Woodies. What to do?

[lurker]

I have been given a pile of wood planes by a forum member.

Not sure what to do with them.
One is going to be turned into a scrub (for another forum member)
I already have a scrub.

I might fashion a smoother into a "Krenov".
Any other ideas.
Anyone who is in spitting distance of Loughborough is welcome to come and help themselves

 

[Racers]

Turn some into hollowing/compass planes etc, they do come in handy.

Pete

 

[worn thumbs]

If you have no immediate need for them,why not just leave them on the shelf until a need makes itself obvious?You might feel a bit miffed if you convert them all and then a job crops up for which you could have adapted one

 

[bugbear]

I might fashion a smoother into a "Krenov".

I don't understand; A Krenov plane is mainly defined by laminated construction - whereas a normal smoother is one-piece?

BugBear

 

[lurker]

I might fashion a smoother into a "Krenov".

I don't understand; A Krenov plane is mainly defined by laminated construction - whereas a normal smoother is one-piece?

BugBear

Hence the quotation marks
Surely even you could see that implied not literally
I was after suggestions not an argument :roll:

 

[dzj]

Shot put practice?

(just kidding)

 

[AndyT]

The obvious answer is to get them into working order and use them.

I'm assuming that they are a mixture of try planes, jack planes, smoothers, rebate planes and moulding planes - could you say how many of each main type you have?

I'd suggest trying with the most battered, hopeless cases first, with the aim of getting a set of good usable tools for the fun of exploring a different approach from the 'normal' metal tools.

In getting each one working, you'll get a detailed appreciation of what makes a plane work really well or frustratingly badly. David W went through the pain of building planes to get that knowledge, but he doesn't have access to bulk supplies like we do.

If there are some which are really past it, you may still be able to find a smaller plane hidden inside the big old lump of seasoned beech. Richard Arnold has made planes this way (mitres out of jacks) and I managed a crude approximation of a bull nose plane.

Any pictures?

 

[bugbear]

I might fashion a smoother into a "Krenov".

I don't understand; A Krenov plane is mainly defined by laminated construction - whereas a normal smoother is one-piece?

BugBear

Hence the quotation marks
Surely even you could see that implied not literally
I was after suggestions not an argument :roll:

Me neither; so what do you mean by a "Krenov". If you take a normal coffin smoother and make it "low in the middle" you'll remove the abutments that make the wedge work.

BugBear

 

[lurker]

The obvious answer is to get them into working order and use them.

I'm assuming that they are a mixture of try planes, jack planes, smoothers, rebate planes and moulding planes - could you say how many of each main type you have?

I'd suggest trying with the most battered, hopeless cases first, with the aim of getting a set of good usable tools for the fun of exploring a different approach from the 'normal' metal tools.

In getting each one working, you'll get a detailed appreciation of what makes a plane work really well or frustratingly badly. David W went through the pain of building planes to get that knowledge, but he doesn't have access to bulk supplies like we do.

If there are some which are really past it, you may still be able to find a smaller plane hidden inside the big old lump of seasoned beech. Richard Arnold has made planes this way (mitres out of jacks) and I managed a crude approximation of a bull nose plane.

Any pictures?

Been there done that, got a shed full and more in the loft
The point of these were they are generally basket cases so can afford to free think. As you say, I can see small planes hidden in the bigger ones.
Not many blades but I have a stash of those.
Even so I am really struggling to put them to the saw.
Three went on the fire as it was just the worms holding hands that stopped them falling apart, even that was difficult to do

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Quarter-sawn beech is very hard to come by. Save what you can, even as wedge material. That which is beyond any reasonable use can at least keep you warm for an hour or so.

 

[lurker]

Yeah that's the plan BB
Will try to fit a bar, Krenov style and the wedge and blade will be very short and low

The original wedges are shot anyway.
I have a poor one to use as a prototype but a nicer one if things work to the plan.

 

[lurker]

Quarter-sawn beech is very hard to come by. Save what you can, even as wedge material. That which is beyond any reasonable use can at least keep you warm for an hour or so.

That's why I snatched his arm off :wink:
Nothing remotely useful will get wasted
I have something of a reputation in this respect (hammer) (hammer)

The nicer ones are due to have a weeks holiday in the freezer just in case they have picked up any worms from their mates.

 

[lurker]

Turn some into hollowing/compass planes etc, they do come in handy.

Pete

Hollowing plane sounds a good idea thanks
Will have a think about how to do that one.

 

[Bm101]

The nicer ones are due to have a weeks holiday in the freezer just in case they have picked up any worms from their mates.

Never thought of that. Thanks.

 

[bugbear]

The nicer ones are due to have a weeks holiday in the freezer just in case they have picked up any worms from their mates.

I looked into this to "cure" a bill hook handle. IIRC a domestic freezer isn't quite cold enough for a 100% kill.

I went for a repeated cool-thaw cycle.

I'll try to find a reference tomorrow.

BugBear

 

[Racers]

Turn some into hollowing/compass planes etc, they do come in handy.

Pete

Hollowing plane sounds a good idea thanks
Will have a think about how to do that one.

I think it's in one of the David Charlsworth books, buy its just a matter of shaping the sole and regrinding the blade.
Compass planes can be made from a smoother by shaping the sole to the radius of the curve you want.

Pete

 

[profchris]

Yeah that's the plan BB
Will try to fit a bar, Krenov style and the wedge and blade will be very short and low

The original wedges are shot anyway.
I have a poor one to use as a prototype but a nicer one if things work to the plan.

I was going to make a Krenov style plane, but my reading told me that the wedge might not hold the blade as firmly as a traditional style smoother unless I made the more complicated and difficult style with a shaped pin like an aerofoil section. So I copied someone's (I think DW's) compromise, making a laminated body with glued in abutments. Worked really well, easier for me than shaping the pin.

If the abutments on your smoother are sound, a new wedge is a small job.

Of course, you might want the fun of making a Krenov style, but if not ...

 

[D_W]

I've never built a plane out of laminated parts, but I can't criticize anything that works and it's much preferable to a cross pin and wedge. A cross pin and lever cap is better if a pin is a must.

 

[profchris]

I've never built a plane out of laminated parts, but I can't criticize anything that works and it's much preferable to a cross pin and wedge. A cross pin and lever cap is better if a pin is a must.

Sorry for the misattribution.

I forgot to take WIP pics, but the recipient posted this one elsewhere:

(The missing chunk was removed by the Swedish postal service, quite a feat as it was well padded!)

You can just about see where I glued in the abutments. It has a toothed veneering blade, thus the near upright angle, and I left the body largely unshaped so Sven could fit it to his hand.

Basically, cut as for a Krenov but with the abutments cut from the removed wedge and then glued back on after the sides were reattached. One side was fractionally forward of the other, but it was easy to adjust the wedge to compensate.