How things were made !!

[plantman]

Besides turning pens, woodworking, and other things. One of my hobbys is collecting and making wooden and metal hand planes. Some date back to the 1700s, some are 2010, and some I make myself. I picked a few that might be of interest to some members. The big one is made of hand dovetailed 1/4" Brass with rounded edges and an English Walnut infill with handle custom fit to my hand. It is 16"s long and weighs in at over 9 pounds. The, "S" on the front is inlayed Holly. The double iron is from an old 1879 Ohio Tool Co. wooden plane. Disspite the weight, this plane can cut a shaving that will curl into a ribbon and when stretched out can be seen through. Second plane is Spalted Maple with Hard Maple and Walnut infills. It has a Ironwood soul and adjustable mouth opening for fine finish planing. You loosen the top knob, and the front half of the soul can be moved tighter to the iron if you want a finer cut. Third is a Cherry finish plane with Cherry and Walnut infill. It also has a Ironwood soul and adjustable mouth opening. Hope you liked stepping back 150 years. Jim S

 

[Jim Burr]

This are beautiful Jim!!! And timely...I have no way to flatten a surface for joining other than a plane. I can't do restoration but have a great friend that does the same magic you pull off! Thanks for the post!!

 

[alamocdc]

They are all very nice, Jim! But I LOVE that spalted Maple one! It is gorgeous!

 

[bobjackson]

Fantastic. Thanks for sharing. Great job.

 

[hunter-27]

Nice!

 

[holmqer]

These are all great, and remind me of something I have always puzzled over. Given the reality of wood movement, how do wooden hand planes stay true over time?

 

[neubee]

Those are beautiful, someday I would like to learn how to use a hand plane and shave translucent ribbons of wood.

 

[plantman]

These are all great, and remind me of something I have always puzzled over. Given the reality of wood movement, how do wooden hand planes stay true over time?

Eric; Most wooden planes are made out of Beach Wood. It has very straight grain, small pores, and is very hard. A lot of the better moulding planes use a Boxwood insert for areas that receive a high wear pattern. Japanese plans are usualy made of Live Oak or White Oak. Very tiny planes are made from Ebony, Brass, or Bronze and used for instrument making. Once the wood is dryed in will not have much movement. If you are looking to buy an old wooden plane the first thing to look for is the opening on the bottom. After a hundred years of use this gets larger and takes a bigger cut. This can be fixed by putting an insert in the soul. Also check for cracks in the body where the wedge is driven in to hold the iron. Most of these old planes were well taken care of by their owners. They represented a large amount of cash or time to make or buy. If the soul should get worn, another plane was used to true it or a patch was used to close the mouth opening. Hope this answers your questions ? JimS

 

[holmqer]

Thanks for the explanation on how wooden hand planes are kept working well. I have a basic understanding now.