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Thread: Infill Shoulder Plane I made

  1. #31
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    Dec 2007
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    Fishers, Indiana
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tim Put View Post
    The only criticism (intended to be constructive) I can give is to avoid feather-edged transitions, i.e. just above the mouth in the escapement.
    I agree. I tried to avoid having any acute angles where the infill material would chip, but this is an area where I ended up with just that problem. In hind site I wonder whether it would have been better to clip the infill back a bit at a 90 degree angle to the sole. I had a similar situation where the infill meets the bridge at the top of the escapement.

  2. #32
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    3rd Step. Fitting the sole, ramp, and bridge.

    Next, I cut the 45 degree angle where the ramp meets the sole. This was just rough cut with the hacksaw. The surface that mates with the sole was then flattened with the belt sander and finally sandpaper and the granite plate.

    I also rounded over the surface of the bridge that will eventually serve as the bearing surface for the lever cap.

    I then drilled a hole through both sides of the plane that is within the bounds of what will eventually be the escapement cutout. This hole will later be used to allow a bolt to hold the sides and sandwitched sole, ramp, and bridge together while drilling.

    I temporarily mounted the sole, ramp and bridge to one side using super glue. I used the thin type (not the gel) to avoid a buildup of glue between these pieces and the side plate. I left the sole back from the bottom edge of the side by ~1/32" to allow the side to later be ground down to meet the sole.

    Next I used the the granite tile and sandpaper to flatten the faces of the sole, ramp, and bridge that will mate with the other side of the plane. By flatting these surfaces after mounting to one side, it helps ensure they are the same width and will mate accurately with the other side of the plane. This assumes that the thickness of the glue used to temporarily mount the parts is very thin, or at least the same thickness for all parts.

    Finally I used a block of wood as a base with a 5/16" bolt countersunk on the bottom. The second side was now temporarily mounted using super glue as was done on the first side. The whole was then clamped together using a washer and nut on the through bolt. Enough torque was used to hold the pieces together without warping the sides.
    016.jpg019.jpg
    Last edited by Jeff Wittrock; 03-06-2011 at 3:52 PM.

  3. #33
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    Sep 2008
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    "Sometimes I feel a bit arrogant straying to far away from a "classic" shape for tools like these. I have no doubt that toolmakers of the past knew what they were doing, and to ignore the lessons they learned over many years is foolish. At the same time, there has to be some room to have a little fun with a shape that feels right in my hand."

    Jeff - A bit of perspective that might lessen your feelings of arrogance - I'm a tool collector as well as a woodworker, and most of my interest lies in the finer work the British put out in the 19th century rather than the more work-a-day mass produced American stuff that's the focus of much of the American tool collecting community. As such, I've seen a lot of British infill shoulder planes. The "classic" shape that you refer to is primarily a result of the efficiency of production and success in marketing that Spiers, Norris and Mathieson pulled off in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

    But there's a heck of a lot more variation than Norris #7 shoulder planes - and they all work, and work well. The shoulder planes of G. Miller, for example, are unique, eclectic, and highly collected (and they don't really look like Norris #7s at all).

  4. #34
    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Wittrock View Post
    I tried to take quite a few pictures while I made this one, but didn't want to choke the forum with a bunch of photos, but I can post if anyone is interested.
    That's a gorgeous hunk of metal! I think you need to go ahead and choke the forum, especially since you were able to produce such spectacular results with such primitive techniques! Also, where did you get the materials?
    Steve, mostly hand tools. Click on my name above and click on "Visit Homepage" to see my woodworking blog.

  5. #35
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    Dec 2007
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    Fishers, Indiana
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    Step 4. Drillining lots of holes for the rivets

    First, I scribe some lines on the sides to indicate the center line of the sole, ramp, and bridge. I should mention that it is probably easier to scribe these lines before the second side is placed while you have easy access to the interior parts. When I made this one I forgot to do so, so I scribe the lines after the fact, but it's not really a problem either way.

    The location of the rivets is not terribly critical as long as they are fairly well centered on the parts that are being pinned in place. You just need to remember where the mouth will be and keep the rivets away from this area.

