Handles and Box

  The story of the handles should be a mere bagatelle, but as with so many things in a home shop, there was a twist.

 

  It broke. Luckily the handles were going to stand too far off the door so the cut down version wasn't affected by the break.

  The finished handles were stained with  Danish Oil first and then shellac, and I'll finish with spar varnish.

  The panels are being glued one at a time into a box.  The wood panels are only approximately the same size, there will be some adjustment needed to the final piece.  Also the panels are not really flat so there has been a bit of planing and fitting to get the pieces together.

  You can see the long clamp from KREG and the gravity clamp at work holding the side on as the glue dries. 

   Once I get the four sides glued together I will fit a base inside the box and use pocket holes to attach the sides to the base board.

Three Planes

   You can see the three planes that I used to flatten the edge of the panels before glue up.  I first scored a line along the panel to give a natural line for the shoulder plane to follow.  The half inch blade in the shoulder plane cut across the grain easily giving a straight edge and good depth control.  Next I used the small plane to hog out the balance of the wood with the block plane as a smoother.

  I have begun to use my smallest planes more often recently.  Over the last couple of years I have got better at sharpening and the small planes have become much more useful.  I've found the smaller the plane the sharper the blades must be. To  take off whisker like shavings effortlessly and not tear the wood the blade must be razor sharp. All of my small planes have a single adjustment for depth of cut and alignment, set up is a bit fussy, but worth it.

  I have an old bull nose plane sitting on a shelf, it is time to give it the treatment too I think.  I'm sure it was a good tool, and with a proper blade it will be again.

cheers ianw

  

  

  

Japanes Craftsmen at work

   The YouTube video that is linked here shows Japanese craftsmen using hand planes.   
  
   The most important thing about all of these planes, and our planes too,....sharp blades and proper setup.

   The second most important thing about all these planes and our planes too, is practice.  None of the craftsmen in the video starting working in wood this morning, there are years of training and experience at work, and it is very nice to watch.

   Check out the shavings that those guys get from their planes.  They are everything Rob Cossman talks about.

   

Make Your Own Hand Plane

The college of the Red Woods provided this information on their site. www.crfinefurniture.com

