First Bent Back Infill Mitre Plane

[wayne Jepson]

Been real busy in the shop the last few weeks before Christmas doing "real" woodworking. Made a coffee table and almost finished a dining room table for my wife's cousin for her wedding present. I did manage however to get the first of the three bent back mitre planes finished.

The plane is 8" long and 1-5/8" wide. The blade is O1 and 1-1/4" wide and 3/16" thick. Bed angle is 22 degrees. The infill is madrone burl that i stabilized with acrylic in my home brew vacuum chamber. Here's the pics.

wayne
infillplanemaker.blogspot.ca
http://infillplanemaker.blogspot.ca
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[bridger berdel]

pretty. how's it cut?

[Jim Koepke]

Very nice.

jtk

[Adam Petersen]

Holy help me hannah, that iron looks thicker than my 3/16" in my bevel up jointer. That is a nice looking piece of work sir.

[george wilson]

Nice work. Did you make the cap screw? The miter plane is my favorite type of infill for some reason.

[Tony Shea]

Nice work. Did you make the cap screw? The miter plane is my favorite type of infill for some reason.
I agree George, miter planes are also my favorite type of infill. And you really did an amazing job on this one wayne. I would be proud to own this plane.

[george wilson]

Nice,well developed knurl on the cap screw. If I may,I take a fine file and while in the lathe,file off the displaced metal before finishing my knurls,or my letter stampings,being careful to not dull or damage the knurls. Looks better without the metal pooching up,and on round things,only takes a few minutes. You will notice on higher priced guns,the stampings are made flush,while on the cheaper grades,the displaced metal is not filed off.

Very nice job on the dovetails.

[Shawn Pixley]

Simply stunning!

[Mike Allen1010]

Fantastic job Wayne -- thanks for sharing the pictures! I'm with Bridger, I too would love to see some pictures of it in action.

I'm sure your plane has lots of uses, it looks to just to be just about the perfect size for smoothly spots of difficult/reversing grain in larger panels that can be tough to reach without removing lots of the surrounding wood with wider irons?

The only infill plane I've ever used is a St. James Bay kit I built of a Norris with a thick Hock blade. When it's set correctly is a joy to use and my "plane of last resort" for difficult grain. As a guy with no stationary power tools, I do pretty much all of my stock preparation, final smoothing etc. with hand planes. Based on my limited experience with my one infill plane, I think a smaller infill about the size of the one you built here Wayne must be really useful -- I'm guessing I could use it for final smoothing in place of where I'm currently using a large block plane?

For those of you lucky enough to have used various infills, I would love to know why you prefer the miter style-- is it a matter of aesthetics or functionality?

Thanks for the inspiration Wayne- not being a metal worker myself, I can't imagine the time and effort it must take to do such precision work in such hard material. I wouldn't even know where to start in building one myself, but I would sure love to use one.

Unfortunately, I don't currently have the budget to buy one of Wayne's beauties (hopefully someday). Short of building one myself (which is absolutely way over my head), I'm wondering if there is a viable, less expensive option for getting my hands of one, like buying and restoring a vintage plane or a kit? Any suggestions are much appreciated - I'm probably dreaming here but it's always good to have a goal to shoot for.

All the best, Mike

[wayne Jepson]

Nice,well developed knurl on the cap screw. If I may,I take a fine file and while in the lathe,file off the displaced metal before finishing my knurls,or my letter stampings,being careful to not dull or damage the knurls. Looks better without the metal pooching up,and on round things,only takes a few minutes. You will notice on higher priced guns,the stampings are made flush,while on the cheaper grades,the displaced metal is not filed off.

Very nice job on the dovetails.

Thanks for the suggestions George, ever since the first infill I made from a St James bay kit you have shared your knowledge and made suggestions on how to take my work to a higher level. Thanks for taking the time to do this. Your work is inspiring and it's very generous of you to share your years of knowledge.

Wayne

[george wilson]

You are welcome,wayne. I file off the burrs on stamped letters. A while back,I made a small brass cannon. The name,date,etc. were stamped in a flat bottom groove around the breech. I left the flat bottom cutoff type tool in the lathe,and remembered the depth setting as I turned the groove. After stamping,I put the barrel back into the lathe. It ran perfectly true. I just carefully cranked the cross feed to the same setting I turned the groove at. It nipped off the burrs clean as a whistle,with no danger of "erasing" anything. That was an easy one!!:)

[Zander Kale]

I think a smaller infill about the size of the one you built here Wayne must be really useful -- I'm guessing I could use it for final smoothing in place of where I'm currently using a large block plane?

For those of you lucky enough to have used various infills, I would love to know why you prefer the miter style-- is it a matter of aesthetics or functionality?
I hope I'm not hijacking Wayne's wonderful plane.
I like small (1" or so wide) miter planes as block planes, champfering edges, touch up smoothing (today I did some smoothing on a 12"+ wide board with the plane shown below), touch up smoothing, plus they are soooo nice looking.
These are 1 1/4" wide by 4 1/2 & 5 /1/2"
http://zkprojectnotebook.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/micro-porn.jpg?w=550

[Jack Curtis]

Wayne, beautiful plane; but exactly what qualifies it as a "bent back" infill? Or, what does that mean, if you please?

[george wilson]

It means the rear end of the body is round. Here's the solid sterling silver round back we made for a retiring vice president. Even rhodium plated (blade too) since we heard the guy wasn't good at maintaining his things. The Brazilian rosewood (bought in 1962) adjustment hammer in the mahogany case is mostly there to fill in an otherwise blank space. The iron is 2" wide. Silver is about 1/8" thick. That would cost a fortune now with the huge increase in silver prices.

As usual,I made the hooks too. The rosewood turn finger holds both the plane and the hammer from falling out.

