Some Steps in Hollow Plane Re-Manufacture

[Trevor Walsh]

In the v-plane thread I mentioned that I re-manufactured a hollow plane as part of the quarter set I'm building. Before I put up the image set of that process I thought it might be good to show how to get those bananas back in shape.

The original plane was a #6 (3/8" radius) round, skewed, manufactured by the "Summers Varvill Ebor Works York" sometime between 1840 and 1867, it was missing an iron and had some wood movement issues. The whole thing was bowed a heavy 1/16th to the escapement side, and was crooked to leave the ends out of flat by about a light 1/16th. Condition other than that was pretty good, some paint, some nail holes from a batten long ago, but rather well cared for by a guy named "RJ. Coleman".

The grime was cleaned off with a rag and Briwax, then first the bow was planed out on the escapement side, and the blind side cleaned up with a few passes. Contrary to the course of things in planemaking I cleaned up the blind side bevel then shot the sole square to the escapement side until it was flat and measured 3/8" in width. The mouth opened a little, but the LN tapered iron I installed was thick enough to help some.

With the skewed blade the blind side of the iron has to be relieved so the front cutting edge gets all the way over to the blind side corner. If not I imagine the plane will clog in short order. Once that is all set I clamped a batten to the escapement side I used a #6 round to cut a mated hollow, took shavings until the sole was wide enough. (Yes a converted it to a hollow, not a round like it was). Some light sandpaper between soles ensured two matched and even profiles.

I fit and ground an iron to shape, it still needs the clearance ground and hardening but she's as good or better than the other planes in my set. I plan to do all of the iron work at one time. I don't mind the patchwork appearance of the old vs. new wood, but I may fiddle with some dyes to see if I can match the color and get it looking better.

[Trevor Walsh]

The gist of it is that supposing you have a few beater moulding planes, as long as the wood is still good i.e. no checking, cracks, mouth abuse you should think of them as a plane kit where some wonderful person has already found you qs beech, sunk the mortice, cut the bed, fit a wedge all you have to do is true the stock, profile and iron it.

[Paul Saffold]

Thanks Trevor. You've given me some helpful info.
Despite swearing I'd never buy another wooden plane on eBay, I bought a 1/2" round. It rocks. Not in a good way. The front of the sole is worn down 1/16th and is narrower than the blade profile. I pick it up and stare at it from time-to-time. My thoughts are to flatten the sole, then re-profile to a slightly smaller round. I'm just not sure how to get a consistent profile from toe to heel. I want to keep it as a round. The remainder of the plane is in good shape.
Paul

[Trevor Walsh]

Paul, I'd check for bow and adjust if needed. Then plane down the sole, the blind side bevel will make the plane sole wider until it's almost to the half inch width. Then layout the sole on one end with a circle template, these are a few dollars at an art supply or office store. Take a measurement for the height of the chord, mark on the sides and opposite end, then using these marks allign an draw the circle segment on the second end. Now just plane with a finely set jointer to a faceted profile, then sand with light sandpaper around the sole of the hollow to match. They you do all the business with the iron.

Picture needed?

[Paul Saffold]

Thanks Trevor. I'll give it a try. There are several projects with a deadline that are ahead of any plane rehab, so it may be awhile. I hadn't thought about the sole getting wider as it gets jointed. Sometimes I can't see the forest for the trees. I don't think there is any bow, but I'll check for that first when I get started.
Paul

[Trevor Walsh]

Cool, let me know if you run into anything interesting, and how it turns out.