Can you identify my plane? (finished - now with shavings)

[Mikey R]

You're not tempted to come to Harrogate in November then...

Seeing a Holtey plane at Harrogate would interest me too!

Mikey - would be nice to fit a Norris adjuster but I imagine it's beyond my skills and patience to do so. Might be tempted to take the dremel to the rough bits of casting though

You could get an adjuster from here:

http://www.classicplanes.com/spares.htm#2

Looks like a fairly easy retrofit before the tote is fitted to the plane, you would just need to route out the correctly shaped channel. Could probably do that with a router and MDF template.

 

[Ironballs]

Finished the bun and made it a little deeper and higher than the original, also filed away some of the rough casting to make fitting easier. Lots of going backwards and forwards between the sanding machine and the plane to fine tune the fit.

Once done gave them a fine sanding and oiled and waxed, nice use of a spare piece of english walnut I had lying around and I really enjoyed making the handles. Makes a change from the usual stuff I do.

Plane is a bit of a fiddle to set right and I do need to do some more blade sharpening, but it's already proved it can take some nice fine shavings.

 

[DaveL]

but it's already proved it can take some nice fine shavings.

Come on, where are the pictures, it looks ready to go in the display case. :roll:

Nice job on the new woodwork, I hope it becomes a well used tool in your care. 8)

 

[Aled Dafis]

Nice refurb. I particularly like the tote, it looks to have a nice silky smooth finish, what did you use? You've just given this plane at least another century to its lifetime.

I'll be doing something similar in the next few weeks on my current smoothing plane project, can't wait.

Cheers

Aled

 

[Ironballs]

Thanks chaps, I promise to get a shaving pic in (sure I can insert some from another plane...). The bun was sanded through the grits down to 320 and then given 3 coats of danish oil over a few days, denibbed with 0000 and then given 2 goes with Black Bison wax.

Trouble is I now have the urge to go and rasp/shape things

 

[head clansman]

Hi iron balls


your plane looks really nice now it's finished, it's been given a complete new lease of life which will outlast your lifetime , no doubt when you get use to setting it to how you like it it will be the first plane you reach for and most likely become your favourite in time, just a small point not sure about the brass wood screws though they look like a replacment part is there nothing about say with a machined head to it to make it look a bit more authentic :?: .hc

 

[DaveL]

Trouble is I now have the urge to go and rasp/shape things

Its very satisfying, I spent an evening making curved fire wood when I got my rasps. :twisted:

 

[Ironballs]

I know what you mean Dave!

HC I agree that the brass screws do stand out a little, the ones that were in were horrible shiny steel modern items. Could either try aging the brass or find some older looking steel screws.

Anyway two final tasks remained, I had to fully sharpen the blade and give the sole a mild flattening

Then it was time to set the blade and plane some wood before I put it back in the collectors cab... I mean tool box. Still finding it difficult to set for a fine shaving, but getting there, mind you even with a thicker cut it leaves a glassy finish on oak. Got a piece of maple with a slight ripple figure to it which is always a test for a plane, not a problem, straight through with a lovely finish

 

[AndyT]

Ironballs,

Now that you've turned that somewhat unpromising no-name plane into something that not only looks superb but works superbly as well, can I lure you into saying what you paid for it?

I'm only asking because I'm jealous!

Andy

 

[woodbloke]

Damian - I'd try and shim the frog bed with a bit of veneer (stuck on with double sided tape) to make that mouth a bit smaller - Rob

 

[Karl]

Nice work Damian.

What timber did you use for the handles? I've got a panel plane which needs new handles, and want to get it sorted soon, but I haven't found any suitable timber yet.

Cheers

Karl

 

[Ironballs]

I'll give that a try Rob.

Andy it cost me 60 quid, so not too bad, the blade alone is worth it.

Karl I have some pieces of English Walnut that I picked up a few months ago, range in length from about 3 to 6 feet and are about 3 inches thick, there's a lot of worm to work around and one piece is full of cracks.

However, managed to get a good couple of boards out of one piece and this is from that board. Will see what I've got left over from that one and put a pic up if you're interested

 

[bugbear]

Plane is a bit of a fiddle to set right and I do need to do some more blade sharpening, but it's already proved it can take some nice fine shavings.

