Home Made Block Plane

[Lars Thomas]

Hello all. I have been on a run of making tools and tool handles. I thought I would try something new. I took a stab at a block plane, attached are my results. It is cocobolo and brass. I have not yet put a finish on it; primarily because I am not sure what to put on it. The cocobolo tool handles I finished with shellac, but not sure I want to take that route here. But I am considering heavily thinned shellac. I am certainly open to any suggestion.

Of course no plane is worth it's weight in salt if it can't 'cut' it. Right out of the box (so to speak) it took wispy thin shavings.:D It is very comfortable to use, it fits nicely in the palm of your hand, with your index finger resting on the top of the knob.

Enjoy and thanks for looking. For my next tool, I think I am going to tackle a small cocobolo and brass square. We'll see how it turns out. Lars

[Brett Baldwin]

That is one sharp little block plane. Apparently in more than one sense. "wispy thin shavings" Do you expect it to remain fairly straight or are you assuming it will need tweaking every so often for weather conditions?

[Vaughn McMillan]

Very cool, Lars. The contrast between the brass and cocobolo is sweet. Not only is it gorgeous, it sounds like it'll be a good user, too.

- Vaughn

[Jim Becker]

Wow, that's one beautiful plane! And if it cuts great, that's the icing on the cake! Could you post a few more pictures, including the bottom, etc. Very interesting!

[Tyler Howell]

Wow Lars.
That is a beauti.
Well Done:cool:

[Christopher Stahl]

That is a beauty. Like Jim, I would like to see more pictures.

[Garry Smith]

That's a great looking block plane Lars.

[Jim Hinze]

Wow.. that's stunning. Can you provide some more pics??? Perhaps some pics of the shavings?

[Lars Thomas]

Thanks for all of your comments.

Brett, I don't really know if any seasonal adjustments will be necessary. Time will tell. But I don't think it will be a problem. The sole is quarter sawn, so I would expect very little movement there. The adjustments are provided by a simple wedge, so any seasonal variance can be accommodated.

Jim, Chris and Jim, I will post more pictures tonight. I also have some work in progress pixs if that would help anyone.

A few other construction details. . . The front knob is a 3/8" jam nut (plumbing department of the borg) filed/sanded round on the lathe. The cocobolo (face grain) goes through the nut and is screwed into place through the bottom. The screw through the bottom is slightly counter-sunk. How do I make (or where do I buy) black epoxy to fill the hole? The tension knob is threaded 1/4" and superglued in place. You can't see it in the picture, but there is a brass cap-nut that applies the pressure to the blade. The other end of the bolt threads into a threaded insert underneath the handle.

I am not real excited with the way the tension knob looks. I think it would look better if the edges weren't rounded so much and I may have gone over-board adding the brass to the tension knob. I may remake it. Live and learn. I invite any other healthy criticism.

This was a surprisingly easy project; I did it in two nights. Although, I did make a prototype out of MDF (not counted as part of the two nights), so much of the problem solving was done previously. If anyone is interested in making your own, I would certainly encourage them. Lars

[Jerry Olexa]

Very nice work, Lars! Beautiful and functional...

[Brett Baldwin]

Lars, you can use universal colorant to tint epoxy black. Or carbon black powder if you have access to it, though it is really messy.

[Zahid Naqvi]

Lars, that one nice looking plane. At first look the sides look too thin, but the bigger pictures shows that they are adequate.

[John Kain]

Stunning.

(One word says it all)

[Todd Davidson]

Bravo!!!!!!

[Alan DuBoff]

Whoa...that's a beaut! :cool:

[Lars Thomas]

Jim B, I have attached a picture of the plane bottom. I want to fill in the screw head with black epoxy. The screw sits just a hair beneath the surface. It doesn't really cause a problem. I just think it would look more professional filled.

Brett, thanks for the info on the colorant.

Jim H, I gave the plane a good workout tonight. I get consistent shavings. I haven't used a lot of high-quality commercial planes, but I don't mind saying this one works among the best I have used. I have attached a shot below to give you an idea of how it performs.

