Hello, After following gdblake’s thread on his beautiful panel plane with the Brese iron, I thought perhaps these two miter planes designed for the shooting board would be of some interest. I decided that the biggest objection to the wooden miter plane, in my mind, was the problem of low overall mass, so for these two planes, I bored 1″ diameter holes down the length of the body in front and back, and filled them with lead shot. I also used bronze or brass lever caps, and in this case, the LV iron for the low angle jack. You’ll note the two different styles of lever cap–one from a Norris style rough casting supplied by St. James Bay, and the other a simple Stanley-like single bolt pivot made from rectangular brass bar stock. That system has the virtue of simplicity of construction, and eliminates the tedious fitting of the lever cap to the iron after completion of the plane–I think I’ll try that method on future planes. They are both roughly the same size, 12″x2 3/8″x3″; 40 degree bed angle, bevel down; 4 lbs. 12 oz each. I’m not sure how apparent the Brese influence is, but I took inspiration from his lovely infill miter plane. These are relatively new, but they seem to work like a charm–has anyone had experince over time with the structural consequences of hollowing and loading wooden with shot to increase overall mass? I don’t really anticipate problems, but this is my first attempt at that kind of solution.
Replies
Very nice, I have made a couple of Kernov style planes but I think I "need" a miter plane. That looks like a nice project. How wide are the blades on yours?
Thanks and Merry Christmas
Troy
jackmaggs,
I noticed Chris Schwartz commenting on No. 51 chute-board planes. (a miter with a skew-blade for shooting) and that Lie Nielsen was going to bring out his version ala Stanley at someplace north of $450, It seems to me that using a modified Krenov style wood plane as you have done with either adjuster, skew-blade and shot loaded would be very easy to make, keep tuned for accuracy and be far less costly than LNs or an original Stanley No. 51 chute-board plane ( or a 52). What?
Nice work
BB
Jack:
These are great. I especially like the plane with the infill style lever cap. Ron Brese sent me an email suggesting using a brass level cap like you did as a way to add weight. He also warned me that ebony was very prone to checking. Wooden mitre planes have such simply lines I want to use a wood that is both dense and visually appealing. Are you going to make a fancy shooting board to go with your planes?
gdblake
Troy, BB, and gdblake, I hope it is okay to combine a reply to all the messages--I'm new to participating in the forum, and may not have the protocols all sorted out.
Troy, the iron is 2.25" wide--it is just a replacement iron for the Veritas bevel up jack plane, selected mostly because I had an extra on hand when I decided to construct the first plane, and it it heavy enough to use without a cap iron. But of course many others would work--the deluxe version would be one of Ron Brese's 1/4" thick irons, one of which I have used on a cocobolo panel plane made last winter--a really excellent iron that would add mass to the tool. If you do build a plane with a LV iron, I recommend the O1 steel--one plane in the photo has A2 the other 01, and with the clearance angle limits imposed by the 40 degree bevel down configuration, the 01 iron seems to hold up a little better.
BB, I have to agree that from a strictly utilitarian cost-benefit analysis, the shop-made wooden miter plane with the features you describe is probably the more easily justifiable choice, in comparison to a $450 store-bought LN plane. I found mine very quick to build, and very effective in use. But of course I suspect that the prospective purchasers of a LN skewed shooting board plane are not going to make strictly economic calculations. Those folks make beautiful tools, and that represents the resurrection of a kind of "lost" industrial art that is pretty interesting to those of use that respect craft. On the other hand, building your own planes is pretty rewarding too.
gdblake,thanks. The two examples in the photo are cocobolo and purpleheart, both pretty dense, although the cocobolo is both heavier and more stable--I really like it for planes, although finding a properly sized (and ideally straight-grained quartersawn) blank is not easy. I couldn't find a dry piece of cocobolo when I decided to make a second plane (for my son) so I used what was available on short notice for a reasonable cost. I understand the aesthetic appeal of the norris style lever cap, but from a strictly utilitarian point of view, I think maybe the "stanley-style" center bolt as pivot makes more sense--it is quick to build, and requires no fussing later to get the lever cap to mate evenly with the iron on the bed. It is relatively cheap too--a 12" piece of brass stock costs roughly the same (or maybe a little less) than the rough casting and knurled screw, and you can make 3 or 4 lever caps from it.
I have a 20 year old shooting board that seems to work fine, although it certainly doesn't have the style and grace of one of Derek Cohen's ramped masterpieces--so maybe, after I've built some more real furniture, I might decide that a new jig of that kind is vital, but for now I'll make do.
Bob
Hi Jack
Both planes are just wonderful! Of course I would like to see some shavings. :)
I am not sure if I understood whether you planned to add weight with lead, or whether you were thinking about this? Extra heft in a shooting plane really does make a positive difference. It wouldbe a good move - but how would you go about it?
Merry Christmas!
Regards from Perth
Derek
Derek, Merry Christmas to you as well. Actually, I have already loaded the plane bodies with lead shot, by boring 1" diameter holes lengthwise front and back, then plugging them with matching end grain. So the weight of each plane approaches 5 lbs. now--substantially more than without the shot. That seems to be adequate although I'm sure that more would be good too. I think the Brese miter plane weighs 7 lbs, but the only ways I could see to add more mass would be to increase the diameter or depth of the "shot holes," or to inlay bronze plate into the cheeks of the plane. At that point I suppose you should just build an infill. Increasing the diameter of the holes at some point would compromise the structural integrity of the tool, although I confess that I don't know where that threshold lies.
Best
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