Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 20

Thread: The ideal plough plane..

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Kyogle N.S.W Australia
    Posts
    245

    The ideal plough plane..

    I know the following plane doesn't 'look' ideal, but its the concepts behind it that are, I feel.

    Because the ideal plough is yet to be made in my opinion, I've modified an old 45 in an attempt to own one. And its turned out to be the most reliable plough I've ever used....ie. no annoying surprises. Consistantly works how I want it to. No stuffing about.

    Here it is, along with its modified blades, and setup tools. I've labelled the mods.


    Its all about obtaining an accurate plough cut. A common cut, but yet still quite tricky to get them spot on with a regular plough plane. Which tends to make the powered router attractive eh.


    More often than not my results are substandard with a regular plough....ie. those shoulders arn't crisply cut at 90 and the plough floor isn't square. and its not entirely my fault ! .....the plough plane designs are to blame as well.

    Seems the best way to try and describe what I think is the 'ideal' plane, is to run through how I tuned this old 45 ..... Hopefully, I'll be clearer that way.

    First, I'll introduce this setup block I recommend you make. Or something like it..... It allows you to easily check your planes settings.

    Add a deep fence face first....A deep fence face I've found when rubbing off a deep timber face will provide excellent stability.




    Fence setup now......Now have to make sure the skates both run perpendicular to your new fence. Often there a little off, which will only affect accuracy.


    If theres a gap anywhere between the skates and block, you've got a problem... I think you should really lap your planes skates square, until its all gapless.

    The technique I use is with a squared block of thick timber......spray adhere the sandpaper down.....and whilst running that fence tight against the wood(always), the skates run on the grit,,,,taking the high spots off, just like lapping a bench plane..


    Fence and skates ok........now the blades.

    Flaring the blades

    IMO all plough blades should flare. Meaning, the width of the blades edge should be wider than the rest of the body further up.... Really makes all the difference I've found.


    Old wooden plough plane blades seemed to have it....but modern ploughs like my 45 seemed to skip the concept unfortunetly.

    Without it, you've got a caustrophobic environment for your plane.

    I feel you can understand the problem better by relating it to what it feels like using a hand saw without enough set. There prone to bind up in there own kerf. To fix the problem you put more set on the teeth and the saw will work better because the width of the cut (kerf) is wider than width of the saw body above it.

    Well, I see a plough cut as being similar to a saw cut in that respect. A plough blade that doesn't flare; thats just a rectangular blank, is like trying to handsaw without enough set.

    Flared blades wouldn't improve things I'd imagine, if we all moved like robots. But we don't. And particularily when we are pushing the plane with the fence rubbing a thin edge(or using a very wide blade), we're prone to wobble the plane off vertical a little. Like this sort of thing.

    For combination planes, with multiple skates like the stanley 45, 50..etc flared blades I've found are a godsend....because the skates grip the blade closer together. This tends to solve a lot of those fiddly alignment problems of fence and skates. The plane just has more freedom to move.

    If you decide not to to use flared blades you must be extra careful to ensure skates and fence are all in parallel with one another. Even say 1mm askew and you risk a jam up...so use callipers.
    Anyway, this is how I ground my plough blades flared.


    more next post...

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Kyogle N.S.W Australia
    Posts
    245










    Sharpening the blades

    Now that the blades are flaring at the sides, have to think about sharpening the business end of the blade right. Which will no doubt take some practise. But its worth learning.

    I grind my blades freehand. Its just an uncomplicated method I find appealing. But I suppose you could do it with some clever honing guide.
    Ultimately in a nut shell, this is how the blade edge should present to the wood in order for it to cut well with accuracy.


    I feel the need to have a tool to make frequent checks while sharpening to ensure alls well..... This is what I use.





    more next post

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Kyogle N.S.W Australia
    Posts
    245

















  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Kyogle N.S.W Australia
    Posts
    245
    Depth stops

    Ideally I think you should use 2 depth stops. Can get away with only using one for the smaller blades, but I'd say you'd have to be pretty talented to get consistantly good results using just one depth stop with the wider ones.

