Guidance on Plane Making

[Chuck Saunders]

Hi guys,
I want to try my hand at making a wooden plane or 2... Can anybody recommend any favorite references? Since Google has 29,200,000 hits I thought if someone here could share their favorites or tips that would help me alot.
Thanks
Chuck

[Dan Racette]

The book by david is absolutely loaded with info and is extremely well detailed.


Making & Mastering Wood Planes : Revised Edition by David Finck and James Krenov

[Jamie Buxton]

There's a page with the basics on the College of the Redwoods site (that's where Krenov taught) --- http://www.crfinefurniture.com/1pages/sitelinks/howplane.html

[Wendell Wilkerson]

For a more traditional approach to wooden plane making check out:

Making Traditional Wooden Planes By John M. Whelan

Wooden Planes and How to Make Them
by David G. Perch and Robert S. Lee

I like the Whelan's book better but the two books compliment each other pretty well.

Wendell

[Michael Fross]

I have both Finck's book as well as Whelan's. I much prefer Fincks as it is a more step by step guide. Whelan's book is more focused on plans for a wide variety.

So, if, like me, you are beginner plane maker, go for Finck's. If you are a pro and need plans for other plane styles, go for Whelans. Or, if you are really like me, you just buy them both :)

My local library had an older edition of Finck's book and I was able to look through it prior to purchase. Might be an option.

Bets of luck.

Michael

[Chuck Saunders]

Thanks for sharing your favorites, I really appreciate everyone giving of their time and experiance.
Thanks
Chuck

[Zahid Naqvi]

Chuck, Here are the links from my bookmarks, misc handplaning making pages.

http://www.crfinefurniture.com/1pages/sitelinks/howplane.html
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=noNavProcessor&p=Build/BldHndPln.html
http://www.frontier.iarc.uaf.edu/~cswingle/woodworking/jigs.phtml
http://www.popularmechanics.com/home_improvement/furniture/1273456.html
http://www.frontier.iarc.uaf.edu/~cswingle/woodworking/images/chamfer_plane.pdf
http://www.xmission.com/%7Ejry/ww/tools/a13/a13.html

[Charlie Mastro]

Having taught wooden plane making for nearly 20 years I have a few pointers I'd like to offer.
1. Forget the laminated bottom, just an extra step you really don't need.
2. Orient the plane block so the outside of the tree is the bottom or sole of the plane. My sensi's both told me the outside of the tree wears better and they always place the outside towards the wear. If it is floor planking or decking outside of tree towards the wear. It is also easier to plane or scrape the outside as it does not tear out as much.
3. I used to use a 1/4" brass pin that I filed a flat on one side for the wedge to land on. But if need be I could knock it out and replace it.
4. Be very careful to leave the mouth as tight as possible so that you need to open it a little for the final fit.
5. Make sure you have the blade wedged in tight before you flatten the sole of the plane.

Actually it's a piece of cake and would recomend it to any skill level as the true woodworking skills, except for the sharpening, are all within the reach of anyone wanting to try.