Yet another Try Plane

[Steve Voigt]

There's been an epidemic of try planes here lately, so I'll keep the virus alive with one I just finished. It's 23" with a 2 1/2" Butcher iron. QS American beech with a cocobolo strike.
It's just got one coat of oil on it…there is more finishing left to do, but I was impatient to try it out and take some pics first. I had a special feeling about this plane, and I was not wrong…
Anyway, enjoy and thanks for looking.

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[Brian Holcombe]

Gorgeous!!!

Those shavings are great, the really amazing part I'm noticing about these planes is when this heavy shaving practically jumps out and bumps you in the shoulder.

[Zuye Zheng]

Looks great! Any tips on shaping the handle, what tools did you use?

[Graham Haydon]

Steve you are THE man for these planes. So clean, so perfect, thanks for sharing.

[Kees Heiden]

I love it when the ray flecks of beech come out so promenently. Beech is very critical in this regard, it needs to be cut absolutely in the radial plane. Any deviation and the result isn't so striking.

[Mike Holbrook]

Very nice Steve, beautiful work! I wonder about the traditional strikers on these planes. The striker is a harder wood, designed to be struck with a wood or metal hammer, to adjust the tension/depth of the blade in the plane? Does making a special striker surface improve how well striking works or protect the plane body...? I have a few planes I have made that do not have strikers, one being a long try/jointer (26" for now). I am wondering if a striker might help? Mine is made from purple heart and only about 1 3/4" thick.

[Frederick Skelly]

Beautiful work Steve, made even better because it works so well!

Congratulations on another fine build!
Fred

[James Pallas]

Steve That is a beauty. I can very much appreciate the precision you have to work towards to get a plane to work well.
Jim

[Dave Beauchesne]

Steve:
Beautiful, well executed, and it performs. Very nicely done.
Dave B

[Adam Stevens2]

Something to aspire to, Steve!

[Steve Voigt]

Thank you all for the nice comments.
Some responses:

Brian--Yes, the shavings do shoot right out! The 5th pic, where the shaving is standing straight up, probably looks like it's staged, like I'm holding the shaving up with my other hand, but I'm not. I remember when it was common wisdom that chipbreakers cause wooden planes to clog; in reality, they do the opposite.

Zuye--let's see, chisel (for wasting away most of the outside radius), incanell gouge (for paring the inside cutout to the line), rasps, scraper, sandpaper. I wrote a post here that details the shaping on a coffin smoother; the approach on the tote is pretty similar.

Kees--yeah, that's why I showed the closeup of the right side; the rays are really something, it almost looks like beads of water. The other side is not so dramatic.

Mike--a strike is not necessary; I have a very nice Peter Chapin (Baltimore) 22" try plane plane from the 1830s or 40s that doesn't have a strike. I like to put them on long planes because they protect the stock from damage and add visual interest.

[Chris Griggs]

Awesome Steve. Beautiful workmanship and a sweet tool. You just can't beat a good wooden try plane when it comes to getting some serious flattening done!

[george wilson]

One old 19th. C. drawing by a young girl showing her father planing wood shows straight up chips like those. I think the picture has been posted here before.

[Ron Bontz]

Very nice. You will have to send your 30" version to my house for inspection.

[Don Kingston]

Sweet
Very very nice