St James' Bay Tool Company infill plane kit

[gasman]

Sorry about slow progress - more jobs from my wife getting in the way of my favourite hobby!
I carefully drilled the other holes in the sides of the plane going through the infill and this time made a much better job of enlarging the hole in the infill to accommodate the brass tube.

Instead of just using increasing size drill bits like I did last time, I used my tapered reamer to enlarge the holes in either side of the infill a fraction larger than the final size then used drills / hand reamers to enlarge these holes gradually. That way the enlargement remained concentric and I ended up with the rods fitting exactly.

So all that is left is to rivet the holes - without touching the sides at all. Thanks rxh for your ideas on using the mill then a scraper - seems like a really smart solution I will try!

 

[gasman]

one more question rxh... when you use a scraper made from a file in this respect, are you pushing or pulling to cut away the metal? And do you turn a burr on the scraper like for a card scraper? Thanks

 

[rxh]

The scraping edge should be a sharp corner without a burr. After grinding you can use a sharpening stone to produce a better finish and remove the burr.

To use the scraper, apply it horizontally with the tip in the place you want to scrape. Assuming you are right handed, hold the handle with the right hand and press down with the left near the cutting edge. Then raise the handle slightly whilst pushing forward until you feel the edge start to bite. Now you should be able to continue pushing and remove nice little curly shavings. The action is rather like paring wood with a chisel but needs rather more force. The pictures below should help make this clear.

BTW, scraping is also good for flattening plane soles, used together with a flat surface and some engineer's blue.

 

[gasman]

Great photos so helpful shows me exactly what I need to know thanks so much
Cheers
Mark

 

[CHJ]

On the subject of Knurling, it pays to take note of the diameter of the Knurling wheels, or at least the pattern/texture spacing in relation to the diameter of the piece being knurled.
The better the match of the circumferences, either the same or divisions/multiples the better the pattern generated.

If you only have limited forming wheel sizes then sometimes a few thou. increase or decrease in diameter of a piece will give a much better result and end up with the required diameter anyway due to correct sharp forming.

 

[gasman]

HELP...
I glued the infills into the body today with epoxy and a bit of sawdust mixed in - which was all fine. Then I thought i would see what it was like to rivet one of the holes. So I taped up both sides with 3 layers insulating tape and then I tapped one end of one of the 1/4" rods to create a bit of a mushroom so it would not go through from that side.... then turned it over, and started in earnest bashing the other end but I could not get it to 'bite' and all that happened is that the rod gradually shifted back the other way. So, I have at the moment got both ends of that rod mushroomed a bit but there is 'play' and I cannot see how to get it 'tight' both ends. I have stopped as it is time I stopped stressing out and had a large glass of something medicinal. Help anyone who has done this before. How do you do the riveting? Pete? rxh? Jimi? anyone. Thanks a lot Mark

 

[AndyT]

You have to have something solid on the far end. Ideally an anvil but if you don't have one, the head of a large hammer (club, sledge) would do.

 

[gasman]

Thanks Andy - I have been doing it with a steel plate on the other side but it is still slipping. I wonder if the bars are too long - there is about 2 or 3mm each side??
Thanks Mark

 

[Racers]

Sounds like the rod is too long you need just enough to peen it over and fill the taper and a bit more, I did the same with a couple of my brass rivets and they started to chip as I was trying to peen them, I think I got away with it but I will find out when I lap the sides.

Did you anneal the bars before you started? it will make it easer to do.
I peen over one end before putting them in so you only need to do one side well and a little on the already mushroomed side.
Have a look with a loupe around the hole to see if it is filled or needs more bashing.
Lots of little light blows are best.

Pete

p.s. told you to use screws :wink:

p.p.s I left about 2mm on the cut side of a 4mm bar

 

[AndyT]

2-3mm sounds about right to me but I don't know of a proper formula for how much spare metal to leave. This post shows a bit of riveting where I guessed and it was ok which was probably about 2 mm
https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/post886344.html#p886344
But it must also depend on how much countersink you need to fill with steel.

 

[rxh]

Fear not, Mark.
Take a ball pein hammer and strike a few blows from one side then flip the plane and do the same from the other side. Repeat until the peined ends fill the tapered holes and spread out over the sides. Aim to strike centrally and hit progressively harder if needed. You need to hit against an anvil or a good chunk of metal supported securely. If you are worried about dinging the side get a piece of soft metal sheet with a suitable size hole and hold it in place whilst you hammer.