The snack is very useful to withdraw the iron a bit on this type plane as you don't want to be tapping the back of the metal body.

We made this gift for practically the cost of the silver. I liked Mr. Birney. He had been a B-17 pilot in the war.

My name and Jon's name is engraved on the front of the plane. The museum always has an excellent hand engraver in the staff. This one was president Nixon's retired private engraver. He traveled with Nixon on the plane everywhere,with a stock of silver items. If Nixon made a snap decision to give a gift,he'd get a piece out and engrave it in Air Force 1. Must have been a rough life !!!:)

The mahogany case has what I called the "corporate finish" of mahogany colored lacquer,as standard for executive gifts(no relation to authenticity). They wanted it,I sprayed it on!! The case is lined with pool table broadcloth,dark green. The plane itself is an 18th.C. pattern. No doubt it never kissed a piece of wood.:)

[Mike Allen1010]

I hope I'm not hijacking Wayne's wonderful plane.
I like small (1" or so wide) miter planes as block planes, champfering edges, touch up smoothing (today I did some smoothing on a 12"+ wide board with the plane shown below), touch up smoothing, plus they are soooo nice looking.
These are 1 1/4" wide by 4 1/2 & 5 /1/2"
http://zkprojectnotebook.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/micro-porn.jpg?w=550

Zander,

Thanks for sharing your experience with small mitre infill planes and how you like using them. It's always helpful to hear from someone with first-hand experience, particularly when it comes to a tool I've never used before.

Your two planes above are beautiful and just the size I had in mind. Obviously they work great based on the nice thin, full width fluffy shavings! Thank you very much for posting the pics.

Did you build these yourself? From Wayne's post it seems like the back bent design would make what seems to me to be an already challenging build process incredibly difficult. Any suggestions for a reference source that might help me understand the infill building process better?

I have little metal working experience and virtually no power tools, but I'm wondering if I have a realistic shot at building an infill that looks and works as good as yours.

all the best, Mike

[Mike Allen1010]

[QUOTE=george wilson;2030146]It means the rear end of the body is round. Here's the solid sterling silver round back we made for a retiring vice president. Even rhodium plated (blade too) since we heard the guy wasn't good at maintaining his things. The Brazilian rosewood (bought in 1962) adjustment hammer in the mahogany case is mostly there to fill in an otherwise blank space. The iron is 2" wide. Silver is about 1/8" thick. That would cost a fortune now with the huge increase in silver prices.


George, when I see your posts I always feel like I've just had a quick trip to a museum exhibit of the best in the art of toolmaking! Come to think of it, a George Wilson exhibition or book is something I would definitely pay money to see!

Thanks again for sharing your work!

Mike

[Jack Curtis]

George, thanks for the definition of back bent. Already knew about snecks, very handy.

Mike, you may want to check out Bill Curtis' infills. He makes the bent backs out of other things that he bends, which may be suitable for those of us without metal skills and/or tools.

[Chris Vandiver]

George, thanks for the definition of back bent. Already knew about snecks, very handy.

Mike, you may want to check out Bill Curtis' infills. He makes the bent backs out of other things that he bends, which may be suitable for those of us without metal skills and/or tools.



Jack,

Did you mean Bill Carter planes?

[Zander Kale]

Zander,
Did you build these yourself? From Wayne's post it seems like the back bent design would make what seems to me to be an already challenging build process incredibly difficult. Any suggestions for a reference source that might help me understand the infill building process better?

I have little metal working experience and virtually no power tools, but I'm wondering if I have a realistic shot at building an infill that looks and works as good as yours.

Thanks! Yes, I built them. I bend the back by pressing a strip of metal into a vee block then hammering it over a steel rod clamped in a vise (I don't have a metal bender). I would consider Bill Carter (http://www.billcarterwoodworkingplanemaker.co.uk/) THE reference for building small miter planes (especially with minimal tooling), his web site is just packed with great information. I'm trying to remember which, if any, power tools he has/uses and can't remember any (although I know he has some).
I make my planes [almost] entirely with metal working tools; if you are interested, I've documented the process here (http://zkprojectnotebook.wordpress.com/2012/10/05/how-i-make-small-mitre-planes-introduction/).

[george wilson]

I looked at everything on the Carter site,Zander. He certainly has a lot of energy!! I like the planes made from old brass saw backs,but I could never cut up a saw with elegantly marked backs. I'd make a new blade if necessary to make it functional again. But,the planes do look very evocative!! He also has some interesting antique planes for sale.

Some interesting infill woods for sure. I love yew wood,and have some. Especially a good size chunk sent to me by a member here. This kind of site makes me want to get back to making some planes.

[Jack Curtis]

Jack,

Did you mean Bill Carter planes?

Yes, of course, sorry about that.

[Chris Vandiver]

I looked at everything on the Carter site,Zander. He certainly has a lot of energy!! I like the planes made from old brass saw backs,but I could never cut up a saw with elegantly marked backs. I'd make a new blade if necessary to make it functional again. But,the planes do look very evocative!! He also has some interesting antique planes for sale.

Some interesting infill woods for sure. I love yew wood,and have some. Especially a good size chunk sent to me by a member here. This kind of site makes me want to get back to making some planes.

I thought for sure you would have known of Bill Carter planes. He must be pretty spry to be able to produce that kind of work at his age. I believe he is around 70 years old. He did allot of woodwork before getting into plane making.

We are all looking forward to some new planes from you, George!

[george wilson]

Bill Carter's planes are certainly interesting,though I can't agree aesthetically with everything he's doing. Never the less,they are evocative,interesting,and even old looking. I don't think the curving up wedges are the best idea. They look a bit too easy to break. Maybe not? It's the design part I don't agree with about the curving up wedges.

He's definitely more spry than I am at very nearly 73(in Feb.).