Box Mitre

[Richard T]

As hinted at in another thread, I started a box mitre plane over the hols.

I have been thinking through the process of making these planes since before I started on bevel down types (largely thanks to Bill C) and it is quite a scary prospect. Only now, after I have cut a lot of steel dovetails, do the ideas of 'prototype' and 'doesn't matter if the first one goes wrong' have a reasonable air of comfort.

So I made a start before Christmas. 5mm sole, 3mm sides and end piece and a bridge from a bit of scrap that I didn't measure the thickness of.



I took these bits along to the David Stanley auction earlier this month to show to people and to ask Bill Carter what the bridge angle should be. I had guessed that it may be as little as 10 degrees greater than the angle of the iron ... he said more like 6 or 7. So I put it in at 7.
Then I let the end plate in at either side with dovetails.



After it was all cut, marked and stamped there was no excuse for putting off the scary part any longer. So I cut a form out of Oak, shaped it with a flat end and set about doing it.





So far so good but it won't go any further because of the jaws of the vice so I have to take it out and bend it with the vice. The form gone, it made a perfectly round back. Some irony - there is no way it could have become so round if I had not started to bend it with a flat in the middle.

Added the bridge



and the front plate



All in all it was not as difficult as I had feared. Mind you it bit me.



the next bit to look forward to.





marking the ends of the pins against the sole and cutting the dovetails to those marks. It's not just making a dovetailed plane, it's making one upside down.

 

[Kalimna]

What a fantastic project to get your teeth stuck into. I can't imagine the precision needed to get that bend right. Will this have an infill? If so, what do you plan on using?

Cheers,
Adam

 

[Richard T]

Thanks Adam. I have only ever used Walnut for infills before but I don't think that Walnut will be up to the stresses of wedge duties. I do have some other stuff squirreled away though, so maybe Yew - maybe Lilac.

 

[Racers]

Hi Richard

Well that looked fairly painless, can't wait for the next instalment!

Pete

 

[Pekka Huhta]

Brilliant! Getting that bend symmetrical is something I would hate even to think doing myself. It would be pretty nifty having a skew-ish mouth as the dovetails would be 3 mm off on the other side of the plane... ](*,)

Great work.

Pekka

 

[jimi43]

Oh dear Richard! You picked my favourite style of plane there mate. I want an original and I think I am up for a Spiers at the next Stanley auction but this looks fantastic!!

The amount of work that I know you will be putting into this means that it deserves something really really special as an infill....I am thinking that a burr will be just the ticket for this little baby rather like Bill Carter's latest one.

I still feel that box is one of the nicest woods for these planes...especially if it is aged in such a way as to give it some vintage look as Bill is also the past master at.

Whatever you choose...I think this is going to be a cracker!!!

=D> =D> =D>

Jim

 

[ac445ab]

The difficulties increase but I'm sure this will be another master piece.
Ciao
Giuliano

 

[tobytools]

Very nice Richard, it's came a long way since I last saw it
Looking forwards to the next bit
TT

 

[Harbo]

Nice work - I got a bit concerned at the very wide mouth but realised your Worktop colour was being reflected onto the angle!

Rod

 

[MMUK]

Lovely More pics please

 

[Richard T]

I've been in the forge for a few days - the fire is so much nicer than the one in the shed ..... I haven't got one. But before it got so cold I did manage to 'do up' the upper body.

Dovetailing both sides: something I've not done before. 'citin'. Also something I didn't think about was supporting it to pein the end pins ....



.. a bit of wood to protect the back seemed good enough.

Tried out my new stamps on the bridge (before it was in of course.)



Beginning the disappearing act on the bridge tenons



and on the front





I did a bit more work on the joints before my camera battery ran out again but there will be lots more filing down the sides when the sole is on and when the pins go through so a nice finish can wait.

 

[Richard T]

Been busy with cutting out the dovetails in the sole.



Quite a bit more difficult to make fit with a two piece sole; some creative peining to be done.





The question of what to infill it with .... see that tatty old log getting a ride on The Thing in the Garage?



That's Yew that is.



And it has a lot of sap wood. :?



I squared up both sides then ripped it straight down the middle.





I took one slim piece off one side to make a very posh axe handle amongst other things



and set about cutting infill bits off the other half.

More later.

 

[MMUK]

Looks good but wouldn't the sole DTs not have been better the other way round? To prevent the body pulling off?

 

[rileytoolworks]

This is going to be SPECIAL.
I can't wait to see more.

Adam.

 

[Richard T]

Thanks Adam

Mr. MMUK .... I think the other way around might have been too difficult. :shock: :wink:

The infill to support the iron .... I had to think hard as to the order I cut this.



I cut it about 3/32 oversize each side and marked what needed to be cut off the height before marking the curve and then getting it nearly to width. Simply, I wanted to get it as near as I could before cutting the angle after which it would be very difficult to hold. I started on the sides with a rasp but more drastic things were needed and I tried a skew rebate but the mad - grained Yew was too much for it so I switched to this one on the right:



Not so much a round as a slightly cambered skew rebate. If I ever need to scrub in an everso gentle, small way, this is the chap. It's really efficient and safe. Here is a side with the smooth scallops of the 'scrub' marks either side of the roughness left by the SR in the middle and the rasp on the end.



Anyway, I got it down without tearing and marked the saw cuts.



Things as far as I got tonight. Back infill ready to shape to fit and front infill blank cut out.

Of course I'm already planning the next one and I'm going for smaller and bi metal.... I'm sure no one has thought of that before. 8)

 

[jimi43]

You're very brave indeed using yew as an infill!!!

Horrible grain transitions as I found out when I did the bowsaw! But it should look a beauty!!

Love it mate...love it!

Jimi

 

[Richard T]

Hmmm some pictures missing there ....





And I tried planing up an off cut and putting some raw Linseed on it..

 

[Richard T]

Dead Right Jim - I'm taking it very slowly.

Rasp and file. New mantra. Even blunt - ground chisel has had a look in.

 

[jimi43]

Dead Right Jim - I'm taking it very slowly.

Rasp and file. New mantra. Even blunt - ground chisel has had a look in.

Did you make a flat ended jobbie ala Bill Carter?

Great tool that!

Scrapers will hold you in good stead too...and maybe the odd Liogier rasp? :mrgreen:

Jimi

 

[tobytools]

Looks great Richard, I'm envious of your skill. Keep it up
TT