Last Projects 1 .

Update Tuesday 17/6/08

Matthew Castle gave me this piece of wood, I think he said it's cats paw maple. I planed both surfaces because it had pencil lines all over with my last little plane that I made, just to show you.

Friday 13/6/08

My next plane will be another miniature mitre plane, bronze body, steel bridge and sole.

I have fitted the sole, cleaned off the excess metal with a file and coloured the body ready for the infill. I haven't decided what wood I'm going to use yet, see what tomorrow brings.

A friend of mine recently gave me this very old piece of Rosewood, I think it's Indian, I have decided to use this for the infill.

Smeered with Vasaline to show the grain.

My new Japaneese rip saw couldn't saw it, I couldn't even start the rip with it. I reverted to my beautiful Sandvik.

This piece of wood is so hard I don't think it grew, I think it must have been quarried.

To saw and plane by hand 3 small bits about 6" long, took me 3 hours.

It's now dinner time and I've only managed to loosley fit the front infill.

This shows some wood for the rest of the infill and a piece for the wedge. Offcuts in the background.

The finished plane sitting on a piece of Burr Oak. A Ward iron. I have not tried the plane yet as the glue has not set.

The finished plane working really well on Burr Oak.

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Tuesday 3/6/08

I am making a bronze mitre plane next, 3/4" longer than the last one and 1/4" higher. I'm using the same wooden template for the first 3 dovetails, then cutting another dovetail free hand. This saves me making another template. This time the bridge has a curved top, cupid bow bottom with a scarcely visible Carter stamp on it. The price for the bridge I found with Carter stamped on it outside my shed with the off cuts.

Peening the front dovetails of the plane.

The front and bridge dovetails peined.

I have been working on the sole, the tongue and groove joint for the mouth is complete and the escapement. I have cut the dovetails. Next job will be to remove the waste.

Everything cut out ready to fix.

Filing the front before the sole goes on.

This shows the dovetails peined and 2 lelt proud just for illustration. I pein this bit first, forcing the sole down to the correct position

This picture shows the side dovetails ready for peining.

All the peining finished and some waste removed.

The body complete and slightly coloured ready for the infill.

This shows the cupid bow on the bottom of the bridge.

The boxwood.

The front and rear infill are now fitted in the plane. I am starting on the wedge, this peice of boxwood is particularly hard.

While Sarah took this picture, I looked away and carried on paring with a blunt chisel, this was to prove a point that you can do this this with your eyes closed.

I use a ground off triangular file to clear the corner off, first time I've used this tool.

This plane is now complete.

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Sunday 18/5/08

These are my anvils to the right of my shed, part of the shed door shows up on the left of the picture.

I have started on another Bronze mitre plane like the last one I made, this should be a little easier as I have the template (as shown below) from the last one and everything is fresh in my mind.

I have sawn the dovetails and drilled and filed the holes for the bridge. I am always pleased to get the bridge holes finished, an awkward little job. It's too cold for me to work in the winter and today it was too hot.

A needle file in one of the holes.

This is after a full days work and I have already filed away most of the excess metal after the peening. I now allow a bit over 1/16" for the peening and I'm also filing slightly larger amounts of metal away, making the whole thing stronger. (I'm a glutton for punishment)

I have already filed for the double dovetails.

Second day. I have cut the base where the mouth is, finished the tongue and groove joint either side of the mouth and the escapement. This picture shows the underneath side of the sole.

This is just showing the other side of the mouth.

I have pinched the 2 pieces lightly in the vice and it shows me using a hammer tapping the front to see how tight the joint fits. Both shoulders are touching so this is fine.

I have found an offcut of Ebony just big enough for the infill. This picture shows the rear infill glued in place being forced back and down with the iron in place with a little wedge I have found. I will leave this in place over night.

This picture shows the rest of the Ebony for the front infill and wedge. Please note I have already coloured the bronze and sorted a Sheffield made Ward iron.