I see from the delightful shaving in another post that the plane works really well; but unless my brain is going soft, the blade is bedded (at a guess) on the iron ramps of the casting, and near the blade top on the handle. Since I can see the cap-iron bold head, I'm assuming the blade doesn't bed for its whole length. It's interesting (IMHO) that the plane gives good performance, given the emphasis often placed on bedding quality (e.g. bedrocks).

I note (however) that in a 1930 issue of "Woodworker" a cure for a too-tight mouth in a new wooden plane was to insert a shim of veneer or leather at the top of the bedding (slope), thus increasing the pitch a little, and pivoting the blade around the arris of the bevel, opening the mouth up a little.

This also (of course) mean the blade was only touching on the shim, and it's arris...

I have certainly noted that the wedge in a woodie MUST be tight down the bottom; an exact fit further up (within reason) seem far less important.

BTW, who's the (nice thick) blade by? - I can see in the photos it has a nice clear mark, but I can't quite read it.

BugBear

 

[Ironballs]

BB the blade is a W Marples & Co Warranted cast steel Hibernia Sheffield.

In situ the blade doesn't touch the handle at all and rests only on the metal body of the plane. It seems to get its rigidity by forcing the cap iron hard down onto the lower end of the blade as you tighten the bolt and of course the tightening of the bolt keeps everything well clamped at the top end. But overall less than half of the blade is in contact with the body or being clamped and I imagine you could get a more rigid blade by increasing the clamping area

 

[Karl]

BB the blade is a W Marples & Co Warranted cast steel Hibernia Sheffield.

I've got the same blade in my panel plane.

I'd be interested in the Walnut if you think there's enough to get another tote and knob out of it.

Cheers

Karl

 

[Ironballs]

Karl

Fetched the walnut out of the garage, it's the other half of the piece I used and the varying thickness is testament to my less than solidly clamped fence

The dimensions are 520x115x34-42mm, there are a couple of worm holes around the edges and there's a crack in one end, but should be enough for some handles. See what you think of the pics.

If you want it then it's yours, consider it a small favour banked :wink:

Cheers

Damian

 

[bugbear]

BB the blade is a W Marples & Co Warranted cast steel Hibernia Sheffield.

Hmm. Not my favourite steel - I prefer Ward & Payne or I Sorby.

Easily replaced, (should you choose), since I note that your blade is tapered, so that any normal (and common) woody could become a donor.

In situ the blade doesn't touch the handle at all and rests only on the metal body of the plane. It seems to get its rigidity by forcing the cap iron hard down onto the lower end of the blade as you tighten the bolt and of course the tightening of the bolt keeps everything well clamped at the top end. But overall less than half of the blade is in contact with the body or being clamped and I imagine you could get a more rigid blade by increasing the clamping area

That's MOST interesting; I think you've accidentally done an important experiment. I have seen endless claims that (part) of the high performance of infill planes comes from the damping of the wooden bedding.

But your plane has no (effective) wooden bedding!

BugBear

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

I have seen endless claims that (part) of the high performance of infill planes comes from the damping of the wooden bedding.

Hi BB

Of course, Mr Holtey states quite categorically that the infill is most unreliable. He lets steel or brass pillars or rods into the infill (connected to the base of the plane) and has the blade bed on these, not the wood. Further, he designed the #98 and #98-2 specifically not to use infill.

It strikes me that, with the thick blades now available, even beds can be shorter and really only need to offer support at their extremes as the blades offer extra rigidity over their lengths.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[bugbear]

Hi BB

Of course, Mr Holtey states quite categorically that the infill is most unreliable. He lets steel or brass pillars or rods into the infill (connected to the base of the plane) and has the blade bed on these, not the wood. Further, he designed the #98 and #98-2 specifically not to use infill.

I knew Karl held that view, and as lone voices go, he carries a HELL of a lot of weight. But AFAIK he is a lone voice in this regard.

It strikes me that, with the thick blades now available, even beds can be shorter and really only need to offer support at their extremes as the blades offer extra rigidity over their lengths.

I think so - and (of course) the present plane supports the notion.

Here's a related data point (from 1999)

http://swingleydev.com/archive/get.php? ... =1#message

BugBear