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Infill Smoothing Plane

comments (6) February 14th, 2011 in Reader's Gallery

ccb1982 ccb1982, member
thumbs up 3 users recommend


This plane took me almost 2 months to build. The sides are 3/16 brass and the sole is 1/4" steel. They are connected by double dovetails which are peened together to produce a strong joint. The infill wood is bubinga with 3 coats of danish oil. The dovetails were cut by hand with a hacksaw and cleaned up with files. The only part of the plane i didn't make was the 3/16" thick Hock iron.

For anyone who has thought about building an infill plane, I strongly recommend taking the plunge. It's very satisfying to know that you built a plane that should last a lifetime, and more.


Design or Plan used: Norris A13, Holtey A13 with slight modifications

posted in: Reader's Gallery, tool, bubinga, infill, norris, holtey


Comments (6)

MedikMan MedikMan writes: Mighty Fine!!! I'm just learning to use planes, and they are great. Wow, if I could actually make a great plane like that one....what a fine job you did. My hat's off to you!
Posted: 10:53 pm on June 11th

alcavalier alcavalier writes: Beautiful work
Posted: 2:57 pm on February 24th

ccb1982 ccb1982 writes: I did make the screw myself. It's 3/8" threaded rod with a piece of brass epoxied to it. I used a piece of scrap left over from the lever cap, which i drilled, tapped, then epoxied to the threaded rod. When it was dry, i chucked it onto my wood lathe and used a file to turn it round. I used a triangular file to cut the knurling on the screw. I planned on buying one, but i couldn't find one that size anywhere.
Posted: 2:23 am on February 16th

ccb1982 ccb1982 writes: Thanks. No I didn't buy a kit. I bought the brass and steel from industrial metal supply. I cut all the parts with a hacksaw and cleaned it up with a disc sander and oscillating spindle sander. The dovetails were refined with files. I did spend countless hours online researching the process first.
Posted: 2:15 am on February 16th

mokusakusensei mokusakusensei writes: beautiful job! Did you have a kit for all of the materials or did you do the screw for the iron etc.?
Posted: 8:52 pm on February 15th

zbop zbop writes: Beautiful. I hope you have someone special to pass it down to. You're right ... but, it should last several life times.
Posted: 7:05 pm on February 14th

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