Hand made Infill plane (woodwork)
- Thread starter famas
- Start date
The marking gauge and box and finally done. I've really enjoyed making this piece though it took a little longer than expected.
Managed to get the photo's done yesterday.
The box is made from American black walnut, Maple and Birds eye maple.
Here you can see some of the lovely figuring on the birds eye maple.
Managed to get the photo's done yesterday.
The box is made from American black walnut, Maple and Birds eye maple.
Here you can see some of the lovely figuring on the birds eye maple.
I've also been working on a video over the weeks which I finished today.
Thanks for all the support over the last month or so on this project, it's really good to hear your feedback.
I think I'll start on another plane next. I want to try and make something totally original rather than recreating older designs but I'll see how it goes.
Cheers.
Thanks for all the support over the last month or so on this project, it's really good to hear your feedback.
I think I'll start on another plane next. I want to try and make something totally original rather than recreating older designs but I'll see how it goes.
Cheers.
Soldato
There should be a dropped jaw emoji added just for this thread, but this will have to do 
. Absolutely fantastic work as always.
Did the stainless steel harden up ok in the end?
. Absolutely fantastic work as always. Did the stainless steel harden up ok in the end?
Cheers @Mark A 
To be honest I'm not sure if the heat treating made much of a difference, I actually made another scribe wheel and didn't heat treat it and it seems much the same hardness.
I've since found a 12mm carbide round insert cutter which would work well and last ages but the stainless one seems to be holding a decent edge so far and is easy to sharpen when it does get dull.
Thanks again for your comment.
To be honest I'm not sure if the heat treating made much of a difference, I actually made another scribe wheel and didn't heat treat it and it seems much the same hardness.
I've since found a 12mm carbide round insert cutter which would work well and last ages but the stainless one seems to be holding a decent edge so far and is easy to sharpen when it does get dull.
Thanks again for your comment.
Soldato
I don't think stainless steel hardens much with heat treating.
Almost all of my metallurgy knowledge comes from watching Alex Steele's youtube channel and he was working with stainless steel in his most recent video this week. I'm sure he said it didn't harden easily.
I've literally just found this thread... AMAZING!!
The Planes and the presentation boxes are simply stunning! I'm gonna have to find the videos on YT tonight as i love watching this kind of thing.
I'm now getting back into carpentry again after a mere 15 year break. Having to buy all the tools again is royal pain!! Especially trying to find decent Planes!
I'm in the process of turning my garage into a workshop so i can start making furniture
The Planes and the presentation boxes are simply stunning! I'm gonna have to find the videos on YT tonight as i love watching this kind of thing.
I'm now getting back into carpentry again after a mere 15 year break. Having to buy all the tools again is royal pain!! Especially trying to find decent Planes!
I'm in the process of turning my garage into a workshop so i can start making furniture
Thanks for your comment @Noakesy85
I'd love to have the space to turn my garage into a work shop.
Keep an eye out for older well looked after hand tools at car boot sales, you can get some bargains.
Generally stay away from the cheaper mass produced planes, they take a lot of fettling to get set up nicely.
I'd love to have the space to turn my garage into a work shop.
Keep an eye out for older well looked after hand tools at car boot sales, you can get some bargains.
Generally stay away from the cheaper mass produced planes, they take a lot of fettling to get set up nicely.
Soldato
Ebay is worth a look as well, although avoid the ridiculously priced planes that have been tarted up and painted. I found Record and some other lesser known brands like footprint can go for bargain prices, but Stanley command a higher price as they're more well known. I got a 1940s record no4 plane that was in pretty good condition for £15 on ebay.
My days what a beautiful beautiful piece of craftsmanship, just stunning!!! Please tell me, do you sell these? Being a tradesman especially leaning more to the finesse of woodworking I would love one of these, I have a few lie nielsen planes but always wanted a british handmade plane.
Please let me know! Amazing work my friend.
Please let me know! Amazing work my friend.
Thank you for the comment @Cosmic182
No planes for sale at the moment though I may make one to sell in the future, ideally I'd like to get my own design nailed down then make one and see what people think.
I was going to start making another plane but I'm currently working on something else that I plan to make two of, if they both turn out well I will try to sell one of them.
Won't bother saying what it is at the moment in case I fail miserably
No planes for sale at the moment though I may make one to sell in the future, ideally I'd like to get my own design nailed down then make one and see what people think.
I was going to start making another plane but I'm currently working on something else that I plan to make two of, if they both turn out well I will try to sell one of them.
Won't bother saying what it is at the moment in case I fail miserably
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@famas The garage workshop isn't a permanent thing, unfortunately I live in Military Married Quarters so in roughly 2-3 years time, I could potentially move to a new house that doesn't have a garage
I've been to a handful of carboots this year but unfortunately arrived too late for any decent deals on hand-planes/tools. I'm not adverse to trying a bit of restoration either, I follow a few carpenters on YT like Matt Estlea, The Wood Whisperer etc and they all have some decent tutorials on hand-plane setup/restoration.
