I am interested in teaching myself how to make simple wooden handplanes. Can someone suggest books and/or magazine articles that will get me started?
Thanks
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Replies
dbidle,
I have Building Traditional Wooden Planes, by John Whelen. It's pretty comprehensive, takes you from a simple krenov type block plane to a fillester with skewed blade and sliding arms.
Ray
Ray
Does that book come with pictures.........I can't read a book without pictures.
Sorry, brain is frozen.
Jeff
Jeff,
The book is full of drawings by the author. It is, as the comedian used to say, pretty self exclamatory, tho the geometry on some of those skew-bladed ones is guaranteed to give you a head-ache. He has a spill-plane whose blade is oriented in such a way that I can't get my head around how it would ever work, but apparently it does. Might have to try and make one of those, just to see.
Ray
Ray
With business so bad and free time at a lifetime high, I just might give it a whirl myself. I'll check out that book.
Jeff
Jeff,Don't say that. You're scaring me. So far I've been keeping busy... fingers crossed...Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com(soon to be http://www.flairwoodworks.com)
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
If you can find it "Making and Mastering Wooden Hand Planes" by David Fink... Unfortunatly it's now out of print. Lots of pictures...
FWW also had an article by Finck that gave instructions -- perhaps some one remembers which issue it was.
I second Buster's recommendation of Finck's book. Good luck finding yourself a copy. The article in FWW was also very good and came out in the last half year, if I remember correctly.
Chris @ www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
(soon to be www.flairwoodworks.com)
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
You might want to read this :
http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/ProjectsAndDesign/ProjectsAndDesignPDF.aspx?id=30018
That's the one!Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com(soon to be http://www.flairwoodworks.com)
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
The picture of him routing the cap screw slot is frightening.
I know it's expedient to use power tools to make wooden handplanes. I know that.
Obviously using power tools would have been an impossibility not so terribly long ago (in the history of woodworking). So, for kicks at least is anybody currently doing these entirely with hand methods and tools? Anybody not an inch and a half away from mangling their hand like the bloke in the article?
Edited 1/18/2009 7:04 am ET by TaunTonMacoute
All,
The Finck book may be out of print, but due to the wonders of Amazon, it is not unavailable. For a measily $138 plus shipping, you can get a copy. Just as money should not be an object in obtaining the finest tools, it should not be an object in obtaining the finest books. Knowledge is Power! Finck's book, contrary to Charles' typical negative comment, is an exercise in technical excellence. Finck focuses on craftsmanship. I highly recommend the book. I would also recommend buying the book that Ray Pine mentioned, Building Traditional Wooden Planes, by John Whelen. IT is a classic and can be gotten from Amazon for less than $20! Now that is a bargain. If money is short, you can certainly do well with just the Whelan book.The only problem that I have with the Whelan book is that he really tries to make his planes look beautiful. Remember the Krenov plane that went on EBay for over $1000? Someone on Knots commented that it looked like it had been made by a drunken beaver. Krenov is a genius. He focused on the FUNCTION of tools, not on their superficial looks. Why not take a lesson from Krenov and make a plane that works well, but is as ugly as sin. If we are going to stand tall, we should stand on the shoulders of the giants who have preceded us. It is a great conversation starter.Have fun.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Thank you all for all of your helpful tips. I will probably buy both books.David
David,
It is nice to know that "ideas" provided were found helpful.
In Knots, it is difficult to know who you can trust.
