My first handmade plane ( UPDATED NOV 09)

Rob Keeble

Member
Messages
12,633
Location
GTA Ontario Canada
Well I have it bad this plane disease. So it should be no surprise to you all that i have had a go at making my first wooden plane.

Being a little chicken i did not spring for a great blade figured i would first test the woodworking skills out. So i found a replacement blade only at LV for a wooden Taiwanese plane series they sell. Picked up the blade for $12.80 which took the risk out of it. Its a HSS steel blade mind.

Anyhow I picked up a log on the side of the road a few years back and decided now was its time. So got the bandsaw going and cut a small section out for my plane.

Set to work milling and cutting the block to size ( no size in particular just by feel) and then got down to looking up Toni's Plane to get the details all sorted out.

Well after the weekend on and off in the shop, taking a break from finishing the bench i have this to show for my efforts.

This is flatwork and spinny job since the cross pin that the wedge pushes against was a square cut piece of the log that i turned specially for the occasion to try and keep the whole plane out of the same wood and log.
The cross pin.jpgCross pin flat face.jpg

Note the small touch of putting a flat face on the pin afterwards with a plane i might add:D (Sorry for the poor photos. Thats not my speciality.;)

Here is how the wedge came out and the cross pin side removed.The wedge in action.jpg. Thought you might like to see the complex figure in the end grain on this wood so here is great pic to show it.End grain figure.jpg

Then an overview of all the components
The various components.jpg

Here is one partial assembly with side removedSide removed showing assembly.jpg

And the sole of the plane showing the plane in situ with the wedge holding it in the throat. Wish I had managed to make the throat tighter (ah well next time or maybe an insert).View of throat opening with blade in place.jpg

The plane from the sole all assembled but not glued up.The sole.jpg

Then finally a view of the plan overall also mock up still have to do the glueing and then the trim shaving and cutting. Trail assembly.jpg

Well i still have a ways to go before its finished and i can take a trial cut and do some tuning but I think it came out way better than i expected.

I would like to echo Tonys words here and say this is a good project for some instant gratification and a quicky to get done in a weekend even with some interuptions for other things in life. Also you spinny guys can do this and still get curlies.:D

Hope it inspires some rookies like me to take the plunge. Total cost CDN$12.80.

Not bad Eh! Comments welcome.
 
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Where's the power switch and cord? :dunno::huh:
Oh that's right, it is a cordless model!!:doh::doh:

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

Danggone fine piece of work there Rob!!! Can't wait to see it make curlies!!! I ever learn to use one of those there things, looks like a project I would like to try!! Thanks for the post and pictures, they really cleared up some of the magic for me!!
 
Great job Rob!. I look forward to see curlies swirling out from it!:thumb:

My only comment would be that you could have spared the two central pins.
The pins are only for alignment when gluing, once dry you cut them away with the rest of the excess body length.

Anyway, now you'll have two decorative dots on each side of the plane.

Try and tune it before spending time shaping it, once you make nice curlies then shape it to your liking, and what you feel comfortable in your hands.

Another thing to bear in mind, is the wedge; on yours it looks as if it was going to fall, it doesn't penetrate much further down than the central pin. That may lead to a bad blade subjection. Make it's angle a bit smaller and check where it presses angainst the pin. You will identify the contact points because you'll see burnished spots, the burnished mark should go from one side to the other of the wedge, or be on each side at the worse. That will ensure you a proper blade hold.

The order I followed in my last plane was: first drill the holes for the aligning pins, then cut the cheeks or sides, in this way the holes align perfectly and you needen't clamp the sides to drill them.

BTW when are you going to make a plane adjusting hammer?:rofl:
 
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Thanks for all the comments guys. Toni I actually decided i wanted to keep the pins for decoration. Actually wanted to make them brass but did not have anything on hand that i could do that with so next time.

By the way i followed you 60degree instead of 65 and i did not have any trouble honing the HSS blade. It came pretty well ground but honing it was a matter of a few passes on the strop with old herbs yellowstone. So I am keen to see it in motion.

I also decided at build time no sole but after ending up with a bigger than wanted gap in the throat I am rethinking that and might put a thin sole on to narrow down the throat.

This wood is lovely and hard and dense so its perfect for the job. I want to see how it comes out when i finish it. thats the part i have not taken to with woodworking. I tend to follow in my dads footsteps there. He was a great starter at projects but poor finisher and by that i dont mean just the aspect of applying a finish, once a project got to functional stage for him the fun was over. I am hoping seeing something in the wood makes me go all the way. Plus once you post it on this forum there is pressure to finish and i need that.:D

You were right Toni about it being a big boost and a pleasant break from an existing project. Nice quick return on time. :thumb:

We will see how it planes soon.
 
. He was a great starter at projects but poor finisher and by that i dont mean just the aspect of applying a finish, once a project got to functional stage for him the fun was over.

Well... I think that many of us are like that, once the challenge is over we tend to loose interest:eek:
 
Okay so i glued it up, started the shaping, (need my bench to be finished now to get a vice and finish shaping) and took it/her for a whirl.

