new smoother

[Mark Baldwin III]

This plane has been an absolute pain to fettle. I think in a large part due to the escapement. I should have made the angle up front a bit lower. Things tend to clog. With the 60 degree bed, I should have thought about that. I figure I have two options: chop the front part of the escapement a bit to allow the shavings to feed better...or make a new one with the appropriate angles (and possibly reduce the bed to 55). I am leaning towards the second option, and using a different wood because I had a pretty bad allergic reaction to the wood. My skin is all swollen and red and ugh...I'm miserable!!!! I fear that If I spend the time working the plane again, I'll only get worse. Version two will likely be ash or maple, or a combination of the two.

[Tony Shea]

Do you think it's the zebra wood you're having a reaction to? Not that it's the same thing but my cats seem to have a terrible reaction to zebrawood saw dust. I resawed a 8" wide by 20" board by hand not too long ago and my cats hated it. Their sinuses were a mess for a week after.

I personally have never reacted to any wood yet. And pray that I never do.

[Derek Cohen]

Mark, you could first try a new wedge. The one you have appears to be solid. Try one with the central section removed. That will effectively widen the escapement.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[george wilson]

I think the best way to temper tools is to carefully heat it up till by practice,you can tell when the correct color will be reached,then let the blade cool slowly without quenching. It lets the temper sink in to the heart of the metal more thoroughly. It also gives the metal one less chance to warp when quenching. Of course,if your metal starts to go over the color,you must quench or go too soft.

Did you heat the end of the blade opposite the cutting end,and let the colors creep towards the cutting end? That is the best way to do it.

[Mark Baldwin III]

Tony- It could be either of the woods. Zebra wood and Brazilian rosewood are both irritants. They are both sensitizers as well (or so my brief research suggests). I have worked with Zebra wood before, but this is the first with Brazilian rosewood. If I choose either again, it will likely be outside with a dust mask and long sleeves and long pants.

Derek- I'm not sure if it's the wedge. Well, not anymore. I cut it down and reshaped it. Though I like your idea. You're suggesting something like a traditional wedge, yes? I think I screwed up the geometry on the front block. If it wasn't for the reaction I had, I'd chop right into it to find out! I think with version 2 I will run with your idea, or just make a new wedge out of maple and give it a go. The cross pin could be a factor as well.

George- I started the heating for the temper well up into the meat of the iron to avoid over heating the edge. I was (so I thought) very careful to only lightly heat it. As soon as I saw the light straw appear, I removed heat. Then, right before my eyes, two spots of blue appeared. They are well up from the cutting edge, thankfully...so I should get some use out of the blade. It grinds like it's hard, and takes a pretty keen edge. I have enough O-1 for another iron. I imagine torch tempering is a technique that takes a bit of practice. This was the first time I tried it, my first two irons were put in a kiln at work (which is calibrated!).
It just occurred to me, that with the thickness of the iron, the core might still have been too warm to start the temper cycle, while the outside felt OK. I wonder if that may have played a role??

Thanks, as always, for the input and advice. It's always appreciated. Sorry about the novel

[Zahid Naqvi]

I've always had issues with the escapement in the laminated planes. After some trial and error I have settled on creating a slightly curved profile on the front ramp, sorry don't have any pictures to show you right now. I made a 55 degree plane and ran into the exact same issue. My next plane is going to be the same laminated approach but with the traditional V shaped support on the sides for the wedge. This wooden peg stuck down the middle of the escapement for holding the wedge is a design limitation in my opinion (with all due respect to James K.). I have made the same design with a much thinner metallic pin instead of the wooden dowel and it makes a huge difference in terms of clearing the shavings.

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Mark

Try a wedge with a reduced area in front of the mouth, as I suggested earlier. This will increase the escape area. Should this fail, then you will need to chisel out the escapement area, lowering it.

The problem lies with not taking into account the high bed angle. Zahid's recommendation of a curved escapement profile is what I use to increase the area. Here is a Brese kit with a 60 degree bed ..



In addition to the curved area, I also reduced the thickness of the lever cap. None of this is seen in the final plane.



Article: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolRev...ootherKit.html

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Mark Baldwin III]

Zahid/Derek-I think that's an idea I will incorporate into version two. It will also be made from domestic wood, to avoid the allergy problems of the last several days. I have plenty of ash and maple to make a few planes with. I should probably get away from the crazy exotic combinations anyway, that fascination has run out.