1. Stock preparation. A. Resaw, join, thickness, and square the center block and cheeks. Use the plane iron as a gauge to assure 1/16" adjustment clearance on center block. B. Plane the glue joint surfaces of center block & cheeks to remove joiner marks. 2. The ramps. A. Layout cuts in the body for 45° plane iron ramp & 65° forward slope. The mouth is generally about 1", increasing to 2", forward of center, varying according to the length of the plane. The forward ramp may be curved to allow finger room to clear shavings. B. Bandsaw ramps and surface. Plane iron ramp flat & square to center block sides. Save the cutout. C. Route cap screw slot 3/ 4" wide, centered on rear ramp from the top of the plane to within 3/ 4" of the bottom 3. Putting it back together. A. Lay one cheek on the bench and clamp the rear center block to it, flush to the bottom and end. Draw a line along the ramp onto the cheek. B. Hold or clamp the sole stock to the forward center block with an edge of the sole flush with the forward ramp. C. Place the iron on the rear ramp, bevel down. D. Lay the front block and sole assembly on the cheek. Slide it toward the iron, making contact at a point where the iron is about 1/16" from protruding beyond the sole. Mark the front ramp's position on the cheek. E. Index center blocks to cheeks with dowels. 4. The plane iron assembly. A.Shape the breaker, starting with a bend of no more than 1/ 8" centered about 3/ 8" from an end. Grind a fair slope from the edge to the center of the bend. Continue shaping with a file and finally a stone, keeping in mind that the curve must not impede the flow of shavings. The edge needs to come in full contact with the iron so that shavings cannot jam between them. B. Locate for the center of the cap screw, marking at the lower end of the slot in the iron. Drill and tap for the cap screw, ideally perpendicular to the cap iron surface. C. Hone the iron. 5. The cross pin. A. Pencil a short line parallel to the bottom 11/ 4" from the bottom of a cheek in the area of the cross pin location. Locate the rear center block on index pins and place plane and cap iron assembly on the ramp. Draw a line parallel to the assembly 7/ 16" away from it. The intersection of these two lines is the cross pin center. Transfer the center points to the outside of the cheeks and drill 5/ 16" holes through the body of the plane. B. Make cross pins and allow for extras. Layout and cut several tenon shoulders on the pin stock before cutting to final length. Use the center block as a gauge to assure that the distance between the shoulders is less than the width of the center block. Round the tenons with a knife or file, checking the fit in a test hole. 6. Glue-up. A. Dry clamp the plane body. Make sure that the index dowels and cross pin do not protrude beyond the cheeks. Use clamping cauls to protect the body and distribute pressure. If needed, clamp a strip of wood to the bottom of the center blocks so that they are aligned. Have enough clamps on hand to clamp at 2" intervals with none across the opening. Check that the cross pin is free to turn, that it is parallel to the ramp, and that you can get your fingers between it and the forward block to remove shavings. Place the iron assembly in the plane to be sure that there is at least 1/ 8" clearance for a wedge. B.Glue-up body & cheeks. REMEMBER THE CROSS PIN! Place it in one of the cheeks before applying any glue. 7. The sole. A. Scrape any excess glue from the plane bottom. Use a wooden shim in place of the iron assembly, snug up the wedge and make a light pass over the joiner. Heavy jointing will quickly increase the mouth opening. B. Orient sole stock so that the "fur" of the working surface is running toward the back of the plane. C.Mark the location of mouth opening on the sole and route or cut the slot. D. Check the relationship of the sole to the iron as was done when determining the distance between the center blocks. The plane iron can now be a little closer to the surface of the sole, within about 1/ 32". E. While holding the sole in place (the iron can come out), look inside the mouth opening from above and note whether or not you can see the sole. Ideally, it would still line up with the forward ramp. If you can't see it, some of the forward ramp needs to be filed to provide clearance. If you can see the sole, make a mental note of how much of it you can see. F. Align the forward edge of the slot along the forward ramp with the relationship noted. G. Index the sole stock to the plane body with small dowels or brads. H. Draw a line along the rear ramp onto the sole. Remove the sole from the index pins. Using the cutout as a guide, chop a 45° ramp at the back of the opening. File the feathered edge blunt so that it does not tend to break off. I. Glue the sole to the body, using clamping cauls against the sole and on the top of the body. H. After glue-up, ensure that the ramp on the sole is flush with the plane iron ramp. Otherwise, a false reading will be obtained when filing the mouth opening and a bump will be raised on the sole when the iron is wedged into place. 8. The plane iron wedge. A low angle is best to securely hold the iron, yet it must be steep enough to come to a firm stop. Use the cutout for wedge stock. 9. Tuning. A. True the plane sole. The wedge should be as tight as it would be in use to truly flatten. Truing is done with a long strip of sandpaper clamped to a table saw top. With little more pressure on the paper than the weight of the plane, make a light pass. High spots, usually behind the iron, will reveal themselves as abraded areas. Continue sanding with a light touch, noting progress often, until the entire surface has been abraded. B. File the final mouth opening. As you work, angle the file so that the opening is forward of perpendicular on the inside, allowing for shaving clearance. 10. Performance Place iron assembly and wedge under the cross pin. Set the wedge with firm rap of a small (4-6 oz.) hammer. The cutting depth of the iron is most effectively controlled by tapping it downward. Sight the cutting depth from the back of the plane. Catch a reflection of light on the bevel of the iron. Tilt the plane up until you are looking directly along the sole's surface. Tap the iron to bring it just above the that apparent line. The iron is backed out by rapping on the back end of the plane. Hold the plane with the palm on the iron to keep it in the plane should the wedge loosen. Crankiness in a plane is most commonly due to a bump behind the iron. It may reveal itself in use in at least two ways. If the iron grabs at the beginning of a cut and then skips as the plane moves entirely onto the surface, check the area behind the iron with a straight edge across the planes width and along its length. Suspect a bump when it seems that either one corner of the iron or the other persists to dig in. With the frog out of the throat, your instrument can be singing. Soften the edges of the plane and use it before gradually shaping There are plenty of places out their now to buy blades, note early in the instructions, make the plane to fit a specific blade.

Ron Hock - http://www.hocktools.com/default.html

  

Hock Shoulder Plane

   If you have been playing with wood for any length of time you probably have struggled with the sand paper vs. planes/scrappers debate.  I certainly have.  In my shop are about a dozen planes, everything from tiny model makers planes to big old wooden joiner planes.  All of the planes have been used at one time or another.

  You will also find belt sanders, orbital sanders and finish sanders, all have been used at one time or another, usually more often than the planes.  I confess to being able to manage sand paper better then planes.  T
   The sharpening is always the hurtle that blocks my serious commitment to hand planes.  The time it takes and the skill required to keep the plane blades sharp means that I often turn to sand paper 'cause it  is fast and easy.  Also I am confident of the results.  I have had times when one heavy pass going the against the grain, especially on elm has done more harm than good.

   I do agree that the finish from planing and scrapping can be superior to the finish from sanding.  Finishing is an area of wood working that I will have to continue to develop over the coming seasons, right now....sand paper is good enough for my purposes. 

   If you are looking to get involved in hand planes I suggest you look at Ron Hock's web site.  He has plane kits, blades and a well reviewed book on sharpening all in one place.

   On my work shop list I should also have included my desire to make a good hand plane.  I have even bought the blade, so  like the box joint jig, it will happen.  I'll keep  you posted. 


   As a foot note, this is being posted from my hotel room in Spain.