First Dovetail Smoother (almost) Done

[Mark Baldwin III]

My dovetailed smoother is nearly finished. I got it to a point this morning that I could take some test shavings.
Sides are naval brass, sole is 0-1. The infill is Bocote, and the iron is A2. It measures 5 1/4" long, with a 1 1/2" iron.
I learned a lot on this project. This plane is full of little flaws and mistakes, but how many of us hit perfection on our first try?

Style wise, I kept it simple. The top part of the lever cap is shaped to match the iron, instead of a more traditional shape. Sometimes I just like blocky looking stuff.

I need to cut the lever pin to final length and do some fit and finish work. The hole in the top of the iron will have a piece of brass peened into it just for a little accent. The lever screw is being borrowed from another plane until I get my lathe situation squared away. I'm happy to have finally gotten this plane to a point where it is a usable tool. I'm not home much lately, which means a lot of starting and stopping. Combine that with the fact that I'm always working on a gazillion things at once, it's a surprise I ever finish anything.

[Jim Koepke]

Looks like a fun little plane.


Combine that with the fact that I'm always working on a gazillion things at once, it's a surprise I ever finish anything.

I know that feeling all too well.

jtk

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Nice.... Looks like some decent shavings as well

[lowell holmes]

I'm curious, what is the sole made from? It looks different from the bright brass.
Nice looking work. How difficult is it to dovetail brass plate? Is it a hacksaw and filing operation?

[Chuck Hart]

I like the idea of the brass accent in the blade. Creative. Even if it isn't done it has flair.

[Shawn Pixley]

Very nice! That looks like a fun little plane

[Mark Baldwin III]

Thanks for the kind words!
Like I said, it was fun and quite a learning experience.

Lowell- The sole is O1 tool steel. I like O1 because in its annealed state it is a little tougher than mild steel but still works well. I used a combination of hand and machine operations to do the dovetail work. It can absolutely be done by hand. I used my mill to take out a lot of material to save time because I just don't have all the free time I'd like to dedicate to something like this. That, and I spent a pretty penny on my milling machine so I like to use it!