My second wooden plane

[Jeff Wittrock]

Some time ago, Ron Brese was good enough to provide me with one of his real nice 1.75" wide, 1/4" thick irons.

I've been wanting to make a body for it for some time, and finally finished this one. I'm kind of new to using just hand tools, but I thought I would have a go at making this one with just hand tools. The one exception is the cross pin hole (and the cross pin itself). I don't own a brace yet, so I did this with a drill press.

The material is Padauk which is a first for me. My brother in law does trim in houses and often provides me with some scrap poplar and oak, but in the last batch he gave me was this small 3/4" thick piece of Padauk, a rare treat. It had a bit of twist to it and some cupping as well, but after cutting it into short pieces I was able to flatten it with another plane, and glue four pieces together to form a block large enough for the body.

I made the cross pin from some scrap brass I had laying around which I salvaged from a discarded trophy. The pin was originally a fluted column on the trophy, so I ground the flutes off, chucked the pin up in a drill press and polished it with vary grits of sand paper.

I ended up making the bed angle about 55deg. I wanted something I could use on slightly figured wood, so I hope this was a good choice. I made the back of the plane a quite a bit higher than my last plane to provide a little better purchase for my hand. So far, I have found it pretty comfortable to hold on to.

With the pretty wood, I didn't have the heart to leave a rough surface on the back to keep my hand from slipping. I have been thinking of stippling or checkering the surface like you would do to the grip on a gun stock. Even without this, I have found it pretty easy to maintain a good hold.

I have to say I love the 1/4" thick iron from Ron. I have found it very easy to hold a good angle while honing freehand. My sharpening skills still need some work, but I think the thick blade makes it easier. The small brass knob he puts on the end came in handy. Its purpose is to keep the blade from accidentally sliding out the bottom of the plane, and I can tell you that it worked .

[Robert Loss]

Looks really good. How do you think the Padauk will stand up to blade setting taps?

[Ron Brese]

Jeff,

I have to say you gave that iron a nice plane to live and work. I love the color of the material and the shape of the body tends to make one want to grab it and try it out.

Ron Brese

[Brian Kent]

That's beautiful. I love the Padauk. I have a plane that is made of Padauk and does just fine with the taps, as long as I tap with brass on the blade and wood on wood.

I like the high back for your grip and the high blade angle. The fourth picture with the wood shavings shows it works, unless you cheated and put some shavings from another plane in the mouth.

[Dewey Torres]

I don't know if you were aware but James Krenov uses a hand plane like the one you show here, as the first project (or one of the first) in his woodworking classes. The idea being that if you can build one of these to the craftsmanship necessary to make it work well, you then have the skills and attention to detail needed for all other woodworking projects.

Congrats... seems like Krenov may have been pleased.

Strike that!!! I just remembered, the David Marks informed me that he had a terrible temperament! He wouldn't have been pleased (on the outside anyway)

Dewey

[Terry Bigelow]

Great job Jeff. That's a real looker! I am building a 55 degree woody similar to yours and was wondering what angle you used on the front ramp. Looks like there's plenty of room for the chips eh?

[Mark Singer]

That is a beauty! It really looks like a user , but only for fine work!

[Jeff Wittrock]

Thanks all.

...How do you think the Padauk will stand up to blade setting taps?

The Padauk seems to hold up pretty well to my oak mallet.

...was wondering what angle you used on the front ramp. Looks like there's plenty of room for the chips eh?

I used a ~65deg. angle on the front ramp. That together with the brass cross pin seems to leave plenty of room for the shavings.

Thanks again,

-Jeff

[Zahid Naqvi]

that's purdy