Two new infill hand planes

[Juan Hovey]

I've just finished work on two new dovetailed infill hand planes, the first having the dimensions of a Stanley No. 4.5, more or less, the second those a Stanley No. 3.

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The infill here is blue gum eucalyptus with a hand rubbed Tried and True Danish oil finish topped with shellac in a modified French polish - meaning one done with Finesse-It as a final step. Blue gum is tough to work - hard, fibrous, and prone to splitting and checking - and it must be dry, as the wood for this plane was, if you're going to work it at all. But it can have lovely figure.



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The infill here is black acacia, also with a hand-rubbed Tried and True Danish oil finish (but no shellac).

I spent many weeks last fall re-thinking every step in my design and production processes and testing different ideas on scrap, and although I see many details on these planes that want attention, I'm happy to say that these are better planes than those I've made in the past.

I am also, however, still a rookie at this; I made my first plane only two years ago next month and don't pretend to expert status. I'm open to any and all criticism, and I don't have a thin skin. So don't hesitate to let fly if you things in my planes that you'd do differently.

I have the sides and base (0-1 tool steel for the base, low-carbon steel for the sides) cut on a water jet running at slow speed, with pins on the sides and tails on the bottom - one of the changes I made as a result of the experimenting I did last fall. Since water jets make only a vertical cut, I file the pins by hand for a precision fit. Rather than nick the corners of the pins to yield something like a double dovetail, I drill 1/8 inch holes through each pin into the base into which I insert expandable steel pins.

I do all the peening, filing and sanding by hand - a laborious process but the only way to get the results I want.

Ron Hock makes my irons, the estimable George Wilson my cap screws. The Norris-style adjusters are by Ray Iles.

[Greg Fletcher]

Wow! Beautiful!!!

[Jim Belair]

Very nice job! Hard to believe you've only been doing this a short while. I especially like the black acacia one with the grain lines running along the length of the body. The cap screws by George are exquisite. To my taste, the tote and bun could be shaped a bit more. They just seem a bit chunky and angular for the fine lines of the rest of the tool.

[Juan Hovey]

Very nice job! Hard to believe you've only been doing this a short while. I especially like the black acacia one with the grain lines running along the length of the body. The cap screws by George are exquisite. To my taste, the tote and bun could be shaped a bit more. They just seem a bit chunky and angular for the fine lines of the rest of the tool.

Jim - Please tell me more. I don't have what you could call the designer's eye and would love to hear what you think.

[Wayne Stolte]

Awesome.
Did you design it in a cad drawing?

[Jim Belair]

Jim - Please tell me more. I don't have what you could call the designer's eye and would love to hear what you think.

It's a very subtle thing and may be partly due to the camera angle. The acacia one is a bit finer than the eucalyptus (notice the horn is a bit longer on the former). To me it seems the tote is a bit less delicate through the grip and at the top horn than say, a Brese, shown below. And I like the unique "breaking wave" bun but it seems like it could be a bit more rounded when looking down from the top. Again, very hard to tell from just one photo and it may not be as I suggest at all. Regardless, they are very fine looking tools!

http://sandal-woodsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/brese-plane-image-small.png

[george wilson]

Juan,you have just jogged my memory!! I NEED to remember to get ion the stick and send you some sketches. Due to aches and pains I haven't been very active lately.

Aren't you out of those cap screws yet?

[Juan Hovey]

Juan,you have just jogged my memory!! I NEED to remember to get ion the stick and send you some sketches. Due to aches and pains I haven't been very active lately.

Aren't you out of those cap screws yet?

George - I have one screw left, and I greatly look forward to seeing some sketches.

[Juan Hovey]

Awesome.
Did you design it in a cad drawing?

I use a free design program, DraftSight, for the base and sides. I continually make new templates out of scrap for the basic shapes of my totes and buns in an ongoing effort to refine the designs, though I have yet to be really satisfied with the results.

[Juan Hovey]

It's a very subtle thing and may be partly due to the camera angle. The acacia one is a bit finer than the eucalyptus (notice the horn is a bit longer on the former). To me it seems the tote is a bit less delicate through the grip and at the top horn than say, a Brese, shown below. And I like the unique "breaking wave" bun but it seems like it could be a bit more rounded when looking down from the top. Again, very hard to tell from just one photo and it may not be as I suggest at all. Regardless, they are very fine looking tools!

Jim - I had another Brese plane in mind when shaping the totes on these planes. The front-to-back width of the back of the tote, where the palm of the hand would rest, wasn't uniform as in the photo you attached. Instead it was wider at the bottom than at the top, increasing very gracefully.

Also, I rough out the shape of the horn on the band saw but leave the final shaping for last, going after it with rasps after everything else is done except for sanding. I like some more than others but can't put my finger on why, exactly. The time I spent last fall re-thinking everything greatly helped settle the way I do the metalworking, and I suspect that the next step for me is to come to some firm conclusions about the way I work the infills. It's amazing how much harder it gets to make an infill plane the more you do it. You'd think it got easier, but the reverse is true - I think because you become more aware of the importance of the details.

I used to say that my goal was to make a better plane today than I did yesterday. My goal now is to crack open the problem of design so that today's plane isn't just better but more beautiful.

[Jim Belair]

It's amazing how much harder it gets to make an infill plane the more you do it. You'd think it got easier, but the reverse is true - I think because you become more aware of the importance of the details.


