Not an Infill

[Richard T]

I've been a bit quiet on the plane making posts lately as I was determined to have one finished before I showed it to anyone ..... well it's nearly finished.

I thought I would have a go at Dave D's idea of putting the shell together with pins rather that dovetails. This means a very thick sole - thick enough to take the size of pin you decide on. I chose a 6mm pin which seems to suit a 10mm sole. Beefy darn thing.
I'll skip the hours of shaping, marking, clamping and drilling. Here it is being held together by SS bolts while I put the mild steel pins in.



Putting in the next pin - thread cut on the end of a long piece of 6mm wire and held in the vice, screwing the plane on to it.



And cutting off the pin with enough steel to rivet.



I had put a centre punch mark in the counter sink rim to lock the head of the rivet.

Ready to rivet.



I finally received my 1/2", 14 tpi, square tap and die. It was very expensive and I have waited a long time for it.



But they do a fantastic job.



Bit of a jump to the plane as it is now. Still some work to do on the front knob and the iron to harden..... and lapping and putting the last bolt into the handle .....snecking .... I'm sure I will think of more to do...

 

[Racers]

Very nice!

Do the pins go all the way through?

I was pondering making one using a similar method but taping the sole.

Pete

 

[Richard T]

No Pete, the pins go in about 8mm. Sorry I don't have any WIP pics of that bit.

The countersinking is perhaps a bit of overkill and would do just as well if reamed but it is what I have become used to.

 

[AndyT]

Wow, that's a lot of work between one picture and the next - Bravo!

It would be nice to see some photos of it held in your hands, to get a better idea of how big it is and how it might work. In the pictures, the front knob looks rather tall - but I expect that is by design, so it clears the tallish sides enough to be gripped - is that right?

 

[Richard T]

The knob is still very much experimental Andy - the first one was even taller ... I've only just worked out how to best use the Myford s7 for turning wood - very interesting tool rest. So I will keep going 'til I have something I am happy with. It's very hard for me to judge for some reason. the one I made for the prototype was carved and I got just what I wanted. Probably something to do with not looking at it sideways.



Prototype and Mk1 side by side.

I had hoped I had ironed out all the mistakes with the first one - like brass does not rivet, so have to turn the screws from grip - size bar etc.

I will try to get some photos showing size ... I thinkit is 8" long. 'Smoother' length anyhow. Iron is 2" wide,1/4" thick and 7 - 1/2" long.

 

[rileytoolworks]

Wow. Excellent.
I can't wait to see more.

Adam.

 

[RossJarvis]

Lovely bit of work. It's great seeing the quality of tools people are making, that looks a top job

 

[Jinx]

Very skilful

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Nice. How thick is that iron ? It looks rather solid !

 

[Richard T]

Thanks for the kind words folks.

It is a 1/4" thick iron Tony. Not hardened yet - I need to find some peanut oil.

I had a go at yet another knob yesterday and am more happy with this one: Knob the third:





It needs a bit more shaping and sanding but this is a very good starting point. Feels good.

 

[xy mosian]

Crikey that looks like good work! How would you compare the ease of making a dovetailed joint against a 'pinned' joint, or t'other way around. My guess would be in favour of the pinned version, Would you agree?
xy

 

[rxh]

Excellent - a new way of making planes (at least it's the first time I've seen it). Very nicely done!
I think a No.7 size plane done this way would be rather heavy...
Obviously the frog is very firmly fixed but I suppose the blade could be moved forward using metal shims if needed.
How is the rear handle attached?
I'm glad to see that the square thread tap and die work OK. I read somewhere that they are tricky to use but maybe that applies to use on steel rather than brass

 

[ac445ab]

I like very very much, Richard. This plane has a special look!
I look forward too know the blade hardening process.

Complimenti!
Ciao
Giuliano

 

[Richard T]

xy - good point. I would have thought that drilling would be quicker than sawing, chiseling, and filing dovetails but I don't think it is. For a start, there would be eight dovetails per side on a plane this length compared to eleven holes per side in one of these. The sides are drilled with pilot holes first then they have to be marked with just as much precision, the sole and frog pieces clamped just so for marking with the pilot drill before being drilled to the right size. Then all the holes in the three inner pieces are tapped blind.
With the same amount of cutting out and shaping in the first place, I think it takes just as long.