I have found that there are a few handfuls of folks here who can be trusted all the time. But then again, who am I to say? Ray Pine gave you one of your first responses. Ray is absolutely trustworthy, and his experience is immense. More ideas:You can find a free pdf on making handplanes at:
http://www.whisperedimages.com/Classes/BuildaHandPlane/BuildaWoodenHandPlane.pdfAnother free "how to make handplanes" is at:
http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/shows_wwk/episode/0,,diy_14350_34860,00.htmlAnother free "how to:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/home_journal/woodworking/1273456.htmlAnother free "how to" is at:
http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/shows_wwk/episode/0,,diy_14350_34860,00.htmlEven Lowes has a free "How to":
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=howTo&p=Build/BldHndPlnA great place for good info on handplanes is:|
http://www.handplane.com/Find free info on:
http://www.woodworkersworkshop.com/resources/index.php?cat=607Listen to Krenov on handplanes at:
http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/ProjectsAndDesign/ProjectsAndDesignArticle.aspx?id=30181Todd Herli has a DVD on how to make hollows and rounds:
http://www.woodworkerslibrary.com/product.php?productid=17722&cat=274page=6So there is lots of stuff out there that can help you out. Ray Pine just finished making a bevel up smoother, with advice from master plane maker, Philip Marcou. Philip is a regular here on Knots and is a very nice guy, who will surely answer any questions you ask him.Hope that helps.
Best of luck.
Please keep us posted on what you decide to do, and on progress in making your planes.
Most of all, HAVE FUN,
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Hey - these articles should keep me busy. Just so you know, I am a very slow mover and am a very part time woodworker (because my work and life is so demanding) so it will probably be awhile before I actually make my first handplane. I have been wanting to make one for a long time and decided just the other day that I needed to begin the research process if I were ever to make this a reality. I'm sure I'll have questions along the way.I'm very excited!Thanks-David
David,
No need to make excuses about taking your time in woodworking. That is the way it should be for hobbyists like you and me. I just retired a year ago. Before that, I only got to the shop a few evenings a week and maybe part of a day on a weekend. There were kids to raise and lots of work and family stuff that "got in the way" of woodwork. But the kids are successfully raised, and I am still happily married, and the house is still standing. Now I have more time to do my hobby. Attached is a photo of the one block plane that I have made. I already bought the wood for my second, but like you, it will be a while til it gets made.Have fun.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Nice - what kind of woods did you use?
You asked :
Nice - what kind of woods did you use?
My woodworking tastes follow my ice cream taste. I used Maple and Walnut.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
My woodworking tastes follow my ice cream taste. I used Maple and Walnut.
I'm still looking for Raisin-Rum wood!
!
You get that filthy plane off Mary Beth's nice clean quilt, this instant!
Ray
Edited 1/19/2009 6:51 pm ET by joinerswork
Ray,
About Mary Beth's quilt!! THis is very interesting. Mary Beth is an avid quilter. We and our kids have quilts everywhere. No one gets cold. We have wall quilts which are very decorative. We have "table quilts" too. I used to think people use table cloths. Nope, not here. We have table quilts. At first I got worried if I spilled someting on a table quilt, but it never bothered Mary Beth. She just dumped it in the washer and it came out like new.So when I go to try to find a place to take a photo of something I have made, it often ends up on a quilt on a bed, or on a table quilt on the kitchen table, or in front of a wall quilt. This has a very practical side effect. If you trip and fall around here, you will surely fall into a quilt, or possibly a pile of quilts, and you are not likely to get hurt.I like Mary Beth's quilts. Mary Beth likes my woodwork.
We have a thing going. (since 1968 when I took up woodwork as a hobby to fill the time when she was quilting. Some things don't change. Except that I came to love woodworking .. All because of Mary Beth.
Measure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel,
It's been right there under yer nose all this time. With all this cold weather you could sell quilts! I'd buy one in a heartbeat.
But I won't trade my 50 year old wool Navy blanky.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 1/20/2009 9:35 pm ET by KiddervilleAcres
Bob,
I have talked to Mary Beth about selling some quilts. Just like I am not interested in selling woodwork, she is not interested in selling quilts. You can buy a quilt at Sears for $35. It takes her weeks to make one. So she gives them to family members. You know that our oldest son and his wife are both roboticists. Well, she is pregnant. So Mary Beth is making a baby quilt. What do you think the theme of the quilt is? Yup. Little robots all over the place. It really is nice. Stay warm.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
"Just like I am not interested in selling woodwork, she is not interested in selling quilts. You can buy a quilt at Sears for $35. It takes her weeks to make one."