I think you nailed it here Juan. I've only made one infill and was just happy that I had got it done not whether the design really caught my eye (it doesn't).

Another observation I made after posting re: the Brese.... The line from the base of the Brese tote up through to the tip of the spur is a smooth "S" shape. And then that line just sort of floats off the tip of the spur. These are elements of beauty. Yours is close but there is, to my eye, a sharper change from the radius of the back of your tote to the smaller radius on the underside of the spur.

It's a journey and you're well on your way.

[Leigh Betsch]

I don't claim to know much but I would say the first thing to do is to improve the craftsmanship a bit. If you are going to use dovetails they have to be perfect. No gap at all. Same on the thru pins, no gap at all. Once you are able to execute a design to perfection then I would worry about improving the ascetics. In my opinion the rear tote is a bit too large compared to the size on the metal. Again, I don't claim to know much about tasteful design.
So my 2 cents is, first be able to make it exactly like you envision it -to perfection, then work on improving the design if you think you need to.

[ken seale]

Looking good Juan!

When are you going to make one out of mahogany? ;)

Nick

[Wayne Stolte]

Juan, the planes you made are inspiring me to try and make one myself.

[Jeff Wittrock]

Hello Juan,

Very nice looking infills. I think it is always a challenge to design a tool (or anything for that matter) that can maintain something of the classic nature of the tool, remain functional, and yet still be able to have your own unique signature. It looks like you are well on your way.

I am no authority on infills, so take anything that I suggest with that in mind.

The one thing that stands out to me more than anything is the pivot screw for the lever cap. To my eye, the cone head screw seems out of place. This is probably OCD on my part, but I think it sticks out because the countersink for the cone head is visible outside the screw and the slot not nearly so nice as the rest of your plane. I wonder if it would be better to use a screw with a straight shoulder where there is no counter sink at all, but the outside of the head serves as the pivot and can have a nice tight fit. I hope that makes sense.

When I have made tools that needed a straight slot screw, I have always been frustrated trying to find anything with a nice narrow slot locally, so have resorted to making my own by grinding a regular hex head bolt round and cutting the slot myself. Just as an example, this saw has a couple of screws I made this way. I kind of bungled one of the slots, but I think you can see what I mean.
I am sure there are sources for narrow slot screws (maybe a gunsmith supplier like Brownells?) I just haven't found any locally.
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Again, very nice looking infills.

Jeff

[Juan Hovey]

Jeff - Interesting. This would require counterboring the side of the plane to a depth equal to the height of the straight side of the screw, right? But the sides are only 3/16 inch thick, so the screw would have to be smaller. I experimented with this type of screw a year ago, and I may have such screws around. Many thanks for the idea.

[Juan Hovey]

Jim - I see what you mean regarding the horn on the Brese plane. I'm working on the tote for a No. 5 jack plane and will test out some ideas, starting with a wider radius under the horn. Many thanks.

[george wilson]

Juan,it is considered good workmanship to have the countersink for flat head screws(not called cone head),to be flush with the top of the screw. Your countersink is way deeper than the screw. The screw head needs to be flush with the side of the plane. I made that same mistake many years ago and have learned better. I often make my own screws,too,just to get a nice,classy narrow slot like Jeff does. Old guns have those narrow slots. but,I don't think it is the end of the World. Just make your countersinks flush and they'll look better. It will be hard to tell if they are counter bored or not. It might not be cost effective to get me to make narrow slot screws,but I could if you need them.

Don't wait till the last minute to order more cap screws,please. You have been a very active builder,I must say!!:) I still have a sketch of the specs for your screws.

[Jeff Wittrock]

Jeff - Interesting. This would require counterboring the side of the plane to a depth equal to the height of the straight side of the screw, right? But the sides are only 3/16 inch thick, so the screw would have to be smaller. I experimented with this type of screw a year ago, and I may have such screws around. Many thanks for the idea.

Hello Juan,

I'm probably not explaining well. Here is a sketch of what I think you currently have ( on the left) and what I was trying to describe (on the right).
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I the second case, there isn't a countersink at all, but the lever cap itself is what limits any side to side movement. The screw head itself is the pivot. If you would rather still use a counter sink, then you could use a shoulder screw instead of the flathead, but as you mentioned, you only have 3/16 thickness to work with.
Again, I'm no infill expert, so not sure if this is how the lever cap pivots are normally done. I have just found this an easy approach since if the screw head is initially proud of the side, then I can file it down nice and flush with the surface and then cut the slot in the orientation I want. I hope that helps.

[george wilson]

If he does use a straight bored hole,with fillister head screws, the fillister head will not be 3/16" thick. He will have to buy a counter bore with a pilot on it. The pilot will fit the diameter of the threads,and the counterbore will fit the diameter of the fillister screw head. The counterbore can then be used to bore a flat bottomed hole about 1/8" deep (or less). Or,however deep it needs to be to allow just the crowned top of the screw to protrude,where it can be filed off.

A definite problem is,counterbores are made to fit socket head cap screws. Those with hexagonal holes in them. They would look HORRIBLY out of place on a traditional looking infill plane. I do not know if the counterbore will fit a fillister head screw.

This is getting complicated for a non machinist. I suggest he just makes his screw heads flush and leave it that way for now,at least.

[Leigh Betsch]

Lots of different options. I just use a straight brass pin and press into the plane sides, file and polish it smooth. I do slot my lever caps rather than drill through so they are still removable with a fixed pivot pin.