Wooden Planes Question

[Digit]

Over the years I have made a number of wooden planes, and after much swearing learned to adjust them, but why do some planes have a striker button and others do not, and why never on the heel, which is where I, at least, strike the plane to pull the iron back?

Roy.

 

[Philly]

Roy
Some wooden planes have handles which means no heavy bashing on the rear, so a strike button makes a lot of sense. I have seen some planes with rear strike buttons (most user-made).
As for adjusting, I prefer to have the wedge finger tight while setting the depth of cut. That way you can gently tap the rear to withdraw the iron without damage.
Hope this makes sense,
Philly

 

[Digit]

It does indeed Philly. My main concern is that it goes very much against the grain to hit wooden planes with a gert big hommer!
I've made a number of planes, including one with a Norris type adjuster, a lot of work and it will be a one off.
Nothing seems to hold an iron anywhere near as well as the old fashion wooden wedge, but I have tended to find that after honing, for example, the iron is frequently set too coarse, so the strike on the heel is next step, and like I said, I don't like hitting without a striker.
So strikers to follow!

Roy.

 

[Philly]

Roy
A wooden mallet is the way, not a thumping great hammer! And definitely not metal!
I make the heads of mine from black walnut - a timber with great shock resistance but that will dent instead of your plane. After all - you can always always make another mallet head.
If the wedge is well fitting then you shouldn't need to beat the living daylights out of the plane to adjust it - a couple of light taps should suffice. I made a little video here...
Hope this helps
Philly

 

[Digit]

It does indeed, one small mallet is now on the list.

Roy.

 

[Joe]

I know very little about this subject, but having just bought an HNT Gordon 1" shoulder plane (ahem) I did a little research recently and came across the following quote on their web site:

"A strike button limits the place you can tap the plane to adjust the blade. A person with expertise in adjusting these types of plane will strike the plane in different places to move the blade precisely where they want it. E.g. striking the plane at the left side of the heel will only reduce the depth of cut on the left side of the plane. This could not be achieved if the plane had a strike button in the centre of the heel. "

Joel

 

[woodbloke]

I've had wooden planes for years and all I use to adjust them is a small nylon headed hammer that doesn't damage the timber. Philly is right in that you don't need a big traditional carpenters hammer to adjust them, a small wooden mallet is ideal. It's a shame but so often you can find a decent woodie somewhere that's had the living daylights beaten out of it with a steel cross-pein hammer or similar. I was told many years ago by an excellent craftsman that the striker button was not needed if the plane was adjusted with the right tool and as a consequence if I find and use a woodie with one I simply plane it off - Rob

 

[Digit]

That's what I joined for, to learn, many thanks all.

Roy.

 

[AndrewP]

Hi Philly
Thanks for the crystal clear video, so much easier to get the hang of things when
a/ it's explained clearly
b/ You see it done
Cheers
Andrew

 

[Philly]

My pleasure!
Philly

 

[Digit]

This is the plane I use on my shooting boards Philly, not as pretty as yours but it has seen a fair bit of campaigning.
As you can see the top face is somewhat thicker than the running face as I found that arrangement was easier on the hands. The big problem I find with the Bailey types is that they are not designed to run on their side and become uncomfortable to use after a few minutes.
The iron is an old laminated Sorby product that takes and holds a fine edge.

Roy.

 

[bugbear]

This is the plane I use on my shooting boards Philly, not as pretty as yours but it has seen a fair bit of campaigning.
As you can see the top face is somewhat thicker than the running face as I found that arrangement was easier on the hands. The big problem I find with the Bailey types is that they are not designed to run on their side and become uncomfortable to use after a few minutes.
The iron is an old laminated Sorby product that takes and holds a fine edge.

Roy.

I would LOVE more detail on design and manufacture of that, Digit; in particular the skewed, low angle blade, the wedge abutments (HNT inspired?) and the adjustable mouth.

That's quite the feature rich tool you have there!

I think I'd have made the running side thick as well as the top side, since this would give a large wear surface when shooting. When using a "normal" metal plane, the shooting board often wears here since the running area is so very narrow.

BugBear

 

[Digit]

I make all my bench planes with an adjustable mouth BB simply because flattening the sole always ends up with the mouth being oversize eventually.
After all, Bailey planes are adjustable as well.
There was no inspiration from outside actually, as I didn't have access to the net back then, so more a case of development. Kingshott's book on making tools provided the technical info on various cutting angles.
The reason for the thin sole was simply as a result of development. The various shooting boards that I made were constructed for use with a metal No 4 and it was this that fixed the thickness of the wooden replacement's sole.
And blisters from the No 4 that kick started the idea!
Philly's posts and videos, especially on adjustment, were invaluable.

 

[Digit]

And following Philly's advise,

the Mk one knockometer, planes for the adjustment of!

Roy.

 

[Rich]

I do believe the correct description is "small mallet" :lol:

 

[Digit]

Doh!

Roy.

 

[Philly]

Very nice, Roy! Should do nicely
Philly

 

[Digit]

Cheers Phil.

Roy.

 

[Digit]

One of my earlier efforts BB. I chose to make it with a Norris type adjuster as I was not having a great deal of success with wedges. Not a great success I'm afraid as it suffers from the same problems as the Bailey types in that the iron will move sideways, I intend replacing it when I can. The Iron is made by Greaves and is again a laminated blade.

This is my jointer, 24 inches long and a fraction of the weight of a similar Bailey. This time I reverted to holding the iron with a conventional wedge, much better and the iron stays put! I intend fitting a more decorative wedge at a later date. The iron is a laminated item again, this time by Ibbotson.
As you can see I prefer a full tote, the reason for that is simply that they are less likely to break than the half tote.
As you can see I went the built up way to construction, simply because I find that the easiest way to make them. I made a number of totes before fixing on the size then produced a template so that I can make them now on the router bench. The tote is reccessed into the body then dowelled through and glued to make sure it stays there.
Both have again moveable mouth inserts, this time clamped from above rather than the wood screw on the earlier example.
The main problem I have found with making my own planes is that it becomes addictive, I have plans for quite a few more!