 

[rxh]

Here is a photo of peining. If your rods are mild steel they should spread out nicely if hammered this way.

I should have said that if you want a screening sheet of soft metal around the rivet you will need a helper to hold it there

 

[CHJ]

.....if you want a screening sheet of soft metal around the rivet you will need a helper to hold it there

Or some double sided tape. A suitable little oversized washer dropped over the rod end can help prevent localised bruising.

 

[xy mosian]

I knew I had been taught a formula for the 'clinching' allowance sometime in the past.
from:- http://collections.infocollections.org/ ... 2ce/5.html

"- Countersunk closing heads in general:

Z = 0.5 x D

Where Z is the clinching allowance and D the rivet diameter"

This probably does not give a 'lapping to pretty finish' allowance.

Hope this helps.
xy

 

[gasman]

Thanks xy rxh and CHJ yes that was very helpful
I had a fruitful weekend after all the worrying last week
I taped up both sides with 3 layers of insulating tape

Then got suitable punches and a larger hammer than I had been using last week which made all the difference. The square metal plate is what I used to do the peining on - 1/2" steel plate

I used a mill to come down close as I could

Also prepared a file as a scraper as rxh suggested to remove the peined rivet heads

Then a little disaster as I realised that whacking the plane with the hammer had shifted a couple of the dovetails and left 'depressions' in the sides where the metal had deformed.

I was so depressed that I had ruined the whole thing. However after a nights sleep and a cup of coffee I realised it wasn't so bad. I very carefully peined the dovetails once again just a little bit to get them to close up again and then I felt I had no option other than to complete the 3 rivets, and then start again with grinding the sides down. I cheated and used a 4" belt sander starting at 60 grit and working through to 320. It has all worked out fine - there a couple of tiny defects one on each side which I will try and get a better photo of but it is pretty small beer. 4 out of 6 rivets are all but invisible and the other 2 you have to try quite hard to see

Of course that meant that I had sanded off the sides of the infills front and rear too - so I had to start again going through all the grits again with those, and it was difficult not to sand right up to the line but this seemed a small price to pay for having finished the rivets

And I then used Truoil as before to get a good finish - it seemed to go a lot quicker this time to get a good surface

Needs a couple more coats this week then wait for the lever cap to come back from Ian Houghton and it will be finished. Thanks so much to all of you for your invaluable advice. Although I have learnt/worked out some steps and solutions along the way myself, many of them I could not have done without posting this work and getting all you experts out there to comment constructively and give advice so my heartfelt thanks to you all.

 

[liamscanlan]

It looks fabulous! =D> =D> =D>
This gives me heart to try mine now... but it sets the bar very high! (It gives me encouragement and trepidation in equal measure!)
Liam

 

[Racers]

It is a frightening thing to take a hammer to something you have spent hours on!

It has turned out nice, can't wait for the shaving shots!

Pete

 

[gasman]

Just an update on the lever cap... Ian Houghton and I have agreed on the final design for the stamp and he is going to engrave it next weekend so I should get the lever cap back in a couple of weeks then it will all be finished and I can post some shavings!
Cheers Mark

 

[Bedrock]

Mark
Sorry to come to this thread somewhat late, but congratulations on the quality of your work.
In regard to the lever cap screw, I have always found that hand turning brass is quicker and more enjoyable than a form tool which may be ok for a production run, but obviously, always produces the same shape.
I use an old file with the grooves honed off, and a steep bevel to the u/s, or an old chisel, used on it's back, again with a steep bevel to the u/s. The tool is presented to the workpiece with a negative rake, and provided that is maintained, there is no risk of digging in.
You will find that by raising or lowering the cutting edge, you will find the "sweet spot" where the brass comes away in small flakes.
I have found that, provided you keep the edge honed, it leaves a better finish than a form tool, and you can play to your heart's content with making different shapes.

The info on knurling, particularly the tip on using WD40, is very useful. I prefer a fine straight knurl, rather than the heavier diamond pattern, which means that you can run the knurl up and back on the lead screw, always starting and finishing at the same place.

Look forward to seeing your finished plane, and how it performs.

Mike

 

[gasman]

I have been quiet for a couple of weeks but Ian Houghton from Chalco has sent the Lever cap back to me engraved with my 'signature' - I am at work and got my wife to open the package and send me a photo - OMG I am so happy with it - it looks absolutely beautiful so I have asked him to go ahead and make me the stamp in the same design
Thanks again Jimi for all your help with the design. I can finish the plane now when I get home and hopefully post the first shaving. Exciting!

Cheers
Mark