Planes again

[steve355]

For what it’s worth… because I actually got it working today, here’s a few pics of a #14 hollow plane I’ve tried to design in metal. It’s been the mother of all rabbit holes, with all kinds of different designs in wood, plastic, metal across the last year. But I’m getting very close, it needs a few mods to the design and it’ll be good. But it’s been unbelievably hard to do.

 

[Inspector]

Interesting approach to making a hand plane. If I understand the pictures correctly you have the ability to vary the blade angle to suit the wood being worked, at least on a flat sole plane. How is it to hold or are you going to refine that later?

Pete

 

[steve355]

Interesting approach to making a hand plane. If I understand the pictures correctly you have the ability to vary the blade angle to suit the wood being worked, at least on a flat sole plane. How is it to hold or are you going to refine that later?

Pete

I thought about that but in practice not really. A different pitch means the iron needs sharpening to a slightly different profile. Imagine a vertical iron and you’ll see what I mean.

One thing it does well is the iron beds really nicely, which was something I was concerned about.

It was more to allow tightening and loosening of a plane you don’t want to whack on a bench, and potentially to have a micro adjust advancing mechanism. It works well for tightening and loosening the blade. For a micro adjust I need to do a bit more R&D.

 

[MikeB1972]

Cool, skeleton hollow, impressive machining

Obviously losing the wedge and going with any of the, many, metal plane adjuster mechanisms would be easier, but I admire the work.
It'd be a hell of a good way to test how well different wedge angles work though.

 

[steve355]

Cool, skeleton hollow, impressive machining

Obviously losing the wedge and going with any of the, many, metal plane adjuster mechanisms would be easier, but I admire the work.
It'd be a **** of a good way to test how well different wedge angles work though.

All planes have the equivalent of a wedge, some kind of tensioning mechanism. I’ve toyed with various ideas but side escapement planes are very skinny and it’s quite a good system for skinny planes. But that’s the idea of the tensioning screw at the back - which works pretty well. Rather than bang in the wedge, it’s already “banged in” to its final position and the upper rear mortise is screwed into place @55 degrees position to tension it. My amazing soon to be patented system

Eventually the wedge can be in brass (pretty) or Aluminium (light), and engineered into the plane, instead of as it is, which obviously keeps falling out.

 

[MikeB1972]

Eventually the wedge can be in brass (pretty) or Aluminium (light), and engineered into the plane, instead of as it is, which obviously keeps falling out.

I mean replace the wedge with something like a locking screw and screw depth adjuster.

Spokeshave one here, but same general idea for any of them (record 44 etc). For micro adjust the first thing that comes to mind is the ones used on marking gauges or vernier calipers.

Obviously most of them need a modified iron for the depth adjuster, you could clamp the sides instead but grooving the iron seem simplest.

 

[steve355]

I mean replace the wedge with something like a locking screw and screw depth adjuster.

Spokeshave one here, but same general idea for any of them (record 44 etc). For micro adjust the first thing that comes to mind is the ones used on marking gauges or vernier calipers.
View attachment 191171
Obviously most of them need a modified iron for the depth adjuster, you could clamp the sides instead but grooving the iron seem simplest.

Yes, exactly. Mine already does that, effectively. The locking screw is the adjuster screw at the top of the mortise. The cap iron screw (fulcrum) is the barrel in the middle of the mortise at the front of the wedge. What I need to do is swap the wooden wedge for a metal one which is engineered into the plane, and it fulfills the role of the cap iron in the diagram. Simples- ish.

The thing it doesn’t do is retract. At the moment, it has a tapered iron and tap adjustment like a traditional moulding plane. One way adjustment - annoying. So I need to work out how to design a blade depth adjustment knob into the structure, and obviously swap the tapered iron for a flat one. Not easy but doable with a little thought.

Useful diagram - thanks. It’s helped me think it through a bit.

 

[MikeB1972]

You could tap one in on the sole.

high tech engineering diagram here, obviously micro adjust only with a tapered iron, but could work with a flat one.
Of course a wedge works best with a tapered iron, so swings and roundabouts.