Blacksmith or supplier/makers of plane irons

[woodpig]

Heat treating/tempering can be DIY

You have a furnace capable of 1200 degrees then? And an oil quenching bath? And another furnace at about 220 degrees? And a water quenching bath?

You obviously haven't got a clue about the proper heat treating and tempering process :roll:

It is possible in a barbecue with a hair-dryer to get up to temperature and an oven can be used to temper, for small blades a MAPP torch works.



Pete

Yes, easily done in the garden with some charcoal. I used a heat gun for the blower. Ground flat stock is available in lots of sizes and you don't need to heat the whole blade. Full instructions for hardening and tempering are on the packet.

If heat treating is too daunting then just buy the steel and cut to shape then get someone else to heat treat.

 

[MIGNAL]

I used a lot of old English woodie irons on the planes that I made. You won't get a consistent 'standard' supply. They are cheap, plentiful and (usually) very good irons though. Many of them also come with a very good chipbreaker as well. I kind of liked the idea of re-using irons from discarded and unloved old woodies. Many simply get thrown in the rubbish as they go unsold on ebay. You would probably have to pay around £40 retail for a modern equivalent blade/chipbreaker combination.
One such that I made a number of years ago: