St James' Bay Tool Company infill plane kit

[gasman]

My apologies for the delays in posting. The problem is my plane is last on the list of things to be done (in SWMBO's eyes anyway) so I keep getting jobs for the house to do. Since my last post I have made these

which are beech kitchen stools copied from some we saw in Home & Garden. The tops are bits of kitchen top left over glued together then shaped
and this

which again is copied from one she saw in a local Garden Centre. It is big - 2400 long. Finish is 3 coats danish oil. It is going to be outside covered in winter
So.. back to the plane.
I carefully drilled a 1/4" hole in the lever cap - I am going to be using 2 short 1/4" steel rods with a spring between to mount the lever cap so it is removable. I also have changed the screw slightly with a groove half way through the knurling which I think looks better

Meanwhile I turned back to the damned infill and whether to use the figured, rapidly-dried beech. After Pete's helpful suggestion, I had bought David Charlesworth's Furniture-making Techniques: v. 1. and here is one of the relevant pages - it shows a much nicer looking rear handle (in my opinion) than the plans which came with this kit show - and I think I have enough beech to make it.

I got a lump of old oak (left over from the bench) and made a rough version of the rear infill. The handle will be thinner and inserted into a recess in this piece.

My beech pieces are pretty dry now - about 10% and I have this lot

I sketched out a rough estimate of what the handle will be and where

Then made yet another cup of tea and pondered whether it would all work - and then it was suppertime so finished for the weekend
More soon
Thanks for looking
Mark

 

[gasman]

Starting work on the rear infill
I finally stopped being such a wuss and cut the wood up
First was the rear handle - spent ages choosing how to cut it trying to avoid big holes and cracks

The small cracks will be filled with a mixture of CA glue and sawdust from the same piece
Then started roughly removing the edges with rasps

Using CA glue with fine sawdust to fill small cracks and stabilise the base of this handle which has a crevice in it!

Finally this morning before work started with Abranet 120G

Going to be a long slog but it is a real pleasure to do
Cheers
Mark

 

[AndyT]

Looking good - and you will end up with something bespoke which fits your hand. That's the sort of thing that makes the difference between an ordinary tool and the one you reach for first, though I suspect that the number of hours invested will always help favour the tool you made yourself!

 

[gasman]

Thanks Andy
I have been 'umming and 'arring about whether to get a Norris adjuster for it. I think they do them at that place down the road from you? Bristol Design? What do you think?
Thanks Mark

 

[Racers]

The obvious answer is a home made adjuster on the next one :wink:

Pete

 

[AndyT]

Thanks Andy
I have been 'umming and 'arring about whether to get a Norris adjuster for it. I think they do them at that place down the road from you? Bristol Design? What do you think?
Thanks Mark

They certainly have Norris type adjusters on some of their own design planes, so may well carry them as parts. (They still sell castings and other bits as kits.) I've not seen them on display but that probably means they are tucked inside a special box, so best to phone and ask.

If they don't have any, I thought I had seen them listed at Inchmartine Tool Bazaar, but I can't see them on their revised website. Maybe Ray Iles, but again, a phone call would be best.

On the other hand, and writing as the owner of zero adjustable or non-adjustable Norris planes, I don't think you need an adjuster on what will, presumably, be a dedicated smoother, used for final surfacing only. Adjust the lever cap screw to 'just snug', give the iron a gentle tap, tighten fully and test the cut - it doesn't take long.

 

[Mr_P]

+1 for No adjuster.

Not sure how well one would work now you have gone down the open handle route, they do exist but a lot rarer.

inspired-by-or-a-rip-off-t88807.html

However I also have no experience of adjusters on infills.

Great work on the handle but thought I told you, stop making it look so easy.

Well done and keep up the great work.

 

[gasman]

Thanks all 3 of you for really helpful comments. I think I am going to have it hard enough anyway without faffing around trying to fit an adjuster into this lump of fine timber. Good call.
M

 

[jimi43]

Hi Mark

Thanks for the PM to point me to your thread..I occasionally look in the HAND TOOLS forum which is the traditional resting place of these types of project (no idea why!)...and would have seen it there but hidden in PROJECTS...caught me out.

Reading through your WIP posts was like travelling back in time and little grins kept creeping onto my face..."yup..been there..did that...doesn't work...blast..do again...revisit x 100 and finally it works" were the cause of these!

Now..wood..yes..not surprisingly you will fight with that beech for a while but you seemed to have tamed it and the reason for choosing wood from that tree will always bring good memories so I am so pleased your "kiln in the kitchen" drying techniques are working...braver man than me mate! I just ask Mike at MAC!

Voids are part of the character..you are not starting the finishing yet so here's a thing I found which I wished I had much earlier. Birchwood Casey sell a Tru Oil sealer/filler and this is magic stuff...just plaster it on liberally..wait a few days and repeat. It forms a base for the final Tru Oil that turns weeks of work into days. Definitely recommended my friend!

The knurling is an art. I have played with knurling for years..getting results ranging from poor to down right horrible...and your first footings are WAY better than anything I achieved even after many attempts. The key for me was getting a really expensive knurling tool NOS on FleaBay...the ones I had been using were either second hand bootfair jobs..or eBay or cheap new ones. Treat these like files..a rubbish file is not a file. A good file is a gem to work with.

That was what turned failure into success for me..oh..and the technique improvements over years of attempting to use a bad cutter...made clean crisp and most importantly, sharp knurls a breeze!

Clean out the swarf regularly...use WD40 to lubricate (about the only use I can find for it!)...and you can't go wrong really. But your last version..especially with the radial relief is lovely...and your ACME thread is far cleaner than mine! I might redo mine one day (yeh right! :mrgreen: )

Now I have linked into your thread I shall be watching with interest...this is a grand project beautifully executed...you will be really proud of the result which will be your cherished plane to pass down the family line!

Cheers

Jimi

 

[rxh]

An adjuster isn't essential but I think it is rather nice to have. You have a lathe and have learned the arts of knurling and thread cutting with taps and dies - why not take the next step? You can make a good adjuster entirely from round and hex barstock.

 

[gasman]

I made good progress over the weekend mostly due to the reduced number of 'other things' which appear mysteriously on my 'to do list'!
I was worried about how the main body would turn out as I was going to have to laminate it from 3 pieces of the figured beech. I managed to find 3 slices which were matching having been cut from the original tree and glued them up with TB1 - now my favourite glue for this sort of thing (thanks Jimi). When this was dry I cut out the rough shape on the bandsaw

This was then matched up with the handle and it still did not look that great...

Then I started the whole process of sizing it accurately, squaring it off, shaping the curves etc etc

This took a good hour or so to get to the stage when I could start making it fit

Once it finally fitted tightly, I cut the back on the bandsaw and carefully shaped the end

Then turned it over and created the recess for the handle to fit snugly into

Tried it for size... - still needs a lot of work and the curve needs redoing but I finally thought this was going to look nice

Then re-did the curve

 

[gasman]

I glued it all up with TB1 and left it to dry on saturday night

Sunday morning early I unclamped it and then went to work on the front bun. I used a router bit to remove waste on the sides and cocked it up. Arrrggghhh. cut too much off and it was about 0.5mm too loose. So I went off and calmed down for a bit then cut a tiny sliver off the remnant which almost perfectly matched, glued that in and then, this time, pared it down by hand until it was a very tight fit - then used a rasp and 120G abranet to shape the top. I also used a 5/8" Forster bit to rout out the hole for the blade screw.

The last major thing I got accomplished this weekend was getting the lever cap
I drilled a 4mm hole in one side of the plane

Then turned both ends of a 1/4" steel rod down to 4mm on the lathe

I did not have any springs and, on saturday morning had been to Oxon Fastenings. They only sold them in a kit but I guess I will never run out of springs again!

I cut the 1/4" steel bar down to 25mm lengths

and then after lining it up and fiddling around for ages, bit the bullet and drilled the other side of the plane
Then it all fitted together and I was, for the first time, really happy with how it was going to turn out

The blade is just loosely positioned to see how it will look

C**king up the front bun was a shame - as I do not have another whole piece big enough but the repair is hard to spot and I think once polished will virtually be invisible. I will take a close-up later just realised there is not one included
Thanks again for all the support and encouragement

 

[Racers]

Looking good, nearly time for a shaving shot!

Pete

 

[jimi43]

Oh no mate..you are WAY to harsh..this is going to be stunning! Stunningly beautiful!

Not easy cutting those overstuffs is it? I never EVER want to do one to fit a casting again...not only do you have all that to cope with but the casting is not square...in every conceivable direction!

I am on tenterhooks awaiting the next episode! Bravo mate..a true inspiration to others!

Oh..and by the way..I screwed the rear thickness up and did the same and you can only just see the slither...LOL!

Below the iron see!?

Jimi

 

[gasman]

Jimi you are too kind but of course the major difference is that the metal parts of the plane were all square before I started so the variation in width of the infill along the length of the plan is 0.1mm or less according to my gauge. I do need your advice - I ordered the Birchwood grain filler you recommended and it duly arrived - amazing stuff. I finished the front bun down to 400G abranet and then just slapped it on - is that right?
Here's the front bun with the first coat on

I put another coat on last night then just rubbed it down with 0000 wire wool and then this morning put the first coat of the TruOil on - is that about right?
Also last night sharpened the blade properly - the photo does not do it justice this is a nice piece of steel

I am also wondering how people would attach the infills to the metal - epoxy glue? Screws through the sides or base? A steel rod right through both then peened and filed so it is almost invisible? All of the above? It seems there is a variety of methods - what do you guys think?
Thanks all
Mark

 

[Racers]

I used epoxy and screws in shallow countersinks with the heads filed off in my scraper plane.



Pete

 

[jimi43]

Hi Mark

I'm with Pete on the attachment....screws and epoxy...or just screws if you want to be kind to someone 100 years hence! 8)

Brass screws countersunk are a nice contrast...traditionally countersunk steel with the slot still visible...your call really...all these options work for me.

The filler sealer is the coat that you put lots of on...then you use this coat to flatten out any variations in surface flatness or contour.

Once you are happy with that I go for three coats of Tru Oil proper...per day...20 minutes between coats and then leave overnight to harden and again flatten that...

Keep doing this until you get the depth of finish you want and then you go up the grits starting with 120G Abranet...180G,240G,320G,400G,600G. Then if you want to go high polish...start with MicroMesh 1500M and go up the meshes..to 12000M.

If you then want to cut this back to silk then 000 wire wool. You get a smooth surface..deep..but without the gloss. Again..your choice.

Mine has matured nicely in use but remember..with Tru Oil you can refinish at any time in the future because it burns into itself so you can change your time or start again as many times as you wish with impunity.

Looking good so far..that wood is going to be special!

Cheers mate

Jimi

 

[gasman]

Thanks both - and Jimi do you do all your finishing before glueing it in or the other way round? Otherwise you would get TruOil etc on the metal walnut you?
The kit came with 3 x 1/4" steel rods and I have only used 1 of them to keep the cap iron in place - so I wonder if they mean for me to use those to drill through, countersink the outside slightly and then be peened and filed? I rather like the idea of not being able to see slots but I do like the idea of brass. Decisions, decisions.
Thanks again
Mark

 

[jimi43]

I didn't epoxy mine in rather used the original countersinks and put in new screws.

And yes Prof....I am STILL looking for decent slotted bolts for the darn lever cap...but I use this plane almost every week and so it's a user..it works and I will find the right ones some day! :mrgreen:

Jimi

 

[gasman]

that is such a nice plane Jimi
The box has just amazing colour and depth to it - remind me where you got that? I would love to get hold of some as my next project is going to be a big fat mitre plane made entirely from scratch not using any kit
M