A Great Woodie Build Off

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

It's a shame LV or someone doesn't offer tapered irons. I'd certainly pay a little more for one.

[David Weaver]

I sound like a crotchety fart playing adversary, but that's not what i'm trying to do by bringing this up - what I would look for if you want a really good quality iron or iron and cap iron set is taper iron infill sets on ebay. Could be $40 or so from the UK (though I'm sure some of the dealers looking for a mark probably have some common irons for $100 - to be avoided).

If you want something less expensive, there should be from time to time groups of old irons harvested out of beat planes sold. I think the last time I bought irons, I bid on an auction that had three tapered laminated irons with cap irons for $9.99. Nobody else bid on them. There may have been times that I've paid $10 for one iron and cap iron, i did have to do some work on two of the irons that were in the $10 lot, but nice clean ones can be had for a little more.

I guess there's not enough demand to make anything other than parallel irons now, and most places probably aren't set up to handle the operation to grind the taper.

[David Weaver]

I'm late to this party, but I finally found some time to finish my build. It's (obviously) a 16" jack plane, one piece of hard maple. The iron is from LV. Unfortunately it is not tapered, but it is a quarter inch thick and works well enough for now. (I have not cambered it yet.) It doesn't have any finish yet (looks rather pale at the moment), and could probably use a bit of refining here and there, but it works really well. No chatter at all. Curls come flying out of the throat without any jamming. It's a real pleasure to use.

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Nice plane, Ryan. There's something fulfilling about cutting the mortise out of a single block. I know it's not necessary to have a nice plane, but there's something pure about it. It's a good skill builder.

[Chris Griggs]

Nice plane, Ryan. There's something fulfilling about cutting the mortise out of a single block. I know it's not necessary to have a nice plane, but there's something pure about it. It's a good skill builder.

There's a a few folks here that have made planes from a single block. What do you guys use to chop out the waste. Do you drill out some of the waste first? Use mortise chisels, heavy duty framer/firmer chisels, regular bench chisels?

[Matthew N. Masail]

I'm late to this party, but I finally found some time to finish my build. It's (obviously) a 16" jack plane, one piece of hard maple. The iron is from LV. Unfortunately it is not tapered, but it is a quarter inch thick and works well enough for now. (I have not cambered it yet.) It doesn't have any finish yet (looks rather pale at the moment), and could probably use a bit of refining here and there, but it works really well. No chatter at all. Curls come flying out of the throat without any jamming. It's a real pleasure to use.

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Nice!! I would love to see a picture after you apply the finish.

[Zach Dillinger]

There's a a few folks here that have made planes from a single block. What do you guys use to chop out the waste. Do you drill out some of the waste first? Use mortise chisels, heavy duty framer/firmer chisels, regular bench chisels?

When I built my single block planes, I carefully laid out the throat, then drilled the mouth, then drilled the bed / escapement. Not all the way, mind you, but you need a place for the chips to go when you go to town with the mortise chisels. If you are careful with the drilling, you can use the holes like depth indicators, so that you don't chisel to far. Once I have most of the waste taken out, I start taking paring cuts, heavy at first, with a wider firmer chisel. Then finish almost to the line (leave a little, maybe a 1/32 or so, for bedding in) with fine paring chisels / floats / files. Goes fairly quickly, and if you are careful with the layout and drilling, quite accurately.

[David Weaver]

There's a a few folks here that have made planes from a single block. What do you guys use to chop out the waste. Do you drill out some of the waste first? Use mortise chisels, heavy duty framer/firmer chisels, regular bench chisels?

I've used plain bench chisels, longer is nice, though - made a woody and a dai with a stanley 720.

This last plane I cut the mortise with a japanese temple builder's chisel, but switched over to an old PS&W firmer/small framing chisel (1" wide) because it held up as well and was much faster to sharpen. I'll probably go back to the stanley 720 next time because for practical purposes, it holds up as well and works as fast, but it's less thick and faster to sharpen and grind.

I drilled the mouth and then cleaned it up with floats to open it completely after I got some room to work.

Like Zach said he did, I also laid out the block first, being careful not to overcut into anywhere that the abutments would be (i have done that before).

A lot of people like to drill most of the waste out, but I am careless (and often overdrill) and I like the positive feel of chopping a full mortise that hasn't got any waste drilled out. It's harder for me to mess it up that way.

[Chris Griggs]

Thanks Zach and Dave. Good to know it can be done well with stuff I already have around the shop.

[Ryan Baker]

Thanks for the comments guys.

I cut the entire escapement with a 1/2" mortise chisel (no drilling first). I cut it down to just short of the sole, leaving a little room for paring. Then I drilled a few small holes through the mouthfrom the bottom to verify the position and avoid breaking through from the top. Then I cleaned things up with chisels, my homemade floats (which work great, see here http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...ghlight=floats), and an Iwasaki file. Probably not the fastest method, but it works.

[george wilson]

Pretty neat escapement,Ryan. I urge you to round the edges of the front and back of the tote the same as the gripping surfaces.

[Ryan Baker]

Thanks George. I think you are right about some additional rounding. As I said, there are a few places that could use a little more tweaking.

[Mike Allen1010]

Hello Ryan,

Thanks for sharing your pictures!

From my perspective the salient point is -- dude awesome plane! This is your first plane and it's one-piece construction (which I know from experience is challenging) and clearly by the photographs works exactly the way you would like a Jack Plane to work -- congratulations you are my hero! Great job!

I would love to see other photos of any of your other work -- Very inspirational!

All the best, Mike

[Ryan Baker]

Gee, thanks Mike!

[David Weaver]

Where is Rob Lee?

He owes us an ebony plane of some sort.

*Ahem*..........I think someone left us hanging! Or did I miss it?

[Rob Lee]

*Ahem*..........I think someone left us hanging! Or did I miss it?

Geez -

Just back two weeks vacation.... and have 8 zillion emails to deal with....

"Components" were on my desk when I got back.... just have to get out to the Dist. Center and dig through the skids of ebony now.....

I should get there soon.... but pls.... don't build it up too much.... I fully expect to underwhelm y'all....

Cheers -

Rob
(who did spend a day at Pleasant Hill Shaker Village on vacation.....)