Replies

1. 
   Zacc | Jun 30, 2009 05:00am | #1

   Look at the Clark and Williams web site for an article on using beech for planemaking.  They have a good discussion on glueing up stock for planemaking.

2. 
   roc | Jun 30, 2009 07:39am | #2

   Using several thin boards glued up one must orient the grain so all are being smoothed down rather than going against the grain which tends to pick up wood fiber from the board being planed and gets imbedded into the bottom of your plane.

   There are any number of wood suppliers that will ship thick wood to you. You can pick up a rather boring DRY bowl blank if nothing else. You can view the blank on line and get a fine idea of what is on offer. I do this with ebony and have had good luck. Also for some highly figured purple heart for accents.

   You don't want wild grain for your plane or it may not be stable enough. Hence my comment about boring grain.

   Here is the first one that I found but has a minimum order limit

   http://www.gilmerwood.com/bowl_blank.htm

   Some suppliers will ship just one blank say thirty dollars or so. Or even less.

   Here is a place

   http://www.exoticwoodgroup.com/order_Bolivian_rosewood.htm#boards

   that sells 3"x3" x12" rose wood for $24. ( Page up or down ) That could be a plane

   And this 4x4 by 12 cocobolo could make one heck of a plane

   http://www.exoticglobalwoods.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=13

   You can click for larger image and magnify that. Some pics are great; taken before coating with wax. Most blanks come completely encased in wax so they don't crack and you can slowly acclimate it to your climate if extreme.

   roc

   Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )

   Edited 6/30/2009 12:47 am by roc

   
   

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   Edited 6/30/2009 12:50 am by roc

3. 
   roc | Jun 30, 2009 08:26am | #3

   Here we go ! These are nice pics on the supplier's site. Kind of small but Krenov really liked Padouk for a plane.

   Some times stuff does not show up when you use the search window on an online store and you just got to dig around on a suppliers site and page down through all the stuff on offer.

   And if you want to go all out as Chris did in the recent past see second pic of Lignum Vitae

   roc

   Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )

   
   

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   Edited 6/30/2009 1:37 am by roc

   
4. 
   joker | Jun 30, 2009 07:46pm | #4

   Hello,

   I typically do what you are describing, assuming you are talking about a Krenov style plane. The body where the iron will sit is 2 4/4 pieces glued together. I also laminate the "cheeks" in 3 layers using a different type of wood; it gives it kind of a cool effect when you shape the plane.

   If you are careful and the grain cooperates you can make the glue line disappear or use the glue line to get a bookmatched effect on the main body, again, this can give it a really cool look if you have some nice grain.

   The sole will be something along the lines of Coco Bolo or Lignum Vitae with the grain running front to rear of the plane.

   The oldest one I have is about 7 years old and used quite a bit and so far no signs of anything failing or affecting performance. It was made with White Oak for the body, White Oak and Walnut for the cheeks and Iron wood for the sole.

   Anyway, I have made about a half dozen planes in this manner and so far it works just fine. I can't say how they will be in another twenty years or so.

5. 
   troys | Jun 30, 2009 08:32pm | #5

   Hello idahoknotty I built a Kernov style wood plane out of Pau Ferro and glued up the stock, had no problems with the construction and the plane works well.

   Thanks

6. 
   nboucher | Jun 30, 2009 09:43pm | #6

   If you don't already have it, I highly recommend David Finck's Making and Mastering Wooden Planes, which covers stock selection, gluing up blanks from smaller boards, and everything you ever wanted to know about making wooden planes. I just got it and will be laminating some hard maple for my first wooden plane soon.

   You can see it and order it here:
   http://www.davidfinck.com/book.htm

   Norman

1. 
   flairwoodworks | Jul 01, 2009 03:45am | #7

   Norman,It sounds like Finck's book is back in print. That's great new for anyone who doesn't have a copy - they were hard to find (and expensive) when the previous edition was discontinued.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com and now http://www.flairwoodworks.com)

    - Success is not the key to happiness.  Happiness is the key to success.  If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer

1. 
   nboucher | Jul 01, 2009 03:57am | #8

   Yes, Chris, it was reissued just a few weeks ago. He's such a wonderful craftsman. I love his work.

7. 
   gdblake | Jul 01, 2009 10:44pm | #9

   Chris:

   If you are going to use traditional methods to make your plane I would encourage you to find a source of stock large enough to make the body of the plane from.  If you are going to use Krenov's method of gluing up the cheeks, then there is no reason the whole body can't be of thick laminations.  I have made several planes this way.  You want to use quarter sawn boards, plane them to half inch thickness and have the glue joints running vertically to form the plane body.  Also make sure you glue up the boards so that all of them have the grain runout going in the same direction.  Attached are two pictures of a jointer I made 7 or 8 years ago this way.  It works fine.

   gdblake

   
1. 
   idahoknotty | Jul 02, 2009 07:45pm | #10

   Hello all,

   Thanks for the thoughtful replies and insights.  The Clark and Williams articles are great and make compelling arguments.  

   Yes, I've been intending to start with a Krenov style plane and have been planning to use primarily treecycled lumber-soft maple or hawthorne for the body and hawthorne for the sole.  While heirloom quality is my goal and aspriation, I'm most interested in getting going and learning :) ("Pefection is the enemy of the good" they say)

   Roc--thanks for the turning stock idea, hadn't thought of that as a source for plane bodies.  I'm in Portland on occassion and have been looking forward to getting to Gilmers, though my bank account trembles at the thought...

   gdblake--I'm curious about the metal nubbin on the front of your plane--is it for an adjustable mouth?  Beautiful plane!

   I found David Finck's book on his site yesterday by serendipity and ordered one based on the reviews on amazon--sounds like a book that goes beyond plane making.  Great news, because I had tried to by a copy several months ago, but the cost of used copies put me off.  Also ordered an a2 iron from him. 

   I'll post my progress, though it may be glacial :)

   Cheers,

   Chris

    

    

1. 
   gdblake | Jul 02, 2009 09:30pm | #11

   Chris:

   The metal nubbin is a strike button.  It is a short stainless steel bolt with the head polished and epoxied into place.  Some guys use a piece of really hard wood of a contrasting color for their strike button.   You strike it to free the wedge and remove the iron.    I have made some small smoothers with adjustable mouths, but really found it to be more trouble than it is worth.  The nice things about building planes via Krenov's method is that it doesn't take much skill, is cheap and fast, allows for experimentation, and teaches you a lot about planes.  Keep in mind that modern gun stocks, airplane propellers, and a host of other wood products are made from laminated stock.  If you keep your laminations on the thin side you shoudn't have any problems.  If your layers are thick, then you have more of a chance of the plane warping as it seasons.  I also recommend using Titebond II or III.  these glues are superior in this application.

   gdblake

2. 
   Bill_Anderson | Jul 05, 2009 06:03am | #12

   I had the same issue with finding goodly sized beech for planes, particularly jointers.  So I just bit the bullet, contacted a local sawyer and asked him to find me a beech to cut up.  He found a 28: diameter treet and I and severral frineds traveled out to meet him and we cut that  tree into 105 billets 4X4X40.  Also some 2X4X40.  It has been over a yar now and the stack is doing nicely.  I have been tracing the drying process.  At some point, I will be able to take these to a local kiln to bring them down to a reasonable moistrue content.  The kiln will not take such thick wood until it has dried for a year or so.  I do not want to wait the full 4 years for this, so tht is why I am thinking about a kiln at this point.