This plane differs very slightly from the last one I made, in as much as I have slightly rounded the top edge of the plane all the way round. The front infill will be the same, just slightly down from the top of the plane. This is what I normally do with the infill's and I think it looks slightly better.

I have already sighted through from the rear end top point of the bed, through to the mouth to make suer there is a straight line of light across the full width of the mouth. This is very important or the plane will not work.

The front infill glued in place.

Making the wedge using mostly blunt chisels and gouges. A time consuming job when you make one wedge at a time. I have got tp be careful as I've no more Ebony.

Sarah brought me a cup of tea and took a photo of me rubbing the bottom of the plane, this was to clean up as I'd got glue and sticky fingers on it.

The finished plane in record time. I think I will have a rest.

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Monday 5/5/08

This mitre plane is all bronze with a curved bridge.

This side view shows the setting out marks for the bed angel, the bridge angle, the front depth mark and the double dovetails. I also show the position of the mouth.

I managed to do the hardest bit of the sole today, the mouth is complete and the tongue and groove joint. Also I managed a few saw cuts for the dovetails.

The sole is in position, partially peened, 2 dovetails in the middle are not yet peened. I always peen the sole upside down which pulls the sole down tight onto the body.

The middle dovetails are now peened.

Now I have just used a punch on the corners of the parts peened, to make sure all the gaps on the double dovetails are now filled. (hopefully)

The filing Finished.

Using my new Japanese rip saw.

A surprise knot in the middle of nowhere, It just appeared.

I cut 3 pieces just to get the bits I wanted to plane.

These 2 planes I will be using on the boxwood.

Carter plane.

One of the methods I use for finishing the infill is the ground off chisel shown here.

You can also use a ground off gouge for the shaped parts, or even a ground off rat tailed file.

If I want razor sharpe edges to the wedge, I always make the wedge timber wider than the plane. I shape the wedge by hand and shute the edges to fit the plane. Look at the beautiful pattern on the boxwood wedge.

A picture of the completed plane before soaking in linseed.

This shows the fine mouth, can you see the dovetail's? At one point the mouth was so fine, I was only removing dust. I managed to get it working without opening the mouth up.

The plane has been soaked in linseed for 24 hours, I have slightly coloured the bronze.

The plane is finished

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Wednesday 23/4/08

Bill has found a brass back from a tenon saw that is a lovely colour.

After dovetailing the brass, Bill cramped the strip in the jaws of the vice for bending.

Using a sash cramp.

Opening up and inserting the bridge.

Cramped in the vice with the aid of 2 large washers, this gives clearance for the protuding tenons.

Slipping the front in ready for peening.

The bronze sole.

The bridge and the front infill are out of the same tenon saw.

Front and rear infill fitted. I cut the back away to form the cupid bows, also it lowers the bed angle.

I was given some old garden stakes, they turned out to be beautiful red rosewood.

The finished plane. When the glue has hardened in a couple of days, I will submerge the whole plane in raw linseed oil. It takes a long time for the linseed to harden, but boy is it worth it when you see the sheen.

The plane is finished.

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Tuesday 15/4/08

This will be the first plane after a long winter. Bill has just begun making a miniature mitre plane out of a tenon saw, similar to the one above.

Rusty old tenon saw, Bill just needs the brass.

Starting a fresh with a new wooden template. Bill sets the dovetails out on the wood with the brass cramped in front of it, then cuts the dovetails together. This way you can use the template again if you want to make the same type of plane. Next time no setting out.

This photo shows the body, front piece and bridge, ready for bending cold.

Body bent around and peened using a ball pein hammer, or you can use, as illustrated, a hardened punch with a round point, Bill often uses this tool, it was made and given to him by his good friend Karl Holtey.

The mouth filed and finished, ready for the tongue and groove to be worked.

Tongue and groove cut and finished.

First time Bill has got it this tight.

Bill puts a sash cramp in his vice, then he cramps the sole of the plane in the sash cramp, placing the body on the sole and mark round the dovetails, using the scribe.