I have impressed myself.

[rbdoby]

For the past week I have been playing around the shop making a wooden hand plane. Finished it up today and took it for the first test drive. I thought since this was my first attempt it would not work that well, I was shocked. It cuts like a dream. Now I'm going to have to build some more. What's the best length for a jointer plane?

I took the best ideas from 3 articles on the internet, one from FWW by David Finck, one from Popular Mechanics and another from Lowe's. Believe it or not the Lowe's article had a good idea to put set screws in the sides of the plane to adjust the iron, works pretty well.

The plane is about 12 1/2" long with a hard maple body and a Brazilian cherry sole. The wedge is red oak, the plane iron and chip breaker is from Hock. It does feel a little chunky so I'll probably refine the shape after I use it some more.

 

[TV]

Very nice! Is the brazilian cherry hard enough to withstand the use?

tv

 

[mlzettl]

Rick,

That's a nice looking plane. I built a smoother a few months ago using David Finck's techniques as well an iron and cap iron that I bought from him. I am thrilled with how it performs.

I like the idea of the set screws. May I ask how you adjust the depth of the iron? I tap mine with a small hammer, but I noticed that on yours the iron sits well below the wood back, and tapping it would appear to be difficult.

I'm still learning the fine points in adjusting a wooden plane quickly and accurately.

Matt

 

[christopheralan]

Very nice!

 

[Jim M.]

That pretty nice looking, you should be impressed with yourself. Jim :icon_thum

 

[Bas]

Wow. I'm impressed as well. That is a great looking plane!

 

[erasmussen]

Very good, I have made a few but not that nice looking

 

[Gary K]

You impressed me too! Very nice plane.:eusa_clap
Nothing else is quite as satisfying as using something you built yourself and having it perform beyond your expectations.:icon_cheers

 

[RandyJ]

That's a nice looking plane, Rick! Great job...how do you fly that thing?:gar-La;

 

[rbdoby]

Matt,

I made the wedge too long and it almost covers the iron. I need to cut the top of it off to make adjusting the iron easier.

This was my first plane, I have a lot to learn.

Rick Doby

 

[rbdoby]

Todd,

I hope so. This is the first plane I've built so I used wood I had in the shop. I'll let you know how it holds up.

Rick Doby

 

[Shamrock]

That's a beautiful plane-I think you'll have no problems with the "hardness" of the Brazilian cherry, that stuff is hard-should wear well to.


:BangHead::BangHead::BangHead:clamps-clamps-why do I never have enough clamps

 

[LeftyTom]

:eusa_thin Hand-made planes as Christmas gifts? That would be something unexpected.

 

[Mike Davis]

The plane looks good but the shavings look fantastic! :icon_thum

 

[rbdoby]

Mike,

I was amazed with the shavings too. I tried it on several different pieces of wood I had laying around the shop. Got some tear out on a piece of pine because the grain was a little squirrelly but a piece of hard maple looked like it had been polished.

Rick Doby

 

[lottathought]

Nice job Rick.
I had a feeling these would turn out nice.

 

[Gofor]

Beautiful work, and I a great job of combining designs.:icon_thum:icon_thum

Rick,

That's a nice looking plane. I built a smoother a few months ago using David Finck's techniques as well an iron and cap iron that I bought from him. I am thrilled with how it performs.

I like the idea of the set screws. May I ask how you adjust the depth of the iron? I tap mine with a small hammer, but I noticed that on yours the iron sits well below the wood back, and tapping it would appear to be difficult.

I'm still learning the fine points in adjusting a wooden plane quickly and accurately.

Matt

Another way to get a slightly deeper cut is to tap the nose of the plane instead of the iron. That way you don't run the risk of skewing the iron by a mis-aimed tap. Conversely, a light tap on the back can lighten the cut a hair if the wedge is a good fit.

Go

I

 

[froglips]

Fantabulous job!

Traditional jointer length is between 20 - 24 inches.

Jim

 

[AAAndrew]

Ah, the joys of a well-built and well-tuned plane. I have a couple of Steve Knight wooden planes and they work beautifully. Here's one, a razee jack plane, taking curls of end grain.

And the razee joiner with a full-length edge curl.

That's a really nice plane you've built, as evidenced by the quality of it's work. I suspect you've just taken a bold step down a very slippery slope. Good luck, and keep sending pictures of your other planes, as I know there will be more.

AAAndrew

 

[gritz]

Maybe I'm overthinking the adjustment...Are there two or four set screws?