@Mark A I was never really sure on which other manufacturers would be classed as 'reputable', I'll definitely look into Record and Footprint though
Hello again all.
It's been a long while since I've made a post, I think it's fair to say its been an "interesting" year for most if not all of us.
To catch you up I was made redundant in February from a family run business where I had worked for nearly 18 years, it was a devastating blow not only for me but for every one that worked there.
Very fortunately I found work and I've settled into my new role though I am missing the variety that my old job offered, I don' think I can call myself a furniture maker anymore, I get looks of disdain if I pull my shooting board out rather than use the chop saw and don't mention my yankee screwdrivers (I jest)
My partner has also been affected by the pandemic and a few mouths after me was also made redundant. Again very fortunately she has managed to find work which is a huge relief.
I hope every one is doing okay and I hope this settles down soon so we can all return to some form of normality.
The passion to make tools is still burning within and I had started a new project only weeks before I was made redundant which had obviously been put on hold.
Thankfully I have had the opportunity and drive to start the project up again and thought I would share it with you.
Around the middle of last year I discovered Skelton saws and after hours of searching I was blown away by the ingenuity, quality and design of Shanes saws. I've not had the pleasure of seeing one of his saws first hand but I must have watched every video and seen nearly every photo. His work really is exceptional.
In particular I loved the look of his gents saw. A bit rich for my pockets but it sparked a desire to try and make my own, so late last year around October/November I started to make a pair of saws based on his but with my own interpretation. I planned one to be rip cut and the other to be cross cut.
I started with a piece of 300x50x9mm brass which I cut in half. This will form the backs of the saws
Next I had to form the slot for the blade to fit into. Ideally this would be done with a slitting saw on a milling machine but I had neither of those tools.
So next best thing was a set of cheap slitting saws for a Dremel which I used in a pillar drill with a backing fence.
The saws where "about" the same thickness as the saw plate I intended to use. I say "about" because no matter how well you set the pillar drill up it will inevitably make a "wobble" cut when forcing it laterally. More on this later.
After a quick test cut I realised I would need some hold downs to preform the cut
Taking it very slowly and in several passes I got the slit cut, certainly not the best way of doing it but I had to used what I had available and fortunately it came out ok.
With the slit done I could start to taper the backs and add the cove detail.
Tapering was simply done with hand files and the cove detail I did on the over head router which I didn't take any pictures of as I really don't advocate this way of doing it for safety reasons mostly but again I used what I had. (really would like to get my hands on a milling machine)
After a bit of sanding to clean up the machine marks the backs where at a stage that I could start to work on the handles of the saws.
It was a good few days work to this point as like normal I was just doing it in my breaks.
Next up the handles.
It's been a long while since I've made a post, I think it's fair to say its been an "interesting" year for most if not all of us.
To catch you up I was made redundant in February from a family run business where I had worked for nearly 18 years, it was a devastating blow not only for me but for every one that worked there.
Very fortunately I found work and I've settled into my new role though I am missing the variety that my old job offered, I don' think I can call myself a furniture maker anymore, I get looks of disdain if I pull my shooting board out rather than use the chop saw and don't mention my yankee screwdrivers
(I jest)My partner has also been affected by the pandemic and a few mouths after me was also made redundant. Again very fortunately she has managed to find work which is a huge relief.
I hope every one is doing okay and I hope this settles down soon so we can all return to some form of normality.
The passion to make tools is still burning within and I had started a new project only weeks before I was made redundant which had obviously been put on hold.
Thankfully I have had the opportunity and drive to start the project up again and thought I would share it with you.
Around the middle of last year I discovered Skelton saws and after hours of searching I was blown away by the ingenuity, quality and design of Shanes saws. I've not had the pleasure of seeing one of his saws first hand but I must have watched every video and seen nearly every photo. His work really is exceptional.
In particular I loved the look of his gents saw. A bit rich for my pockets but it sparked a desire to try and make my own, so late last year around October/November I started to make a pair of saws based on his but with my own interpretation. I planned one to be rip cut and the other to be cross cut.
I started with a piece of 300x50x9mm brass which I cut in half. This will form the backs of the saws
Next I had to form the slot for the blade to fit into. Ideally this would be done with a slitting saw on a milling machine but I had neither of those tools.
So next best thing was a set of cheap slitting saws for a Dremel which I used in a pillar drill with a backing fence.
The saws where "about" the same thickness as the saw plate I intended to use. I say "about" because no matter how well you set the pillar drill up it will inevitably make a "wobble" cut when forcing it laterally. More on this later.
After a quick test cut I realised I would need some hold downs to preform the cut
Taking it very slowly and in several passes I got the slit cut, certainly not the best way of doing it but I had to used what I had available and fortunately it came out ok.
With the slit done I could start to taper the backs and add the cove detail.
Tapering was simply done with hand files and the cove detail I did on the over head router which I didn't take any pictures of as I really don't advocate this way of doing it for safety reasons mostly but again I used what I had. (really would like to get my hands on a milling machine)
After a bit of sanding to clean up the machine marks the backs where at a stage that I could start to work on the handles of the saws.