    The presence of a second depth stop will ensure the floor of your plough cut runs parallel to the face. See, if you've only got one depth stop, when it rubs the timber, the planes encouraged to rock over, overcutting the floor...ie. its being held up on one side. Can be hard to avoid, especially with a wide blade.

    The problem though is that most ploughs don't have a good second depth stop design (IMO)...

    So I made a second depth stop especially for my stanley 45. Here it is....


    And this is how I setup my depth stops.


    Set your fence distance.

    Now everythings set......... there shouldn't be any need for test cuts.
    - fence running perpendicular to skates and depth stops
    - depths stops at the same height
    - blades peaking the same amount past each skate
    - blades flared for good clearence
    - blades edge straight and sharp

    Make your cut

    So, probably best to start with a fine shaving to get a crisp looking shoulder.

    Then to speed up, coarsen the shaving maybe...fine up again as you near depth....or just stick with one blade setting all the way through....up to you. Spose that depends on how polite the wood is.

    Have to keep the plane as verical as possible.....


    Despite that, you may be leaning over slightly every pass such that you end up overcutting one side too much after a few passes. ....so ever now and again I'd get my eye down close and inspect it so I know how to correct my style....
    See,

    so the flared blade saved me.


    So, there you go. No reason I think why one can't get consistant result like these everytime with a good plough plane.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    New Baltimore, MI
    Posts
    3
    This was the most awesome, informative and thorough post I've ever seen. Thank you so much.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Northern Virginia
    Posts
    243
    A whole bunch of good ideas there, Jake. I think a lot of them would apply to any plough, not just a 45.

    Maurice

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Etobicoke, Ontario
    Posts
    415
    Beauty Jake! Thanks for taking the time to document your improvements!
    Louis Bois
    "and so it goes..." Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Schenectady, NY
    Posts
    1,500

    Plow on!!

    Absolutely wonderful dissertation and photos of an excellent idea. Strong work as usual Jake. I appreciate that you explain not only what you do, but the why behind it and show examples of what things should NOT look like. Your illustrations and annotations make all the difference. Thanks for taking the time to put this all together. That final cut is beautiful!
    Happy and Safe Turning, Don


    Woodturners make the world go ROUND!

  9. #9
    That is one ugly plane, but that is one beautiful plane. I've never seen a plow work so well. Thanks for showing us how.
    Please consider becoming a contributing member of Sawmill Creek.
    The cost is minimal and the benefits are real. Donate

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    SW of Madison, WI
    Posts
    437

    Talking plough

    my chin hurts from hitting the floor. That is a jaw dropper!
    Sharpening skills, the plane truth.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Sydney, Australia
    Posts
    63
    Nice work Jake. As others have already stated, this is a great post.
    Regards,
    Ian.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Central NY State
    Posts
    899
    Hats off to you Jake. Thanks a bunch.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Chesapeake, VA
    Posts
    96

    Awesome

    An awesome post!

    Someone send this to Robin Lee before he finalizes the designs on his plough plane(s)!

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    DuBois,Pa
    Posts
    1,557
    Jake,
    That was an awesome post and a great read. Thank you for taking the time to do it.

    Bob

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Kyogle N.S.W Australia
    Posts
    245
    My pleasure....

Similar Threads

  1. Mini Plane review, Mujingfang Smoother??
    By Gene Collison in forum Neanderthal Haven
    Replies: 17
    Last Post: 02-11-2012, 5:59 PM
  2. Plane definitions from my research ?
    By harry strasil in forum Neanderthal Haven
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: 09-24-2006, 7:50 PM
  3. Dado w/ Plough Plane
    By Raymond Stanley in forum Neanderthal Haven
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: 07-18-2006, 5:50 PM
  4. Veritas Medium Shoulder Plane Reviewed
    By Brad Olson in forum Neanderthal Haven
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 12-07-2004, 4:04 PM
  5. Woodcraft Rosewood Plow Plane review (long)
    By Marc Hills in forum Neanderthal Haven
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 04-06-2004, 11:59 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •