I have been wondering how old wooden planes were made. All I see in today’s articles call for the cutting off of cheeks, cutting the remaining blank into two pieces, preparation of the ramps, etc., and regluing the whole thing with index pins.
On the few antique planes I have, I don’t see glue lines where the cheeks meet the throat, so, how were these planes constructed, with the difficult throat and mouth openings? I assume machines had to be used for some actions, like making the recess for the cap iron screw. Any help or resources would be very much appreciated!
Replies
They were cut from a single piece of wood using specialty tools. One of these was a planemaker's float -- a special file for cutting and refining the surfaces inside the plane's body. Long very hard to find, L-N has fairly recently started making these, and they are also useful for other joinery tasks.
Look here:
http://www.lie-nielsen.com/catalog.php?cat=534
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
Edit: The laminated style of plane you refer to was popularized fairly recently by James Krenov. Modern adhesives have made this a viable option to the one-piece planes that take far more time and skill to make.
Edited 1/4/2008 8:34 am ET by MikeHennessy
Thank you. Really interesting.
There was a time when laying out and chopping an angled mortise would not have been cause for applause - it was something anybody worth their salt had in their repertoire.
I would imagine that prepping the small block of wood needed for a plane, chopping and refining the openings, and cutting a simple wedge would have been a morning's work for a reasonably experienced furniture-maker.
I'm pretty sure Krenov doesn't spend more than a few hours on the ones he makes.
You might want to have a look at "Wooden Planes and How to Make Them", available from Lee Valley.
Paige
Maybe Larry Williams, from C&W, can schedule tours so folks can watch how it was done in the old days. They are still building them the old fashioned way, and along with the side escapement planes, make one heckuva great plane, from what I'm told. I tried to order one, but the wait was beyond my patience limit. Good for them.
I, for one, would consider that a great vacation, and would sign up for a day or three in their shop in a heartbeat.
And, while I'm at it, I'd also love to see how Mike Wenzloff makes those great saws.
Jeff
Aren't their planes largely made with machinery? I don't think the stock is hand-prepped and mortises hand chopped, but I may be wrong.
I have no idea. I thought I read on their website that they were handmade, but I'm not certain. Either way, pretty neat stuff.
Jeff
We started by making planes the traditional way--by hand. Well, we did rough out billets by machine. We now use more machine work but machines only do the roughing work except for profiling molding planes and wedge finials. Mortises and escapements are opened by machine but a lot of material in them is still removed with traditional hand tools. We've been very careful in the integration of machines. Mostly, we were doing everything we could to avoid repeating the mistaken compromises plane makers of the past made in their effort to increase volume or reduce labor. Most people aren't aware of the extent of the decline in quality of wooden planes. The difference between the good early planes and the later compromised planes is so dramatic that it doesn't take much knowledge to look at a line of a couple hundred wooden planes in an antique tool dealer's offering and be able to pick out the hand full worth a closer look at from twenty feet away. There's still a lot of hand work in all our planes and nearly all the critical work is done by hand. If a plane is lost during the hand work, it's still faster to just make its replacement by hand than turn to the machines.The funny little secret is that it's actually easier to make a traditional plane than a laminated style of plane. I consider the critical alignment problems of laminated planes to be their downfall. Back in the 70's I made a number of laminated planes and never could overcome the alignment problems. I worked harder and fussed over those damn things so much more than making a real plane. By comparison, making a good traditional plane with traditional techniques is a lot easier to make than one of the laminated monstrosities.
Any books or articles out there on making wooden planes the traditional way?
TG,
Link to "Making Traditional Side Escapement Planes" here
Lee
Many thanks for that link. I'm sure they will be of help to me.
I have watched the DVD that has been referenced here. I would highly recommend it. It walks you through making a hollow and round. Once you see this process you will be MUCH closer to understanding how a bench plane was made (hich is what I'm guessing you're looking to make) than you will be after buying one of the several plane making books out there. The books out there focus on laminated planes.
Thanks for the advice.
I'll get it.
I have several books on planes including the one on making laminated versions, but the idea of making one origianl style is more interesting.
Again, thanks for the advice.
Maybe Larry Williams, from C&W, can schedule tours so folks can watch how it was done in the old days.
Or just buy his excellent DVD from the LN website.
Regards from Perth
Derek
Larry appreciates the free advertisement.
I'm old school. I like to see things in person, just like I hate it when a damned computer answers the phone at a business.
Oh well, I guess the world is going to hell in a handbag...
Jeff a bit grumpy today
Hey Old Man,
Jeff a bit grumpy today
What happened, goali stuff ya!?
By the way, how'd your son make out at the tournament?
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Hi, Bob:
The boys got 2nd in the tournament. All in all, we had a nice time. Local referee's called 14 penalties on our boys in the big game, and only 2 on the other team, which was the hometown team in Pa. Unfortunate, but I know it sounds like whining, so I'll stop. :>)
We were proud of them.
Jeff
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