Plane kits - anyone ever made one?

[Smudger]

I posted this in the Buying section and got no responses - I'm tempted to try one of these kits. They also offer a block plane and an adjustable square as well as a router table fence.

Has anyone got any inside knowledge - i.e. actually made one? I have found one review and it seemed positive, but I'm not sure about working to the necessary level of accuracy.

Has anyone ever madeone of these?Are they any good?

 

[mpphoto]

I purchased three of those kits recently. I haven't assembled any yet but I likely won't. The kit comes with a 1.5" Hock iron and chipbreaker for far less money than buying the iron set alone so I purchased the kits for the irons in order to make my own wooden planes. The kit looks easy enough to assemble and most of the heavy lifting has been done. They leave the shaping and customizing to the end user. The block plane has an interesting blade-holding arrangement; a cap screw goes through the bottom of the plane, through the iron and threads into the lever cap. The entire assembly is tightened/loosened from the plane bottom using a supplied allen wrench. Very clever and no wedge required to hold the iron assembly in the plane. All of the holes are pre-drilled.

I hope this helps somewhat, if you have more specific questions feel free to ask.

Michael

 

[Smudger]

Thanks, Michael. Does it look as though the accuracy needed is beyond a klutz? Might make a nice summer holiday project is what I'm thinking.

 

[mpphoto]

Actually Smudger it looks like an easy project to tackle as the parts are prefabricated. As I said, I bought the kits in order to extract the irons but I've been tempted to quickly throw one together. The brass sides are an interesting touch and all the hardware is included. Your tasks would consist of assembling the pieces, shaping the plane to suit your grip and applying a finish if you so desire. Seems like a project that could be completed in an afternoon.

Michael

 

[Smudger]

Cool. So that's a week for me, then!

 

[Steers]

Yes I have made several. I bought about 8 of the kits for the blade alone. I know Brad at melco and I purchase the kits for 18.99 a piece. Here is a completed one. They work excellent and the breaker and blade are hock so you cant go wrong. The first one will take around 2 or 3 hours to assemble with all the filing, sanding, and honing and flattening the iron. This one I slapped together in around an hour and it works good.

 

[Newbie_Neil]

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi steers

Welcome to the forum and our spamulator.

Cheers
Neil


PS Once you have a few more posts under your belt you'll be able to post images.

 

[lurker]

I like the look of that, especially at $24 (12 quid ??) anyone want to send a joint order to save on delivery?
Or would one at a time be cheaper with no import tax?

 

[Smudger]

Good idea - could we ask Steers to ask his pal at Melco if they would do a postage deal on several? There is also a chisel plane which looks interesting.

 

[Steers]

I emailed Brad about ordering 3 more for myslef and what it would cost if I got 10 . I will ask about a postage deal on a few if you are interested just let me know where I should ship them to. I asked if they had a European distrubutor but they said no. I'll let you guys know when I hear back from them.

 

[DaveL]

I like the look of the plane but the bevel kit looks nice as well.
If you can do a deal then let me know, I would only want one plane, don't want to become a collector. :roll:

 

[Smudger]

This is a shameless bumping of the topic as I wanted to know if we had got anywhere on a group purchase?