Replies

1. 
   Pippins | Feb 02, 2006 03:49pm | #1

   Troy, I built one out of cocobolo in December and I do not have any complaints. It is too early to tell how stable it will remain when we get the humid summer weather.  Cocobolo is good stuff to work as it machines. It also has a natural oil content. This should help maintain the stability. Not sure if this is the best choice for the plane though.

   David Marks built one of purpleheart on one of his shows. The local Woodcraft store teaches a class and they use bubinga and cocobolo.

   Personally, I like the cocobolo and recommend it. It is expensive though. Next time, I will try osage orange, one of our local native hardwoods. 

   Give some consideration to the blade as well. I bought one of the Hock blades and it is great. 

   Steve

1. 
   Troy | Feb 02, 2006 08:34pm | #2

   Thanks, the Cocabolo is pretty I did not know if the oilines would be a problem with keeping the blade wedged tight.Troy

1. 
   Pippins | Feb 02, 2006 10:45pm | #3

   Troy, does not seem to be a problem for me but it is something to consider. If it is a problem, clean and/or roughen the ramp with fine sanpaper. 

   Steve 

2. 
   EdHarrison | Feb 03, 2006 12:01am | #4

   Troy, this is an interesting question and I am eagerly awaiting and hoping the experts like Larry Williams will post.

   I am going to make a Krenov style plane out of dogwood, but that's just because I have some that's been drying for 18 months.  I may nuke it in the microwave some as that has seemed to stabilize the dogwood I've used for chisel handles and small (but really heavy and tough!) boxes.

    

    

1. 
   Troy | Feb 03, 2006 02:29am | #5

   Had not heard of the microwave trick. Might have to try it when the DW is not home:)Troy

2. 
   lwilliams | Feb 03, 2006 05:32am | #6

   Troy and Ed,There are a number of reasons Krenov or laminated planes aren't anything I plan to do again. What I don't want to do is discourage anyone from making one. You can learn so much from the experience and use of any plane you make yourself.A lot of people worry about the hardness (supposed wear resistance but the two aren't really related) of the wood they choose to make a plane. Wear isn't the issue it's made out to be with wooden planes. Do they wear? Yes but any material will. Most of what is attributed to wear in wooden planes is the loss of material from tuning to account for seasonal movement. Don't tune your plane with other planes, especially if they've also been subjected to humidity change. By the time you've removed a few thousandths of an inch of movement with other out of straight planes, you'll have removed a lot more of the sole than necessary. Don't even think about power tools.Just lap the soles using sandpaper and a flat surface.The big issue in plane movement isn't the dimensional change you read about in all the woodworking books. What you're really going to be dealing with, especially in bench planes, is the expansion and contraction of the surface around the core which changes moisture content more slowly than the surface. This expansion and contraction leaves the surfaces either convex or concave according to how far from any surface the core area is. Basically you're going to have minor seasonal problems with humps or hollows in the sole centered in the toe and heel areas. Just lap these away and you're good to go.There are woods that very effectively move moisture from the core to the surface. Just look for a heavy ray structure like you see in beech, hard maple or even cherry. You also want a fine grain diffuse porous wood. Dense tropical woods move moisture very slowly and you'll end up with a plane that moves every day--it never seems to settle down.One of the reasons I don't like laminated planes is the breaking of the vessel structure of the wood and its ability to move moisture. Add the layer of glue and you're adding a vapor barrier. With some "water proof" glues you might as well have a layer of impermeable plastic in the glue line.Don't worry about wear. After years of working with wooden planes I can assure you the face of your iron will wear faster than your planes sole. Add the flattening of the face each sharpening and you'll soon realize the big wear issue you have to deal with is what's happening to the hardened steel iron. The traditional Western style wooden plane is the result of hundreds of years of evolution. That evolution resulted in incredible tools. Learn what you can from making a laminated plane; I'm all for that but you can go a lot further without a whole lot more work.

1. 
   DCarr10760 | Feb 03, 2006 06:04am | #7

   Larry,

   Thanks for the post!  It answered a bunch of lingering questions that I had.  You mention lapping the sole with sandpaper and a flat surface.  What grit do you use on your planes?

   David C.

