Beech Jointer Build

[David Weaver]

Next stick - For a 24" try plane.

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Very nice. We were just talking about rays in beech the other day (albeit the beech shown on a saw handle was european).

This blank was going way uphill. I could've bandsawn it, but i didn't. I just jacked one end and then jointed it so that the grain will be running slightly uphill back to front. I can't say enough about keeping one of these inexpensive japanese planes around as a jack. Mixes it up for us guys out of shape - back and forth between push and pull. JWW used to sell these planes (fuunji brand) for about $60, and they make great jacks. The irons in them are really super quality for $60)

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I was going to use the V11 iron only, but I just can't work as fast with a metal plane as I can with wooden on stuff like this. This is the first heavy use I've gotten of the jointer. It's fantastic, the best wooden plane I've used to date (which is no surprise because it's freshly made and everything is very tight on it). It works through the beech blank with ease, both on the easy to plane quartered side and the less easy flatsawn side. I rarely measure shavings, but I did measure these to get a gauge at how well the plane is working, and they're 6 thousandths.

You can tell which shavings are from the jointer, they're straight (this pile isn't all from this blank).

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The bottom of the billet shows the flat sawn grain you want to see on the bottom with the grain running straight down the length:

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And the plane that inspired me to want to make double iron wooden planes - an english plane with a nice ward double iron set (griffiths of norwich is the maker).

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It looks unassuming, but the work inside is so super tight, the maker was very proud of what he was doing. I don't think I'll be able to part with it when I'm done.

I'll not post anything else until I'm done (no need until then), and then I'll post the measurements in case anyone ever reads this years on when it's archived, looking for measurements - I'd struggle to get measurements right if I didn't have a good plane to copy.

[Matthew N. Masail]

David I have a measurements question if you don't mind. regarding the tote placement. I just finished a Jack, the body is 5cm high (most I could get out of the reclaimed wood) and the back of the tote is 9" away from the cutting edge (for reference I checked a bailey 4 at around 7") I find that the longer distance requires a longer stroke with my arm to bring to blade back to start the next cut, and suddenly the side stance you see in old book makes more sense. I think it's possible that the reason reeze planes were done that way for kids was the stroke length , and not because of the wight difference.
In any case I'm thinking of making a reeze and placing the tote around 8" -8 1\4" inchs away from the blade, with the reeze around 4-4.5 cm high. how far are the totes placed measured the above way on your planes? (must be far with the high body). do you feel it might be more comfortable if they were closer in term of your body movement?

[David Weaver]

bm not sure why razee planes are scooped in the back. Probably more due to height of kids, but I by no means have reliable knowledge of plane history.

I measured some planes this morning, all common pitch or York and get this:

Jointer: 11
Try plane: 10 1/8
Closed handle jack: 11
Open handle jack: just over 9

The open handle jack is slightly shorter in height.

8 or 8.5 would be my choice for your plane. I wouldn't go any closer except on a two handled plane. For two reasons:
1- you'll end up feeling odd about where the mouth is in use if you change much - like you end up short of the end of your cuts.
2- the mechanics of the plane change too much and you get an uncomfortable change of forces on your hands.

[Prashun Patel]

What do you mean by 'scooped'? I understood from Garrett Hack's book that Razee's to have lower handles in the back to allow a more in-line stroke vis-a-vis a higher mounted handle.

[Matthew N. Masail]

I'm not sure a more in-line stroke is better. so far the taller planes I've made seem to have more power in the department.

[David Weaver]

What do you mean by 'scooped'? I understood from Garrett Hack's book that Razee's to have lower handles in the back to allow a more in-line stroke vis-a-vis a higher mounted handle.

Scooped might've been a bad choice of words, but the cutout of the height of the rear of the plane.

I agree with Matthew's comment, I find the full height planes to be better to use, so I'm not really sure what the advantage of the razee is and I'd only consider it if I was using wood that made a too-heavy full height plane.

It's just a preference, though, I guess. I can't explain it as anything more than preference and feel.

[george wilson]

Razee planes were made cut down in the back for kids to use in vocational training,so David's reference was correct.

A ship that had had the upper deck cut down to make the ship less top heavy in heavy seas was also called a razee. In fact,the cut down planes likely were so named after the ships.

It is an interesting tale that Charles II had the incredibly expensive "Sovereign of the Seas" (Charles considered himself the "Monarch of the Seas") built,to show his glory and power. It could be seen from miles away,glittering with gilding. It was very top heavy(too much "top hamper"). After Charles II was beheaded,his glorious ship had its upper deck cut down as well,to make it sail better. So,both,in a sense,became "razees".

[David Weaver]

George, do you think they were cut down because of height, or cut down because of weight? I can't imagine a vocational kid (even if they were 10 or 11) couldn't handle a jack. A 9+ pound jointer might be different, though.

when I see razee planes selling for high prices (they usually have a commensurate amount of plain-ness in the mortise and escapement areas), I just wonder what everyone loves about them - when you turn around and the next sale on ebay is a plane like the try plane I pictured that is much better made and it sells for less.

