Has anyone tried making their own inshave(s). I’m building a pirate treasure chest for the grandson that has a staved curved top. I do have a scorp but the radius is way too small to get a very smooth cut with the grain and trying to fair the inside curve across the grain (pine) leaves a lot of tearout even after judicious sharpening and honing. Woodcraft has a larger inshave but at $60 (more or less) for a tool I’d use only once …..
Incidentally …. I got more time than money.
Got plenty of plain old mild steel lying around – given that I’d be doing as much sharpening as cutting I’m wondering if that would work?
………..
From Beautiful Skagit Co. Wa.
Dennis
From Beautiful Skagit Co. Wa.
Dennis
Replies
Just a thought.. Why not cut those coves on the table saw. Can be alittle dangerous but with light cuts and using push blocks should be OK.
Make your inshave to clean it up. You did say you have more time than money so here is your chance to take up a new hobby. Plane building!
By the way. Long ago I built a big ol' pirate treasure chest for my son. He still keeps 'HIS' hand tools in it so his kids don't mess with them!
Greetings Will -Sorry the way I put it may have been misleading. What I meant was that the radius if the scorp was too small for the curve of the inside of the chest lid. The lid is 8 1/2" deep, front to back and 16" long left to right. It has a rise of about 2". The stave for the lid are approx. 1 1/2" side and were ripped to 5 degrees then biscuited and glued up to form the top of the lid 'in the rough'. Frankly I rather like the rough tool marks on the inside surface since it's evidence that it was hand made. But they are a little too rough in places. After a good night's sleep I'm looking at the thing with a little more practical perspective and thinking I'll just leave it the way it is. Years from now he can look at the inside and remember grampa. (grin)...........
From Beautiful Skagit Co. Wa.
Dennis
Dennis,
Turn as big a cylinder as you need and glue some sandpaper to it...leave the deep stuff but remove the potential splinters...
BG -Good suggestion but the radius on the inside of the lid is bigger than the distance from my spindle (outboard end) to the floor! (grin) .... but you gave me a good idea .... just bandsaw a glued up blank to the radius, clean up with a disk sander and we're in much better shape. (so to speak -grin-)Thanks
...........
From Beautiful Skagit Co. Wa.
Dennis
Did the same a couple of years ago, but cut the hollows before assembly.
I made a convex plane with a sole about the right radius. I did ti from a single block, but there is no reason not to use the sandwich approach of cutting off the sides, making the throat and bed out of the two pieces. Glue back together, being careful with registration of all the bits. Put a dowel through to hold a wedge. Use a plane to put the convex shape on the sole, and voila!
Having made the body, take the stock (old single iron from a chuck-out wooden plane is a good bet, otherwise see if you can source a worn out reciprocating hack saw blade which are pretty thick) for the iron and wedge lightly in place but protruding through the mouth. Mark (permanent ink pen works well) the shape of the sole from the back of the mouth - where the bed intersects the sole - and grind the shape. Put on a bevel and sharpen.
The plane is now ready for use, but be warned that it might take a while to learn how to adjust it.
I am sure that if I had done a lot more study before starting I'd have produced a better plane, but mine worked and was fun to learn on.
Patto -Never tried making a plane before but sounds like an interesting idea to be sure. I've marveled at the discussions by plane makers but what the heck .... I'll give it a try. I'm rather leaning towards leaving the tool marks in the inside at this point. At some friends this afternoon they showed me an old case similar to the one I'm making. It was about 14" deep front to back and the top had been made in only three pieces. The outside had been planed and sanded and finished to a rather fair arc but the inside still had the toolmarks from either a broad inshave or perhaps a curved plane like you describe. All tattered and weatherworn, the tool marks were definitely an attractive 'feature' of the piece............
From Beautiful Skagit Co. Wa.
Dennis
Save your money regarding the inshave from Woodcraft. I own several and it is by far the worst example of an inshave out there. Perhaps a travisher or compass plane might work better for you. Both will do a nice job of cleaning up the surface after removing most of the wood with your existing inshave/scorp. The Crown Plane Company make some very nice tools at reasonable prices or you can make your own.
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