Here is the latest version.Overall view.jpg

I know the dowels are not supposed to be left in but i had several reasons for doing so. I liked the look. Then you will see the throat sole and throat no blade showing.jpgthroat with balde set.jpg when i initially cut it, was too wide in my view to get fine shavings. So i moved it closer by moving the inner front block and putting another two dowels in and just plugging the holes on the outer layer with dowel plugs. (New modification called one time throat adjustement.:D)

Now you can see this piece of wood has some interesting grain, i wont say i like it i will say it grows on you. :rofl:

Here is the view of the front after some freehand shaping with bandsaw and spokeshave.

front shape.jpgfront view grain.jpg

View of the rear rear.jpg

View of the side side view.jpg

And in contrast to what most do, that is adding a separate sole, this wood was so hard and dense i made my life easy by making it all one.

Here is top and middle view

top view middle.jpgtop view rear.jpg

Now next post due to picture limitation will be on performance.:D
 
Part 2 of latest status

So actually with keeping the dowels in and nice and tight with the aid of some clamps i was able to test the performance of this baby.

Pretty harsh. So i decided as said to narrow down the throat. (Bill Sakos Influence in smoothing planes:D) That improved things somewhat but i realised the hard way, which in my mind is the best way to get a "feel" for the knowledge (reference to a concept used in London to describe what a London Taxi driver has to go through before he gets his license) of planes, that the chipbreaker plays a very important role in our planes normaly. This is just a straight blade cheap and HSS at that.

Its a real hog. I have labeled all my pictures front rear etc but in reality this is all opposite to how this plane works.

If you drive it like a tradditional oh boy it is impossible you end up putting too much downward pressure with your hand on the blade and it digs in.

If however you pull the plane as the asian planes are used ( resulting in the blade end being pulled towards you then your left hand which is wrapped around the blade end has a somewhat lifting action and more of a pulling action and then the performance is night and day.
Still a hog but a very good one.

So here is the evidence of what little hog (I think now that shall be its name) is capable of in the hands of its keeper.

I recently bought some cheap wood from a local lumber house. Nice thick boards to be used on the workbench (still work in progress and more to come later).

It is Brazillian Oak or so it is called. Hard as stone and full of grain going in multiple directions.

Here is the before picture of the rough sawn finish
rough sawn Brazillian Oak before.jpgclose up of Rough Sawn Brazillian Oak.jpg

Here is the after

Same wood after going at it with new woodie plane.jpgclose up of surface.jpg

Now just for the record , the two faces shown here are from opposite sides cause i only thought to take the picture after the event. But both sides were equally as rough.

I will post a finished article when i get the bench done and get a vice to hold "Hog" in and am able to then do some more work with the spokeshave.

But if you want a rewarding project and a new friend, make yourself a little "Hog" its very easy and a rewarding project. Just dont buy a blade without a chipbreaker. There has to be a limit on cheap.;)
 
Pretty cool plane. Did you work from a plan for this?

I might have to try making one of those one of these days.
 
Cool plane Rob, and I think that the dowels add some character to it.

As per the different performance of the plane depending wheter it is pushed or pulled I do not think it is due to the lack of chipbreaker, I have a couple of planes without it and they work like a charm.

I would check the flatness of the sole with a reliable straightedge. Before the blade and just behind the blade, although it seems impossible, planes tend to develop a bump on the sole just behind the blade due to the pressure that it exerts. Check the sole lenghtwise and crosswise at diferent key points, before and after the throat.

And do check if it is twisted length wise, put it on flat surface without the blade portruding and try to rock it by pressing on its cornes, that will tell you inmediately.

You could even make the sole wawy as in japanese planes so that they only lay on three points of the sole, front, just before the blade and at the rear end.

Being your plane flatter than squarish in section it may also happen that that same tension bends the sole.

Looking forward to see those curlies:thumb::thumb:
 
Thanks Toni for the valuable input. Hadnot thought of all your points. But now you come to mention it, when i was messing around with it while still in unglued state i felt the pressure that the wedge generated on the blade being transfered through to the dowels of course they hold the side on so no surprize but figured this wood is so hard that it aint bending.

But i will check all the details you mention. I also like the idea of some deliberate relief on the sole.

"HOG" needs a ton more work but for the moment its on the shelf above my desk for me to admire and enjoy as an artifact. Its become kinda like my shop dog since i dont have one but gets brought inside each time i come inside. Dont need food or letting out at night.:rofl:

I need to focus for the short term on getting my bench finished. I have already begun working on it in an incomplete and unglued state. :( But i want to get it all done and trimmed up cause shaping or planing needs something to hold the pieces down.:D

I am actually regretting using the HD pine for my top. The stuff i have is probably spruce and is soft as anything. My bad. I have been vacillating between keeping it and changing it before i spend all the effort putting on the hardwood trim and my Roubo modifications such as leg vice.

Brent I actually got the inspiration for doing this plane from Toni's post on his own build.

Then I went looking for some plans just to get some angles clear. If you have a mitre saw its a pretty easy and very enjoyable rewarding project. Competes with the spinny guys on the instant gratification scale.
PM me if you want some plans.:thumb:
 
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