Hot Dog

[Jerry Thompson]

It seems I read on some SIG that Lee Valley is going to or is making a "hot dog" attachment for their BU jack plane.
At this stage in my life I have diffeculty knowing what is true or has occured from a brain spasam.
All I hope for now is to take a shower and have nothing fall off.http://www.sawmillcreek.org/images/icons/icon7.gif
Jerry

[Derek Cohen]

Jerry

I have not heard about a hotdog from LV, but LN have recently brought out one for their LAJ.

However... I just made a hotdog for my LV LAJ. Here is the story ....

A Hotdog for a LV LAJ

Recently, Thomas Lie-Nielsen released a “hotdog” handle for the LN LA Jack. This looks to be a version of the handle that is in production for their #9, the mitre plane, and itself based on the original Stanley #9, which is long since out of production.


http://www.lie-nielsen.com/images/62HDclose.jpg


Although the round depressions in the side of the Veritas (Lee Valley) LAJ are designed as handholds, these are fatiguing if used over a long planing session. I had been toying with the idea of making a hotdog handle for the LA Jack for some time, and the timing was now right to get it done (well, what do you do when waiting for glue to dry?).

The only complication I could see would be that the LN has an advantage in that the hotdog’s mortice would fit over a symmetrical curved side, which is easier to make compared to the LV’s asymmetrical side. Then again, this could be an advantage if one went for a friction fit (the LN is held on with a screw).

Step one is to turn the basic hotdog shape on a lathe. I have a little Jet Mini that is perfect for these jobs. If you don’t have a lathe, pop around for a beer and a chat, and we’ll turn one out in no time (it is a 5 minute job). Oh what’s that, I’m in Perth, Australia …

The hotdog I turned came from a bit of Jarrah (sort of matches the Bubinga knob, and I already had a replacement Jarrah tote .. don’t ask). The final dimensions were 5” long and 1 ½” diameter at the center.

Step two was to cut the mortice to slide the hotdog onto the side of the plane. Now I am sure that I did this the hard way, that there must be more efficient methods – if so, I apologize. Step two began with marking out and sawing the outline of the mortice. I used a Japanese saw here as the action is gentler and cleaner than a Western saw (I would kill for a patternmaker’s vise!).

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Articles/Hotdog%20for%20the%20LV%20LAJ/1Sawingmorticesides.jpg

Step three is to chisel out the waste. This is where the fun begins! I used two mortice chisels, one was 1/8” wide (easier to dig out waste with this) and the other – the correct sizing for the slot – was 3/16” wide.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Articles/Hotdog%20for%20the%20LV%20LAJ/2Paringstartofmortice1.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Articles/Hotdog%20for%20the%20LV%20LAJ/3Choppingmortice1.jpg


This process was basically done by eye… chisel a little, test fit, chisel some more. Here is a test fit.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Articles/Hotdog%20for%20the%20LV%20LAJ/4Testfit1.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Articles/Hotdog%20for%20the%20LV%20LAJ/5Hotdogmorticecloseup1.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Articles/Hotdog%20for%20the%20LV%20LAJ/6Hotdogcloseup1.jpg


Finally the fit was close enough…

… and the LAJ with hotdog was tested out on the shooting board.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Articles/Hotdog%20for%20the%20LV%20LAJ/7LAJshooting1.jpg


How does it feel? Just perfect. Very comfortable indeed. A permanent addition.

The friction fit is tight and secure (I can lift the plane holding onto the hotdog). In part, the raised rear curve on the side wall of the LAJ provides a little something to push against.

I will see how it goes over the next month. It may work loose, and then I will need to add a set screw. So far so good.


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Articles/Hotdog%20for%20the%20LV%20LAJ/8Finished.jpg


Regards from Perth

Derek
December 2007