building a plane

tomcarver | Posted in Hand Tools on February 22, 2010 07:19am

Hey there knotheads,

I want to try building a wood body plane. I have some 2″ square mahogany. Would this be a good choice for a plane? I notice in most of the plans for Krenov style planes that the sides are glued and doweled to the larger center section. These side are usually 1/2″+/- and cut from the original block. Would it be ok to use sides from another piece or further down the same piece? I want to keep the center piece as wide as possible since 2″ is the largest piece I have.

Thanks

Tom Goodman

Bailey, NC

Replies

cahudson42 | Feb 22, 2010 07:41pm | #1
Get the book:

'Making and Mastering Wood Planes' by David Finck (newly reprinted).

He is in Banner Elk, NC - perhaps close enough to visit/take a course.

This book is LOADED with far more than just making a wooden plane.

A gem.

Chris

'
gdblake | Feb 23, 2010 09:36am | #2
Tom:

The cheeks can be from another piece of wood. Just try to match the grain orientation as much as possible. The best results come from using quarter-sawn stock with the growth rings running side to side and the grain runout going downhill from front (toe) to back (heel). 2" square stock is the minimum for making a plane using a Hock 3 1/2" double iron. Here are two links to help you get started.

http://www.crfinefurniture.com/1pages/sitelinks/howplane.html

http://www.popularmechanics.com/home_journal/woodworking/1273456.html

If you search Finewoodworking's articles I believe they have one by David Finck that will give you even more information.

gdblake
joker | Feb 23, 2010 11:15am | #3
Hi Tom,

I have made probably a dozen wooden planes and none of them have been from a single block of wood; time will tell if this was a good move or not. Because I make them primarily out of left overs the center as well as the cheeks are glued together from thinner stock.

I don't know if mahogony would be a good choice only from the standpoint of how well it will stand up to getting whacked by a hammer to set the iron. Take the stock you are planning to use and hit it a few times with a hammer and see how it fares.

I attached a picture (hopefully) of my current collection. They are fun and satisfying to make and as has been stated David Finck's book is great for alot of cool stuff. Make sure to psot a picture when you are done.