Traditional wedge abutment smoother.

[Stewie Simpson]

Completed the following 7 inch; double iron smoother 2 days ago. The iron is bedded at 40 degrees; with a 1 degree right to left skew to induce more slicing action of the wood fibres. The body of the plane is made using east indian rosewood, and the wedge is made from merbeu. The mouth opening started off at 1mm, but I decided to increase that to around 2mm to allow the plane to pass a much heavier shaving without clogging. The wear was set at 80 degrees to the bottom line of the abutments (1/4 inch), with the remaining wear (3/4 inch) set at 85 degrees. The cutting edge of the iron has a primary bevel of approx. 24 degrees with a secondary at 25 degrees. The iron was sharpened to 1200 grit from the stone. The front of the chipbreaker was eyeballed to about 0.8mm from the cutting edge of the iron. Enough commentary; here are the photo's of the plane.

Stewie;

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/2nd%20attempt%207%20inch%20smoother/_DSC0145_zpsrnzgludr.jpg (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/swagman001/media/2nd%20attempt%207%20inch%20smoother/_DSC0145_zpsrnzgludr.jpg.html)

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/2nd%20attempt%207%20inch%20smoother/_DSC0146_zps5nhwvalt.jpg (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/swagman001/media/2nd%20attempt%207%20inch%20smoother/_DSC0146_zps5nhwvalt.jpg.html)

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/2nd%20attempt%207%20inch%20smoother/_DSC0148_zpsynd7iyye.jpg (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/swagman001/media/2nd%20attempt%207%20inch%20smoother/_DSC0148_zpsynd7iyye.jpg.html)

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Excellent! The detail on the wedge is amazing. Respect.

[Stewie Simpson]

The following shows the smoother in action. Fine and medium thickness shavings in both directions of grain. The test wood used was Oregon. Excellent results.

Stewie;

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/2nd%20attempt%207%20inch%20smoother/_DSC0149_zpsjp9gjlgr.jpg (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/swagman001/media/2nd%20attempt%207%20inch%20smoother/_DSC0149_zpsjp9gjlgr.jpg.html)

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/2nd%20attempt%207%20inch%20smoother/_DSC0150_zpss3anwgsm.jpg (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/swagman001/media/2nd%20attempt%207%20inch%20smoother/_DSC0150_zpss3anwgsm.jpg.html)

[Patrick Chase]

Wow, nice precise work as always Stewie. So does this represent something of a conversion to the Church of Our Lady of the Double Iron? :-)

[Jim Koepke]

Beautiful plane Stewie.

jtk

[Stewie Simpson]

Thanks Jim.

[Lenore Epstein]

I can't help myself, and The Google has failed me.

I know what an abutment is, and I know what a smoother is, but what is an abutment smoother?

[Kees Heiden]

Nice one Stewie and nice attention to details.

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Stewie

Looks nicely made.

Have you tried the plane on an interlocked wood, and/or into the grain? Thicker shavings?

And how does it feel compared to a high angle smoother (on the same wood and depth of cut)?

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Stewie Simpson]

I can't help myself, and The Google has failed me.

I know what an abutment is, and I know what a smoother is, but what is an abutment smoother?

Lenore. I hope the following answers your question.

Stewie;

https://calebjamesplanemaker.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/6260d-woodenplanemouthparts.jpg (https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiPsb-jqvzLAhXkF6YKHfhFCrwQjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalebjamesplanemaker.wordpress.c om%2F2013%2F11%2F17%2Fhow-to-make-the-mouth-abutment-wedge-for-a-wooden-bench-plane%2F&psig=AFQjCNE4ieF-YTurDjE0_CbLn3IEklBD_w&ust=1460111705268419)

[Stewie Simpson]

Nice one Stewie and nice attention to details.

Thanks Kees.

[Nicholas Lawrence]

Lenore;

Stewie often does things that are not traditional, and can be quite creative. I believe he is indicating he made the wedge and abutments in the style traditionally used.

And Stewie, that looks like a great plane. Well done. It makes you want to just pick it up and use it.

[Frederick Skelly]

Beautiful work Stewie. And the finish is gorgeous - what did you use, more garnet shellac or something else?
Fred

[Stewie Simpson]

Hi Stewie

Looks nicely made.

Have you tried the plane on an interlocked wood, and/or into the grain? Thicker shavings?

And how does it feel compared to a high angle smoother (on the same wood and depth of cut)?

Regards from Perth

Derek

Thanks Derek. I will complete some further testing of the double iron smoother over the weekend.

Stewie;

[Stewie Simpson]

Beautiful work Stewie. And the finish is gorgeous - what did you use, more garnet shellac or something else?
Fred

Hi Fred. The bare wood was treated with the following product; http://www.feastwatson.com.au/consumer/products/exterior/product-details/1179

The product was then re- applied after each sanding medium, 150g, 220, 400, then a finer grit sanding mesh.

A clear cut and polish / paste wax was then used to work the surface of the wood to a nice sheen. ww.ubeaut.com.au/eee.htm (http://www.ubeaut.com.au/eee.htm)

Stewie;

[Stewie Simpson]

Thanks for the feedback Nicholas.

Stewie;

[Pat Barry]

Nice job Stewie! Boy that's a tiny little thing. What is the blade width? 1 1/2"? By the way, where do you find your irons for these projects?

[Stewie Simpson]

Thanks Pat. The irons width is a tad over 2 inches. (52mm) The irons I use were purchased Nos from an ebay seller in the U.K.

Stewie;

[Stewie Simpson]

To match the front edge of the skewed iron, the cap iron itself needed to be skew fitted. The resulting hang on 1 side of the cap iron needed to be ground back to match the tolerance set by the iron. The slot within the iron also had to be filed back 0.5mm on 1 side to allow the cap iron bolt to mate correctly. Extra 30 min work all up.

Stewie;

[Phil Mueller]

Very nice Stewie. Love the design features. Execution is really beautiful.

[Stewie Simpson]

Thanks Phil. It was an interesting project.

Stewie;

[Kees Heiden]

The low bedding of 40 degrees makes the "handle" area at the heel of the plane rather short. How does it feel in practice?

[Stewie Simpson]

http://www.craftsy.com/blog/2015/04/wooden-hand-planes/

[Stewie Simpson]

The low bedding of 40 degrees makes the "handle" area at the heel of the plane rather short. How does it feel in practice?

Hi Kees. In practice, their is plenty of room to place the rear hand.

I checked the weight of this smoothing plane today ; 0.8 kg (1 lb 12 oz ).

How does that compare to your beech smoother.

Stewie;

[Kees Heiden]

I'll put in on the scales later, probably tomorrow and will report back.

[Kees Heiden]

My beech smoother is 700 gram. Also 7" long, with a 2" 51 mm iron.

[Robert McNaull]

Beautiful work Stewie and thanks for sharing. The finishing job really does that wood justice.

Bob

[Stewie Simpson]

Thanks for the feedback Robert.

[Stewie Simpson]

I mentioned earlier in the thread that I had sharpened the iron up to 1200 grit (ceramic stone). To achieve a much keener edge I rely on a Japanese Waterstone ( aoto nakatogi ; 3000 - 5000 grt). http://www.tomonagura.com/jnats/japanese-whetstone-info/japanese-whetstone-glossary.html

But here's the kicker; I don't use water to lubricate the top surface of the stone.

Stewie;

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/2nd%20attempt%207%20inch%20smoother/_DSC0152_zpsb42dsvf8.jpg (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/swagman001/media/2nd%20attempt%207%20inch%20smoother/_DSC0152_zpsb42dsvf8.jpg.html)