Am considering building Spiers style 1″ Shoulder Plane. Anybody have any experience with Shepard Tools? Is the completed tool worth the effort?
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Replies
There was an article in Home Shop Machinist awhile back of the making of a Shepherd smoother that gave it a good review as a project. The writer actually had quite a it of metal working experience. Making a plane isn't rocket science although I've seen some approach it that way. Making a plane out wood is pretty basic and working bronze is a lot easier than one might think. You might go to http://www.woodcentral.com as they have a forum dedicated to handtools with a lot of plane junkies. Haven't made a Shepherd plane myself but have a lot of metal working expererience and might just cast up my own plane from my own pattern soon. Shepherd's kits look pretty good and if you look at his site he has some tips for the cautious first timer. Very informative in my opinion.
Thanks for the info. appreciate your taking the time.
Here's a reference to the Shepherd kits you might find useful
http://www.woodcentral.com/shots/shot547.shtml
You'll find a couple articles on this at:
http://host65.ipowerweb.com/~traditi2/forum/article.php
From what I've read on the forums, folks really like the product, and the kits are quite easy to do.
Jeff
I made the Spiers smoother in the last month. It is a lot of peening of metal, which can get a bit tiring. It, like any project, is a series of steps, none of which are particularly complicated. You will need a good set of files, and a stationary belt sander helps with removing some of the the metal. Also, be sure you have an anvil or a peening block, as you have to place it against one of these two when hammering. That said, it is truly a joy to use it now, because of the performance, which is awesome, and the fact that I made it. Let me know if you have any other questions.
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