Poll Time - Success with Planes or Chisels You've Made

[rxh]

I started by making tools for violin making. That was the start of a slippery slope. I have made quite a few planes but only one chisel and one back bent gouge.

 

[G S Haydon]

Jack plane, not finished. First attempt and needing a hit of motivation to get it done. But it won't be a great one if and when I get to it.

 

[D_W]

Jack plane, not finished. First attempt and needing a hit of motivation to get it done. But it won't be a great one if and when I get to it.

Just blast it out to see what gets messed up the rest of the way, and that'll give you notes for the next one. If it's flawed already, the pressure is off and the rest of the way is a trial run.

First double iron plane I finished, I still have. I don't exactly know what to do with it - it's cocobolo, the fingers are short and the mouth is big. The eyes are horrible, most of the work is rough inside the mortise (cocobolo wasn't a good first choice). At some point in the future, it will probably get a new wedge and a steel sole. I was so mad when I finished it that I threw it in the trash and eventually dug it out only because of the cost of the cocobolo and the desire to eventually make something out of it.

The second one turned out 5 times as good, and the third was a jointer that I still would use if there was a real reason for a 28" wooden plane that weighs 10 pounds. i'd use the second one if there as a coffin smoother as good as a stanley 4, too, I guess.

 

[D_W]

This post (and David's) seem to offer firm evidence that making your own planes is not a way for a beginner to get their initial kit of tools cheaply. It's simply too difficult.

I think that's a fair statement. For some people, it may not be true, but for most, I think it's hard to know what you want to make until you know what you like to use. And then there is some of that issue with skill to make it happen.

I posted this thread because I was curious about how many people made tools and put them aside, as I did with the first few years' worth. I put them aside mostly because I though I knew what I wanted to build, but I didn't, and then someone much more accomplished than me had to remind me that some details are very important and it's best not to deviate at all unless you know you're going to make an improvement (that's uncommon if you are copying a well designed tool).

When I was a beginner, I think I liked the idea of buying premium tools, anyway, and didn't care if fiddling around making things didn't yield much - there is some novelty in using tools that you've made, even if they don't work that well - as long as they work acceptably.

 

[David C]

Jigsaw blades make very good small chisels.

I wanted to inlay an equilateral triangle of white acrylic plastic.

The side of this triangle was about 6mm.

Not wishing to grind the edges of a good chisel to about 54-55 degrees, I used a jigsaw blade.

It worked fine and I could tap it with a hammer. No handle required!

Best wishes,
David Charlesworth

 

[MIGNAL]

I made this from a bit of thick walled brass pipe I found in the scrap bin at a plumbers merchant. Cut off a section, heated it with a gas torch and gave it a whack with a hammer, to squash it. The sole I cut up from an old brass hinge and brazed it on. I was 16. Something clearly went wrong after, maybe girls, maybe drugs, perhaps both but I've never really recovered.

 

[Woodmatt]

Why is it our brains go to our trousers at that age only to find out in later life it really was a waste of time.

 

[Corneel]

The six planes I made this winter seem to be quite succesfull. I am using them now on my new project, a cabinet made from cherry. So far I am happy. Only for very fine smoothing work I still grab a Stanley, easier to adjust to a thin shaving.

But it's early days and I still use them with rose tinted glasses.

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

I've made a lot of tools - chisels (bench and mortice), saws (dovetail, crosscut joinery, tenon), knives, marking gauges, and a wide range of plane types (plough, smoother, jack, jointer, router planes ...). Most of them are used, a few some of the time, and some a lot of the time. It is also nice to know that others are using tools I have made. Plus I have contributed to the design of tools in manufacture by companies, and many use these tools without awareness of this.

Bottom line: I could get by exclusively with tools I have built, and not resort to any manufactured tools at all.

Happy to post pics here, but they may bore the **** off most.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[Woodmatt]

Derek I for one would be interested to see some of your handy work,particularly your planes.

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

Jack - gets used all the time ...

Along with two jointers ...

Router - gets used a lot of the time ...

Infill BU Smoother - less used now (I have too many), but it is exceptional ...

Bridle Plough plane - gets used occasionally only because it is easier to set up a Veritas ..

Strike block plane (37 degree bevel down) on ramped shooting board ...

There are many more ...

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[AndyT]

Derek I for one would be interested to see some of your handy work,particularly your planes.

To save Derek's blushes, may I step in and recomend you find a few spare hours and have a read of http://www.inthewoodshop.com - and especially http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools ?

Derek's website is a wonderful source of thousands of words and pictures explaining in lots of helpful detail how he has tackled some really impressive projects over the years, and the tools he's used. It's inspirational and really useful stuff.

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

Thanks Andy (blushing).

It would be great is Kees would post pictures of the stable of planes he has recently completed. They look excellent. ... Kees?

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[Corneel]

I did allready post some pictures of the planes, but never too eager to hide my light under a bucket...

First I made two jackplanes, to get the used to the work involved.



An inside picture. made eyes too long on this one.




The front with my namestamp, also showing the rather suspect nature of the wood I used.



A tryplane I made.



And just for fun, an old wifes tooth, modelled on the Seaton chest one.



And the groupshot.



It was a lot of fun to build them. Not always easy, but the work gave me a lot of energy. Now I am back to humble cabinet making again.

 

[D_W]

Not always easy, but the work gave me a lot of energy.

I'll second that. I would rather make planes than anything else, it's nice work (no glue ups, lots of mallet and chisel work, easily doable entirely by hand...)

 

[Woodmatt]

Beautiful work both Derek and Corneel,quite an inspiration.

 

[MIGNAL]

Over the years I've made many planes, mostly centred around the larger type smoothers. I was never really satisfied with the feel of the larger coffin type smoothers, somehow they never seemed to fit my hand in a comfortable manner, awkward. The smaller type were fine, I didn't have a problem with them. I went through all sorts of designs, horn handled continentals to various designs that incorporated front handles, rear handles or sometimes both. Eventually I settled on a design that incorporated finger grips/slots and what I termed palm pads. This was the design that I eventually settled on and the one that felt the most comfortable to my particular hand. Anything from 7" to 10" and it seemed to work for me. Anything larger than that and I preferred a rear handle.
This was one that was almost at the stage where I had finally settled on the design. It has an adjustable mouth, something that I stopped incorporating a little later. I also went on to put a palm pad on the front of the plane.

 

[BearTricks]

Derek I built a router plane to your design. It's a more stripped down version, just a bolt instead of a nice brass knob, but it does the job. Thanks for the tutorial.

I have a piece of laburnum which, judging by size and shape, looks like it probably should become a coffin plane. I',m not sure whether it's a suitable wood.

 

[Bedrock]

Several planes, two Japanese style - ok-ish -one high angle David Barron take on a Krenov, not a go to, a small B/U dovetailed smoother with a Norris type adjustment - fine for high finish off blade on ugly grain, and am currently working on a steel smoother.
I have made a number of small chisels, and, since Christmas, have started carving Netsuke, so have made 6 small chisels and gouges. African blackwood handles, solid S/S ferrules and glued in sharp bits from silver steel rod. The forging and hardening turned out reasonable ok, and the best shapes are absolutely essential, but I am still working out the sizes and shapes that I still need.
I have a book out from the library at the moment - "Netsuke Carving" by Masatoshi, written before SITES and very non-PC, but absolutely fascinating. Looking at his pictures of the number and types of tools he made, this could be a very steep slope.