I think some of it is the sense that fewer of something means rare and more interesting, but in the case of planes I've come to find out that different means less nice in heavy use. I'm not apt to fool much with the proportions seen on planes like the trying plane shown or my jointer. they leave you tired from work, but only tired - never with sore parts of the hands, elbows or wrists. And that is ideal.

[Mel Fulks]

George, it was Charles the first, there was no Charles the eleventh!

[george wilson]

I just can't get excited about razee planes. No,they were for boys.

As I have mentioned,I increased the mass of several of my planes by filling their bodies full of raw linseed oil. I clamp the plane,sans iron and wedge,on a flat sacrificial board(it will get all oily). Stop up the bottom of the escapement with nice gooey window putty. Not really gooey,but gooey enough to actually stick to the wood,rather than being dried out enough to not seal up to the wood-the oil will readily leak through without the putty sticking to the wood.

Set the plane horizontal,and fill the throat with RAW linseed oil. It will penetrate further than boiled. In fact,it will take several escapements full of oil to bleed clear through the plane all the way out to both ends.

I learned to do this from old Mr. Simms,whose chest of what was left of his tools was seen on Roy's show(When I knew him in the early 70's,those chisels were all about 10" or 12" long,overall. His son apparently ground all of them down to nearly stubs. Too bad. The son was VERY incompetent.

After being so treated,the plane will be stabilized against weather changes,twisting,etc.. It is moot if the internal oil ever dries completely. It dries everywhere on the ends and sides of the plane,and not a whit ever is seen leaking from the interior EVER. At least not in the 45 odd years I have been doing it.(I'm not going to saw a plane in half to see if the oil inside ever dried!) I mention this internal drying because I took a lot of flack from someone when I first mentioned it years ago here.

Of course,it takes some days for the oil on the surface of the plane to dry,being raw oil,but it will dry just fine.

We started using tung oil on our planes that were destined for use by out door workmen,like the Housewrights in the museum. Tung oil does not mold like linseed can. I have never had any trouble with my planes molding as I don't leave them in unheated sheds all year long,but some of the craftsmen had no other place to keep them. I will mention that any molding on the old planes in the collection in the museum,which some were kept in the unheated attic of the Capitol Building,only ever had a slight gray-green misting on them,which took many decades to develop. Never the less,we used tung to avoid the issue completely. By the way,tung means stomach in Chinese. They used it to treat stomach ailments. I have not availed myself of that benefit!!
Though we used what was proported to be 100% PURE tung oil,you can never tell for sure. In any event,it was not pharmaceutical grade.

Personally,I like the looks of linseed oil better. The odor too. There is just something about tung oil that I don't care for,though I can't put my finger on it.

[David Weaver]

I added about 8 ounces to a dry try plane using your method, but I just stopped the mouth with a clump of paper towels and put a measuring cup under the mouth. The oil emptied through the paper towels about once every day or so, but I just took the measuring cup and poured it back in.

I have another double iron jointer that I have to unload, but I think it's too light. It'll get the remainder of that linseed oil so that the next person who uses it finds it favorable.

My freshly made jointer is heavy already, so I'm leaving it go for now (I can't remember what I said the weight is, but it's accumulated a couple of ounces of weight from applying linseed oil, which I always seal with wax because I have had the linseed oil mold before.

The side of the plane above can be seen reflecting the shavings on an oiled and waxed surface (which is usually a bit dull). I'd attribute that to planing the sides of the plane instead of sanding them, despite the comments that we often see that nobody can see the difference between a planed and sanded surface.

[george wilson]

The oil filling really works great with very old wood,like an old wooden plane.

I made my large jointer from an old piece of maple that had started to be a bedstead. It was so old that the maple had actually turned a medium brown color. Dry as a bone. Really sucked up the oil. That plane is heavy,and I could get a good shove going,which would carry the plane across a 3' long board pretty well.

Just situate your strike knob in the center of the front end of the plane. Center it up in the area between the front edge of the escapement,and the front edge of the plane. This has always worked fine for me,and is aesthetically pleasing. Pops the iron right back when given a smack with a mallet. There is no point at all in making the strike knob FLUSH. Make it raised enough that you won't accidentally dent up the area around the knob. Everything on my large jointer is somewhat exaggerated,but my diamond shaped knob is about 3/16" tall in the center,nicely rounded down to be flush with the plane at it's edges. The plane has never gotten a stray mallet mark on it.

[Matthew N. Masail]

Do you think the raw linseed oil would effect to glue line in a laminated plane? I have a jack that I feel could use some more mass.

[george wilson]

I think the already dried and penetrated into the wood glue line might be o.k.,but if it came loose in the future,it could be a problem to re glue. I really can't be sure about oiling a laminated plane,though. Probably best to not fill it with oil. Just oil the surface.

Mel,I'm sure you know I meant Charles the 2nd.(II)!!

[David Weaver]

Do you think the raw linseed oil would effect to glue line in a laminated plane? I have a jack that I feel could use some more mass.

I'd use a section of drill rod on the front and back of a plane that was glued. It will be easy to cut it and install it. And it should be pretty cheap.