There are a few advantages though. When you 'do up' the dovetails on a dovetailed plane there is a point to stop hammering that is when all the gaps are closed up and before the moved metal starts pushing the sides inwards. As you can't see exactly when the gaps are filled until you file away the metal you are using to fill them, it is inevitable that you will er on the 'safe' side and start to tilt the sides inwards.
With this plane it will stay square no matter how far you go with peining. The worst that could happen would be to rip the thread of the pins ... I haven't managed that yet.
Also the sole is thick enough to drill and tap from the top to fix in handle and knob fixings so it does not have to be infilled and is exempt from all the problems associated with that. Just a free - standing handle and knob.

Of course the thickness of the sole means that this plane is far from versatile. It has only one use - that of a dedicated smoother. You can't put a camber on it and whiz it about.

rxh - Ron Brese makes one that is 13 - 1/2" long ... a panel I guess but I don't think I will. I think I will stick to infills for longer planes.

The handle is morticed underneath that has a 45 degree angle at the back. A steel tenon is screwed to the sole, also angled at the back. The mortice is long enough for the handle to be pushed on from above the slid forward until the angles engage. When they do, the front of the handle is flush with the back of the frog plate and two 6mm bolts are through the frog plate into it. You would ask wouldn't you ? I'll try to get some pictures of that.

The tap and die are a joy to use (on brass anyway) but were a pig to make. I ordered them in June and these are the second attempt. I have been informed that he will not make me any more square threads and if I ever need any more I can have acme. Lends an extra uniqueness to them I 'spose.

Thanks Giuliano - I am looking everywhere for enough peanut oil for quenching. I heard that was good for 01 steel.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Thanks Giuliano - I am looking everywhere for enough peanut oil for quenching. I heard that was good for 01 steel.

I was interested by the mention of peanut oil, tell me more ! I know that some favour cooking oil; but why specifically peanut intrigues me. You presumably need quite a big pot of it, as you want to lower the iron in vertically. I guess a lower viscosity oil speeds convection cooling, and it is nice if it doesn't make noxious fumes. But having said that I hardened a couple of O1 plane cutters in castrol GTX the other day, and it seemed to do the job !

 

[Racers]

Hi Richard

I use old engine oil, its mostly fully synthetic from my motor bike, it seems to work o/k.

Pete

 

[Richard T]

Tony - it's mainly to do with not fumigating the neighbours so much but I did read recently (can't remember where) that it was good for quenching.

I have quenched smaller blades in motor oil in the past and found the smoke and stink to be awful. I suppose I'd just rather make a smell like a restaurant accident than a car crash.

I have bought ten blanks of 01 so the first will be an experiment. If I find I can't soak the relevant area properly with the forge I might look at getting them hardened by a firm that the chaps who made the tap and die use.

 

[xy mosian]

Richard, thank you for that very detailed description of both procedures. I have done a little 'blind hole' tapping and can appreciate any careful nervousness. Keep up the extremely good work please!
As for peanut oil, if a different nut would do walnut oil seems to be available.
xy

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Groundnut oil is the same stuff, and is one of the cheaper cooking oils in the supermarkets. £4 per litre at T***o. Even their produce is probably ok for this use !

 

[Richard T]

Thanks Tony - but they've not got it in our Tenko's apparently. Rang them today. I will try Rapeseed I expect.

The knob has cleaned up alright:



Here is a picture of it being modeled Andy:



Sorry about the doublet and hose.

Something I forgot to mention before is that the grain of the wood in the handle runs straight along the horn and then changes direction to run down the handle.



I thought that this might only be possible with wood from a crotch section but I found a magical plank a MacTimbers
the time before last. I hope to get 5 or 6 out of it.

Also, the way the sides and sole merge. I decide to merge both so that the edge of the sole gets angled out and the ends of the sides get angled in.



If only I could focus the @&$*** camera on it ....