    I didn't even bother center punching locations for the holes. I was more worried about the super glue letting go if I used a center punch than I was about the bit wandering. As long as I started the bit nice and slow, I had no problems with the bit wandering within the degree of accuracy needed to keep the hole close to the center of the sole, ramp, and bridge. I also drilled the holes nice and slow to keep from putting much torque on the parts held in place with super glue. Not much chance of them moving, but I was a bit nervous.
    020.jpg

    Now that the holes are drilled, I removed the nut, bolt and wooden base. To separate the sides, I used a wedge shaped piece of wood driven between the sides down the face of the ramp. Keeping the wedge close to the ramp helped prevent warping the side plates. I was amazed at just how well the super glue held.
    022.jpg

    Next, I separated the sole, ramp, and bridge from the side by just giving them a good rap with a piece of wood. Again, I was surprised at just how well the glue held. I then cleaned the glue from the mating surfaces using the granite tile and sandpaper.
    023.jpg

    Now I cut the pins from 1/8" diameter mild steel stock. I cut the pins to a length ~1/4" longer than the width of the plane. This left ~1/8" protruding from either side of the plane for peening. I am sure there is a general rule for how far the pins should protrude for easy peening. I have just found that about one pin diameter works well. Too short and you won't have enough material to peen. Too long and you will have difficulty getting the pins to mushroom close to the surface.

    After cutting, I relieved the cut ends of the pins on the belt sander to make test fitting easier.
    025.jpg

  6. #36
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    Step 5. The fun part is peening

    Next came one of the fun parts... peening the pins.

    I have no sage advice. I have messed this part up on a previous plane. Now I just take things nice and slow and I have no problems.

    I start by centering the pin with equal parts protruding from either side. I lay the pin against the flat surface of my vice and give the pin a couple of nice raps on one side. I then flip the plane over, recenter the pin, place the other side of the pin against the vice and apply a couple more nice raps. Repeat until the metal fills the hole and is well expanded up against the surface. One pin at a time.

    027.jpg

  7. #37
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    Step 6. Grinding down the rivets

    This is also a fun part for me because up till now I have been looking at a scaly lumpy exterior that doesn't look much like a shoulder plane.

    I ground the rivets off and de-scaled the sides at the same time using the belt sander.

    Next I cut off the extended parts of the ramp and bridge, and ground this surface relatively flat.

    Finally I ground the sides flush with the sole on the bottom using the belt sander.

    005.jpg006.jpg

  8. #38
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    Awesome! Keep 'em coming!
    "Aus so krummem Holze, als woraus der Mensch gemacht ist, kann nichts ganz Gerades gezimmert werden."

  9. #39
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    Step 7. Cutting the escapement

    Next I cut the escapement hole. I didn't have a fret saw at the timer, but I did have a coping saw with some fine toothed blades. To make things a bit easier, I drilled a string of holes inside the escapement cutout perimeter. From here I used the coping saw to connect the dots.
    003.jpg

    So about 20 holes, two broken coping saw blades, and 45 minutes later, here is what I ended up with.
    004.jpg

    The next step was one of the more tedious parts... filing the escapement to shape. I just used a course round file to remove most of the material left by the drilling/sawing.

    I then rough cut the opening for the mouth with a hacksaw, and performed most of the shaping with various needle file.
    I cut the sides down to the surface of the ramp with a mill file.
    Finally I cleaned up the inside surfaces with 100 and 220 grit paper wrapped around various round and flat forms.
    001 (2).jpg
    Last edited by Jeff Wittrock; 03-06-2011 at 8:23 PM.

  10. #40
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    Step 8. Shaping the outside

    Next I shaped the outside contour of the plane.

    By now, I had already started having different ideas about what I wanted for the shape of the plane. The final shaping of the plane wasn't done in one shot. Instead I started by rough cutting parts of the shape that I was fairly sure of using a hacksaw, and then began finer shaping using the bench grinder and then the belt sander.

    003 (2).jpg002 (2).jpg

  11. #41
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    I hope that some of this is of use. Tomorrow I should have time to post some pictures showing the lever cap and cap screw.

  12. #42
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    Apr 2008
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    Cambridge, MA
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    useful and interesting!
    cheers,
    niels
    "Aus so krummem Holze, als woraus der Mensch gemacht ist, kann nichts ganz Gerades gezimmert werden."

  13. #43
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    Jul 2005
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    Suffolk County, Long Island NY
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    Jeff,

    This is just brilliant, thanks for sharing. Are you an Industrial Designer?

    Pete

  14. #44
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    Sep 2003
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    Plano, TX
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    I have added this to the FAQs section, great stuff Jeff. Thanks for taking the time to take pictures and educating us on the process. Seems doable just a lot of work that's all.
    Last edited by Zahid Naqvi; 03-14-2012 at 1:26 PM.
    The means by which an end is reached must exemplify the value of the end itself.

  15. #45
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    Nov 2004
    Location
    Belden, Mississippi
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    VERY well done.
    How did ya attach the infill?
    Bill
    On the other hand, I still have five fingers.

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