Zahid, the sides of the plane do look delicate, I think that is part of what attracts me to it. There is no evident flex in the sides.

The picture with the blade removed is my favorite view. I like to incorporate 'hidden' design elements into my projects . . . sort of a 'surprise' for people who take the time to look at a project from all angles.

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Lars

That is just terrific work!

The bed angle in the pictures make it look like a #102 - yes?

<I>How do I make (or where do I buy) black epoxy to fill the hole?</I>

Colour the epoxy - I use the oxides that are added to cement, available from my local Borg. Just a touch is sufficient. I keep a few colours handy to mix.

<I>I am not real excited with the way the tension knob looks. I think it would look better if the edges weren't rounded so much and I may have gone over-board adding the brass to the tension knob. </I>

The brass is nice, but - if I were you (and you are not me!) - I would scallop out the wood between each brass piece on the knob. This would look more like a finger grip, and add contrast to the smooth remainder.

Great work.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Dave Anderson NH]

You've produced a real beauty there Lars. Cocobolo is plenty stiff in thin sections due to its density and hardness it should wear well and last a long time. For finishes, my favorite for Coco is just a couple of coats of BLO with a few days cure between coats and then simple paste wax. Of course, you might want to renew the wax on the sole a bit more often than on the rest of the body. I also like Derek's idea of scalloping the wheel adjuster. It would look really spectacular and would take an already super fine tool and make it even better.

[Lars Thomas]

Derek, yes, it is similar in size to the venerable 102. It has a 20 degree bed which I believe is what the 102 has.


Derek and Dave, My original plan was for the knob to be scalloped. The plan (I use that term very loosely) was to have the brass dots on the flats with the scalloping in between. But I went a little wild drilling for the brass inserts. I would also leave the edges more ‘square’ and maybe 1/16” -1/8" thinner overall too. You know what would look really sharp? Sandwich a piece of 3/32” brass stock between two layers of cocobolo (still with scalloping). Ohhh that would look good. I will remake it soon.

Dave, I will probably take you up on your advice by finishing with BLO. Sounds like a good idea.

[Jim Hinze]

Lars,

Thanks So much for the update pictures. That beauty looks like it does one helluv a job.

I've made a number of krenov style planes and have prefered them to the older stanleys... I also own one or two of Steve Knights planes... Never thought of making one as you had. Awesome job!!!

Not to completely copy your idea, if I ever get some extra time on my hands, I might just try to pull one of those off...

And yes, the brass sandwitched between cocobolo then scalloped would look incredible.

As for finish, I don't know how cocobolo finishes, but I've had good success using seal-a-cell on my planes... BLO also works well...

[Dan Forman]

Lars---That is fantastic! What a creative thing to do.

Dan

[Dan Larson]

Lars,

I think this is one of the neatest projects to be posted here for a while. I'm really impressed with your work! Beautiful... yet functional. You should make more planes. You have a real knack for this type of work!

Dan

[David Klug]

That's stunning Lars. I love it!!!!

DK

[Richard Daly]

Lares...the plane is AWSOME...where would you get the blade for it...


keep your fingers out of joiners...Stubby

[Rob Mathis]

Nice!

Now that is something!

I want to see it with a finish on it!

[Thom Sturgill]

Wow!
I've always thought that a well made tool was a thing of beauty even when made of base materials. When you combine that design with beautiful materials you simple kick it over the top.

If you do not like the knob, how about a brass wheel (balance the front knob) possibly with either inset wood plugs or wood faces (a cocbolo & brass oreo?).

[Danny Thompson]

Beauty! .

[Jim Koepke]

How do I make (or where do I buy) black epoxy to fill the hole?

That is beautiful!!!

For a recent project with epoxy, I took a file to a piece of rosewood and collected the filings. This was blended into the epoxy and used to glue up some pieces. Works great. just make sure you have as much or more volume of filings as glue.

jim

[Ray Sheley]

Too Cool! I really enjoyed seeing that.