 to come in handy at times on this kind of work. I have also read that the #20 is an easier (better?) plane for curved surfaces.

For concave surfaces a compass plane or a round soled spoke shave really shine.

I will try to remember to measure the sole on my #113. My thought from just visual observation is that it is about .030".

I missed Jim Belair's post. It wouldn't surprise me to find a similar measurment.

jtk

[Chuck Nickerson]

There are some great bendable plywoods (Lee Valley has two thicknesses).
I suspect they could stand in for the spring steel sole.

Hmmm. I think I know what I'm building over the Thanksgiving weekend.
No doubt I'll finish it just before LN releases their compass plane.