Yet another Try Plane

[Steve Voigt]

There's been an epidemic of try planes here lately, so I'll keep the virus alive with one I just finished. It's 23" with a 2 1/2" Butcher iron. QS American beech with a cocobolo strike.
It's just got one coat of oil on it…there is more finishing left to do, but I was impatient to try it out and take some pics first. I had a special feeling about this plane, and I was not wrong…
Anyway, enjoy and thanks for looking.

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[Brian Holcombe]

Gorgeous!!!

Those shavings are great, the really amazing part I'm noticing about these planes is when this heavy shaving practically jumps out and bumps you in the shoulder.

[Zuye Zheng]

Looks great! Any tips on shaping the handle, what tools did you use?

[Graham Haydon]

Steve you are THE man for these planes. So clean, so perfect, thanks for sharing.

[Kees Heiden]

I love it when the ray flecks of beech come out so promenently. Beech is very critical in this regard, it needs to be cut absolutely in the radial plane. Any deviation and the result isn't so striking.

[Mike Holbrook]

Very nice Steve, beautiful work! I wonder about the traditional strikers on these planes. The striker is a harder wood, designed to be struck with a wood or metal hammer, to adjust the tension/depth of the blade in the plane? Does making a special striker surface improve how well striking works or protect the plane body...? I have a few planes I have made that do not have strikers, one being a long try/jointer (26" for now). I am wondering if a striker might help? Mine is made from purple heart and only about 1 3/4" thick.

[Frederick Skelly]

Beautiful work Steve, made even better because it works so well!

Congratulations on another fine build!
Fred

[James Pallas]

Steve That is a beauty. I can very much appreciate the precision you have to work towards to get a plane to work well.
Jim

[Dave Beauchesne]

Steve:
Beautiful, well executed, and it performs. Very nicely done.
Dave B

[Adam Stevens2]

Something to aspire to, Steve!

[Steve Voigt]

Thank you all for the nice comments.
Some responses:

Brian--Yes, the shavings do shoot right out! The 5th pic, where the shaving is standing straight up, probably looks like it's staged, like I'm holding the shaving up with my other hand, but I'm not. I remember when it was common wisdom that chipbreakers cause wooden planes to clog; in reality, they do the opposite.

Zuye--let's see, chisel (for wasting away most of the outside radius), incanell gouge (for paring the inside cutout to the line), rasps, scraper, sandpaper. I wrote a post here (http://blackdogswoodshop.blogspot.com/2015/07/sculpting-heel-of-coffin-smoother.html) that details the shaping on a coffin smoother; the approach on the tote is pretty similar.

Kees--yeah, that's why I showed the closeup of the right side; the rays are really something, it almost looks like beads of water. The other side is not so dramatic.

Mike--a strike is not necessary; I have a very nice Peter Chapin (Baltimore) 22" try plane plane from the 1830s or 40s that doesn't have a strike. I like to put them on long planes because they protect the stock from damage and add visual interest.

[Chris Griggs]

Awesome Steve. Beautiful workmanship and a sweet tool. You just can't beat a good wooden try plane when it comes to getting some serious flattening done!

[george wilson]

One old 19th. C. drawing by a young girl showing her father planing wood shows straight up chips like those. I think the picture has been posted here before.

[Ron Bontz]

Very nice. You will have to send your 30" version to my house for inspection. :D:D

[Don Kingston]

Sweet
Very very nice

[Mike Allen1010]

Steve, fantastic work! beautiful thin, full width shavings and the planed surface speak for themselves. Elegently beautiful but hard to achieve (at least for me).

I don't have any experience with vintage irons like the Butcher in your plane. I'm sure this is a dumb question, but can you describe how they compare with contemporary irons and why you prefer them for your planes?

thanks in advance- I appreciate your perspective as an accomplished by tool maker.

Mike

[Steve Voigt]

Steve, fantastic work! beautiful thin, full width shavings and the planed surface speak for themselves. Elegently beautiful but hard to achieve (at least for me).

I don't have any experience with vintage irons like the Butcher in your plane. I'm sure this is a dumb question, but can you describe how they compare with contemporary irons and why you prefer them for your planes?

thanks in advance- I appreciate your perspective as an accomplished by tool maker.

Mike
Thanks Mike. :)

I really like the tapered irons that LV is making for me, but it's going to be several months before I have them in the largest size, so I used a vintage iron for this plane. This one's not for sale--it's a user and a demo plane for shows.

In general, if you want to make an authentic double iron plane with tapered iron, vintage irons are currently your only choice. My experience is that they are excellent, but a little inconsistent--they usually vary from good to great, and once in a blue moon you'll get a real dog. The good ones are a joy to use. I would describe them as "drier" than modern irons; the burr tends to fall off with very little work. The one downside is that they usually require a good deal of refurbishing, mostly flattening the back.

Certainly, you can make an excellent user plane with a modern, untapered double iron set, and that may be a more practical alternative for people who don't want to spend several hours back-flattening, not to mention hunting for a suitable iron.

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Steve

The simple, clean and understated lines are matched by what appears to be excellent performance.

I find it interesting these days that I look at the shape of the shavings (not the thickness) - it is easy to pick out those that were straightened by the chipbreaker, and those that were not.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Keith Mathewson]

Very nicely done! I like using them but don't have the patience to make them.