It was a good few days work to this point as like normal I was just doing it in my breaks.
Next up the handles.
Soldato
Sorry to hear about your troubles but can’t wait to see the rest of this project.
Soldato
Nice Resurrection of this thread
Looking forward to more
Looking forward to more
With the saw backs partially done I moved onto the handles.
The handles wont follow any traditional form, I had a vision in my mind as to how I wanted them to look and I've tried to stick closely to it.
I chose to use maple and cherry for one handle and ash and wenge for the other, I had these woods available to me at the time but I'm still waiting to get my hands on something really exotic.
I love maple and this piece had a small amount of "pip" which was complemented nicely by the cherry.
The dark and light contrast of ash and wenge goes together nicely too and they have a similar open grain structure.
I used them as I was toying with the idea of using a liming paste to further contrast the open grain but after a quick sample I preferred the natural colour and contrast of the woods.
The woods are simply held together by beech dowels and glue, cramped up and left to cure over night.
After some early shaping and adding a 45 bevel to the handles I made a simple jig for cutting the slot in the upper portion of the handle to accept the brass backs.
Using the over head router, taking shallow passes to reduce chatter I cut the majority of the wood away
And then a lot of trial fitting and refinement with hand chisels. I used blue marker pen on the side of the brass backs when pushing them into position in the handle, this then left a mark of any tight spots in the groove which I could then cut away with the chisel.
This is one of the grooves nearly finished, Rather than coming to abrupt square end I'm attempting to add a detail feature to finish it off
And here is the early stages of transferring that detail over to the brass back. I plan to use a piece of round stock in the hole getting the joint as tight fitting as possible to hopefully leave a near seamless joint.
This will require a lot of careful filing and gouge work.
I also drilled and taped for a bolt in the under side of the brass back. This will be fixed through the bottom of the handle when I come to assemble the saw.
The handles wont follow any traditional form, I had a vision in my mind as to how I wanted them to look and I've tried to stick closely to it.
I chose to use maple and cherry for one handle and ash and wenge for the other, I had these woods available to me at the time but I'm still waiting to get my hands on something really exotic.
I love maple and this piece had a small amount of "pip" which was complemented nicely by the cherry.
The dark and light contrast of ash and wenge goes together nicely too and they have a similar open grain structure.
I used them as I was toying with the idea of using a liming paste to further contrast the open grain but after a quick sample I preferred the natural colour and contrast of the woods.
The woods are simply held together by beech dowels and glue, cramped up and left to cure over night.
After some early shaping and adding a 45 bevel to the handles I made a simple jig for cutting the slot in the upper portion of the handle to accept the brass backs.
Using the over head router, taking shallow passes to reduce chatter I cut the majority of the wood away
And then a lot of trial fitting and refinement with hand chisels. I used blue marker pen on the side of the brass backs when pushing them into position in the handle, this then left a mark of any tight spots in the groove which I could then cut away with the chisel.
This is one of the grooves nearly finished, Rather than coming to abrupt square end I'm attempting to add a detail feature to finish it off
And here is the early stages of transferring that detail over to the brass back. I plan to use a piece of round stock in the hole getting the joint as tight fitting as possible to hopefully leave a near seamless joint.
This will require a lot of careful filing and gouge work.
I also drilled and taped for a bolt in the under side of the brass back. This will be fixed through the bottom of the handle when I come to assemble the saw.
Progressing on with the handles and the vision in my mind I needed to add some brass bows between the contrasting woods.
I mark them out on an off cut of brass from the last plane I made glad I never throw any thing away, I knew that tiny strip would come in useful
After setting several out I start to carefully file them
Delicate work trying to get them as uniform as possible while keeping the edges square.
Once happy with the shape I roughly cut them to length with a junior hacksaw.
Then refined them with needle files to finish off.
Next up was the painstaking task of cutting them into the wood. I used a modified chisel and stanley blade to carefully cut away the wood little by little.
I feared the open grain of the ash and wenge would cause issues cutting such a small detail but fortunately the wood worked in my favour.
Just for a little context the bows are 14mm long and taper down to 1.5mm in the centre
I then fixed the bow in place with epoxy. One down 7 to go...
I mark them out on an off cut of brass from the last plane I made glad I never throw any thing away, I knew that tiny strip would come in useful
After setting several out I start to carefully file them
Delicate work trying to get them as uniform as possible while keeping the edges square.
Once happy with the shape I roughly cut them to length with a junior hacksaw.
Then refined them with needle files to finish off.
Next up was the painstaking task of cutting them into the wood. I used a modified chisel and stanley blade to carefully cut away the wood little by little.
I feared the open grain of the ash and wenge would cause issues cutting such a small detail but fortunately the wood worked in my favour.
Just for a little context the bows are 14mm long and taper down to 1.5mm in the centre
I then fixed the bow in place with epoxy. One down 7 to go...