Krenov style wood plane and adjusting mallet

[eyekode]

For father's day my children got me David Finck's Making and Mastering Wood Planes. I really enjoyed reading this book. Well written and it covers much more than just how to make a plane. David seems like a really nice guy too. In the course of making the plane I emailed him and got a quick helpful response back .

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I bought a Hock iron from http://www.craftsmanstudio.com/html_p/H!BENCH.htm . These guys had the best price and free shipping over 75$. In truth I am not completely happy with this iron. The back took quite a bit of lapping to remove some of the milling marks. And the first time I used the iron it nicked really quickly. That being said Ron Hock seems like a great guy and he answered my questions quickly. And after a second honing the edge seems to be holding up much better. Also the chip breaker is top notch and required no tuning. Heck the chip breaker was sharper than most plane irons straight from the factory .

My first attempts to use the plane were not great. Turns out I needed to lap the bottom of the plane again. Not sure why, it was dead flat the first time I did it. Maybe this wood still had a little movement in it. But after that re-lapping it has remained flat for over a week. I hope using wood planes in a non-humidity controlled garage turns out ok .

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After lapping the sole again I can get ~.001" shavings out of it. I love the (lack of) weight, size and balance of the wood plane. I also am quickly becoming a fan of adjusting planes with the tap of a mallet. I still have to do final shaping but I am waiting till I get some more experience and can better judge what shape I will like.

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The mallet is Brazilian cherry with a walnut handle. At first I didn't like it. I thought it was too light. But the more I play with it the more I think it is ok. Taps at the back give me close to a .001 adjustment! Much more accurate than a thumbscrew .

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For those of you who saw my last mallet you will not be surprised to see that the acme screw on my vise took a bite out of this one as well . One day I will learn.

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If you don't have a wood plane I heartily recommend both making your own and reading David's book!

Salem

 

[Bill Clemmons]

Salem, I love both the plane and the mallet. For the plane, what type of wood is that? It kinda looks like Beech, but I'm not sure. Also, do you push it like a traditional plane, or can you pull it like a Japanese plane? Just curious.

I think I mentioned awhile back that I've learned to appreciate small mallets w/ short handles. I have a tendency to use too much force, and that keeps me from destroying things. :gar-Bi Now we see why you're looking for the brass rod. :icon_thum

Bill

 

[CatButler]

Looks great Salem. Hope I can check it out when I stop by. Did you flatten with the blade in and tight? It can bend a bit when tensioned. Also curious on the wood. Did you put on a separate sole or is that just a shadow in the picture?

I have a scrub plane from a kit I'm, finishing up made from purple heart. It's a one handled, one bladed, shaving purple plank eater.

 

[eyekode]

Bill,
The plane is maple from WoodWrangler's cutoff bin. I think it came from his workbench. The wedge is spalted maple (also from WoodWrangler's trash). The cross pin is scavenged from hard wood flooring .

The reason I haven't cut any real shape into it yet is I am not sure how I will prefer to use it. I have tried and you can pull it. You can also grab it with both hands from the side or push it much like a metal plane. Because of the versatility I may just leave it with an ambidextrous plane shape. Will see!

 

[eyekode]

Bryan,
I did flatten it with the blade under tension. But it is quite possible my initial flattening was under too much tension.

The wood is resawn from one block. My next one I will probably make a jatoba (or purple heart) sole. I have already put a little ridge in the sole by being careless. The maple is pretty hard but I think a wood plane takes a little more attention to keep from abusing it. Note that the same attention paid to a metal plane also results in better results .

Salem

 

[Sealeveler]

Good looking setup you made there.
Tony

 

[rbdoby]

Salem,

Great work on your plane. I made one last year and love it. I use it all the time. I do have to adjust it quite often because of wood movement but that's part of a using a wooden plane. I took to the Klingspor show last October and Brian Boggs checked it out, giving me some tips on improving it. Even took it to the Lee Valley booth and compared it to some of the Veritas planes. I find that the big square body works well with a shooting board.

Now that you made plane #1 I'm sure your thinking about plane #2.

Rick Doby