Another plane

[Lons]

I've just finished this apart from honing the blade properly and will just give brief details for those who might find it interesting as it's pretty straightforward.

I had intended making a dovetail plane out of brass and steel but stumbled across a cheap bronze casting on ebay so couldn't resist. The casting was as rough as the proverbial, far worse than I expected so using files and hand sanding (my belt sander was out of action) it took a long lo....ng time to get it flattened and all the pitting and defects out, probably longer than making one from scratch also I found cutting the mouth more difficult than it was the last time on a flat piece of steel before assembly.

Wood is walnut and the screws holding it in were replaced with glue and brass screws later filed down flush, I cut the cap from 12mm brass and turned the screw from bar. The iron is an old Alex Matheson salvaged from a scrap wooden plane.

Especially for Andy who likes to see shavings apparently I tried it before polishing the handles and before the blade has been honed. Reasonable results on some sapele that tends to tear out.

[Dr.Al]

That's beautiful.

Now I'm feeling very tempted to look for plane castings on ebay (although the sanding will probably do the job of putting me off!)

[Mike G]

Very nice Bob........but I never suspected you were short of planes.

[Lons]

Very nice Bob........but I never suspected you were short of planes.

I'm not. Just a fad I'm going through. I suspect my son will want this, though he'd never use it so might make a box and he can have it when I pop me clogs. Not quite ready to do that just yet.

[Andyp]

…..when I pop me clogs…..

You going to make those too.

Nice shavings BTW, proof of the pudding.

[RogerS]

Great restoration, Bob. Pity you're not closer as you could have had my belt-sander on longterm loan as I never use it.

[NickM]

Lovely.

[SamQ aka Ah! Q!]

I was priveleged to hold this beauty for a few minutes on Monday. Very nice weighting and a comfortable hold. Nice one, Bob.

[Mike G]

I'm curious how you get from your 8th photo to your 9th. You have 3 temporary screws in the first of those, and they gone in the next. The thing is, there is no evidence they were ever there. You've done something very neat to lose the holes entirely.

[Lons]

I'm curious how you get from your 8th photo to your 9th. You have 3 temporary screws in the first of those, and they gone in the next. The thing is, there is no evidence they were ever there. You've done something very neat to lose the holes entirely.

I have some photos somewhere I think Mike. Those temporary screws were there holding the wood while the epoxy dried after which I replaced them with slotted brass screws also dipped in epoxy. I'd countersunk the holes very slightly bashed the screw heads a little then filed and sanded them off. They are visible as the brass is slightly yellow compared to the bronze but the aren't clear in the photos.

Strangely, the brass rods holding the cap are more visible but that's from bar stock so must be a different composition to the screws.

EDIT. Have just taken this which shows one of the screws

[AndyT]

Could I ask for a bit more detail on the lever cap?

Was this "just" done by sawing and hand filing? I know people who have balked at this step and bought a ready made one instead!

And the shape - how did you arrive at it? In the first picture it looks a little unrefined but when we see it from above in the assembled plane it looks just right, with the transitions from round boss to concave scoop to straight sides all lining up most elegantly.
Proper job!

[Lons]

I'm not sure what I can add Andy.
I'd bought a piece of 12mm brass off ebay a while ago, it was slightly undersized for the width of this casting but I packed out with a couple of thin steel washers, with hindsight maybe I should have made brass ones.
I played around with a bit of card to get a shape and then cut it out with a hacksaw, files and abrasives, the hole is just drilled and tapped to 10mm to suit the screw I turned and tapped.

It's not perfect but got to the point where enough was enough.

My son asked me to put my initials on it and name and date on the wood. (Maybe that's in case he forgets who I am? ) Just something else to be passed down along with carvings and other stuff that dad / grandpa made.

[Cabinetman]

It’s beautiful Bob, quick pic of some shavings, does it work as well -or better than hoped?

[AndyT]

[Lons]

It’s beautiful Bob, quick pic of some shavings, does it work as well -or better than hoped?

Some shavings in the original pics Ian, you know what it's like, just have to try it out before it's finished. The blade was reasonably sharp but I haven't honed it so I don't know what I expected but happy with the results. I might hone it this afternoon and try again.