Mel - She might be surprised what hand-made, hand-stitched quilts go for on the art market. The enormous inflation in prices for antique quilts has driven quite a market for new, hand-stitched ones.
This isn't exactly quilts, but a life-long friend of mine had a sister that made quite a business out of what would seem an incredibly unlikely product. She purchased antique fabrics and made them into very ornate throw pillows, then sold them in New York at interior decorator shows and small shops. Each of these throw pillows brought anywhere from $600 - $1300 each, depending on complexity and the fabric. She built the business to the point where she had 8 seamstresses working for her, and grossed several hundred thousand dollars a year. If someone had suggested to me that they could sell a fancy pillow for $1000, I'd have laughed. Just goes to show how little I know about women's shopping habits. ;-)
d,
Wow. I will forward your message to my wife, who is near Baltimore for a few days. I hope she will find a way to earn a couple of hundred thousand a year with her quilting. You may have turned our lives around. I am in your debt.
Thank you very much.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Funny you should mention quilts. I keep thinking about doing pieces with inlay in quilting patterns of various sorts. I won't be able to resist the urge much longer I fear ....
Sean,
Great to hear from you.
About wood quilts -----
I have seen a few people at shows who make "wood quilts" using marquetry techniques. They use patterns that they get from quilts, and modify them. The results are astoundingly beautiful. (or at least they can be). Some are quite small. Truly artwork. Might make a nice top for a chest or might serve as a panel for a single panel cabinet. If you do this, be sure to post photos and write it up. Change in topic-
You are an avid hand tool worker. I am going to buy a half set of hollows and rounds. Do you know of any texts or websites which cover how one uses hollows and rounds to make mouldings -- the techniques? I have three rounds now. In one of them, the shavings get clogged up. I need to find info on what causes that and how to fix it. Any help you can provide will be appreciated.Measure your output in smiles per board foot.
Larry,
Can you suggest a text on how to use Hollows and Rounds to make moldings? Is there a text on how to fettle them? I have the info you sent me in a message, but I fear that I need something "longer". For example, I have one round that the shavings get clogged up in, and don't emerge. I guess something needs to be reshaped. I am not asking for you to tell me how. That would be a lot of work. I would like to be pointed to a text by which I could learn.
Thank you.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel,I don't know of any good books or articles on making moldings or tuning molding planes. That's the reason Don and I did the DVDs. Don's DVD on making cornice moldings should be out in a month or two. I sure wish that I'd had access to that kind of information years ago, I would have been able to do all those things I wanted to do. I don't know of anyone who knows as much about this as Don and this next DVD is just as good as his first.Just about everything I've learned over 20 years of trying to tune molding planes is in the DVD on making side escapement planes. Because it's 3 hours long that DVD is more expensive than most but, for a lot of years, I would have paid a lot more just to see how to accurately heat treat steel on a affordable small scale.I would start trying to cure your choking round by making sure it was dead sharp and properly shaped. Then, if that's not the issue, look for a damaged area in the front of the escapement right by the mouth. The tip of the wedge can also cause choking by ending too close to the mouth, not being tight against the blind side of the escapement, having rough areas, not matching the escapement angle, or by being misshaped. You might be able to side step tuning briefly by applying some paste was to the tip of the wedge and the front of the escapement just behind the mouth.Waxing these areas one at a time can help you narrow down where the problem is.
Larry,
You are a godsend. I'll get the DVD. I will check out the choking plane using the sequence you described.
I am very appreciative.
Thank you.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
I'm not your man on hollows and rounds. I have a few, but am still getting up to speed with them myself.
Sean
"
I'm not your man on hollows and rounds. I have a few, but am still getting up to speed with them myself."Typical of the understated elegance of a master craftsman!
You may be just getting started, but you are lightyears ahead of me. Besides, unlike most here on Knots, I am a firm believer that the best person to learn from is one who has just learned. That includes open heart surgery. Have fun. If you run across any articles or books that may be helpful in learning Hollows and Rounds, please let me know. I will do the same for you. The next step, after using the H and Rs to make moldings is to carve them. To me, H and Rs are merely a means toward an end.
Thanks,
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel,
You ever made her a quilting frame?
Ray
Ray,
"You ever made her a quilting frame?"No, but I volunteered. She said "No, the Amish and the Pennslvania Dutch can do it better", so we travelled the PA countryside and went to a quilting festival and went to some places that sell quilting frames, and we ate some great food. It was a great trip.She ended up buying a quilting frame made up of plastic pipe at one of these shops. It sets up easily, is easily taken apart and stored, and it made here happy. The first two of those things are irrelevant.MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Hay I'm not THAT dumb but have been working on a hand made plane with an adjustable angle for the blade for years. NONE have worked!
Sorry for the edit.. I type an h for a k and the other way around all the time!
Edited 1/20/2009 7:31 pm by WillGeorge
WG,
Let me know when you get that adjustable angle mechanism perfected.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Let me know when you get that adjustable angle mechanism perfected. I will be on the right side of God and you on the left side?
Or maybe the other way around?
Will George,
Hey man, I picked my five dead people for dinner. You gotta pick your five. Who do you choose? Will there be a woodworker in the bunch?
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
"The Finck book may be out of print, but due to the wonders of Amazon, it is not unavailable. For a measily $138 plus shipping, you can get a copy."Yes Mel... But think of all the money you'll save by building your own planes! Just kidding...
Taun,
I looked at the pic of the fella routing the cap screw slot; he has the piece guided buy the fence, the table top, the cut is only a 1/4" deep, and he is using a stop block to insure the cutter stops before exiting through the sole. Seems like a fairly straight forward and safe way to do it to me. Just my opinion; don't quote me:)
Bob, Tupper Lake, NY
You're probably right.
"I second Buster's recommendation of Finck's book. Good luck finding yourself a copy."
Well, if anyone wants one I'll be happy to sell them my copy for $85, post paid to anywhere in the CONUS. It's in near-new condition, as I only thumbed through it. It's got other things besides Krenov-style plane making in it, such as making a carving knife and honing and planing techniques, but Krenov-style planes are just not my cup of tea (one of the hazards of buying books on-line - you're never quite sure what you've bought until it arrives).
dbidle,
Even though Mel gave you 'all you need', here are two more articles from FWW:
David Welter: Wooden Plane, FWW September/October 1997;
Monroe Robinson: Round-Bottom Planes (I do not have the date of the issue - cut it off to fit into a binder - oversize pages those days).
I have (currently on a loan to a friend) Finck's book. It is good (in the absence of other sources), but doesn't tell you anything more that the various articles. You might also want to check out the College of Redwoods for their article.
Best wishes,
Metod
Attached is a picture of the only hand plane I've built...
I really enjoyed making a hand plane. It I was surprised at how intuitive and accurate the blade adjustment could be. The plane I built works as well as my Veritas 4 1/2 smoother... but I don't find it as comfortable. Of course the Veritas Smoother has a much wider blade.
It's made from some scrap White oak, and walnut. It's a Hock blade and chipbreaker I purchased from Lee Valley for $50 cdn.
Buster,
I saw the handplane you build. Nice job. With the nice chipbreaker and blade, it should function nicely for a few generations, maybe more. Be sure to sign and date it with a woodburning pen (on the side or top so it wont disappear when someone flattens the sole. You might want to develop a trademark to woodburn on it. I use a simple drawing of a Harp on a sugar cube. I call it the "Sweet Harp" plane. Yuk Yuk.
Have fun.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Here is another book, which I bought on TradeMe recently which is the NZ equivalent of Ebay: "How to Make Wooden Planes" by David G. Perch and Leonard G. Lee. ISBN 0-9691019-0-2.
Very simple clear diagrams, 48 pages, no b/s.
And it is the very same Lee as in Lee Valley....
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