1. 
   lwilliams | Feb 03, 2006 05:53pm | #8

   David,I usually use the same 240 grit paper I use to sand between finishes.One thing I forgot to mention about planes is how critical grain orientation is. The sides should be dead quartered or as close as possible. There are a lot of reasons for this and I don't think any of them have anything to do with wear.

2. 
   Troy | Feb 04, 2006 01:40am | #9

   Thanks, so are you suggesting a would like maple or beech would be better than a tropical like Cocobolo?ThanksTroy

1. 
   lwilliams | Feb 04, 2006 04:38am | #10

   There's no doubt in my mind that beech or maple will make a better plane than cocobolo unless you enjoy tinkering with a plane every time you want to use it.

1. 
   John_D | Feb 04, 2006 05:12am | #11

   I'm sure learning a lot from this discussion.  I wanted to make a plane and have a big chunk of ebony and thought it would be really cool and practical.  Now having second thoughts.

   Nice of you guys to offer so much good information!My goal is for my work to outlast me.  Expect my joinery to get simpler as time goes by.

2. 
   lwilliams | Feb 04, 2006 06:45am | #12

   John,

   Ebony can make a plane if you've had it a long time, it's dry and the grain orientation is right. My business partner, Bill, has made a couple of them but it's a long wait and we don't have time to do that anymore.

   Keep in mind that ebony is very brittle, moves moisture slowly, and seems to swallow light inside while you're working on it.

   View Image

3. 
   Troy | Feb 04, 2006 10:03am | #13

   Thanks, plus beech is less expensive although it does not look as good in photos;)Troy

3. 
   WillGraham | Feb 04, 2006 04:54pm | #14

   I made a Kernov style hand plane last month.

   I got David Fink's book for Christmas, and then Lee Valley started selling the Hock blades for these planes. Some sort of Karma going on.  I built a plane around the 1 1/2 inch Hock blade.  When I was in the LV store I grabbed some of their precut stock of Padauk ~ $20.  I just wanted to see how difficult it was to make this style of plane.  The wood was a little brittle, but cheep enough for a first try. If I screwed up I could just get another piece of wood.  I would have used shop scrap but did not have any the right size.

   I used all hand tools except for the drill press. The plane bed flattened well with a file.  The glue up worried me a little. I used a weather proof wood glue. This may have not been the best choice.  I still have to shape the plane.  There is a problem.  Once I got it together, the bottom lapped flat, and the sharpened blade seated , it tried it.  This is easily one of my best working planes.

   I don't know how much was luck, blade or my craftsmanship, but I now have a plane that smooths wood to a glass like surface.  Shaping it just may not happen. I will leave it the square for now. 

   With this plane I now have more hand made planes then store bought.  The cheapest, this one, is the "best value" winner.  I have also made a coffin style out of some scrap ash.  This was not a good idea.  I find ash wood is too hard to work for this project.  Getting the bed flat is a real workout. I would not go ash again.

   Will Graham

    

1. 
   user-103918 | Feb 05, 2006 09:28pm | #15

   Rosewoods (of which cocobolo is one) ebonies, lignum vitae and boxwood have been used in planemaking for centuries - long before beech was the accepted standard. It gets down to price more than anything else. The exotics were top shelf and cost a lot of money. Beech - an excellent timber for planemaking I should add - was a lot less expensive and did a great job for the money.There's nothing wrong with using cocobolo or any other of the aforementioned woods. I know planemakers who have used these in the past without any trouble. The key though is to use well seasoned wood. And wood that's acclimatized to your workshop. There's also a good number of planemakers who are laminating these woods together to make planes.There's a few sites around with info on making planes. I've just come from http://www.handplane.com but they seem to have more stuff on infill planes than Krenov style ones. Still, I guess the information and methods are similar?

1. 
   Troy | Feb 06, 2006 09:03am | #17

   Thanks for the info on wood and thanks for the link.Troy

4. 
   gb93433 | Feb 05, 2006 11:24pm | #16

   Goncalvo Alves is a very nice wood to use for handplanes. It is heavy, glues well, and becomes very slick on the bottom during use. Goncalvo Alves is a very stable wood.

1. 
   Troy | Feb 06, 2006 09:04am | #18

   Thanks for the info on that wood, its pretty as well.Troy