I began this before his passing, and it has felt like something of a tribute since the news.
My first attempt at a woodie. The iron is a 2″ A2 Krenov style from David Fink and I used Fink’s excellent book and FWW article as guides. The soft maple body is local (thanks Peter and Luke!) and the sole is leftover red oak from redoing some hardwood floors.
The project has be invaluable for learning how to built to tight tolernances and for learning what makes a plane work and not work (‘just a jig for a chisel’, right?). Still getting it dialed in, but i’ve impressed myself with it’s performance so far. My other conclusion is that LV and LN are a tremendous value for the product.
Will I do it again? Most likely, though I wouldn’t hesitate to drop the money on a quality metal plane (i do have a couple and they’ve been great for showing me what a good plane can do). I do like the idea of using local material, the organic feel of wood, and of course the satisfaction of having made my own tool.
Finally, it was not a difficult process at all and I’d encourage anyone interested in the idea of hand tools to give it a try.
And thanks Mr. Krenov for all the inspiration!
Cheers,
Chris C.
Replies
Nice work. You need to drive over it a couple of times with the car to make it look like one of his planes (no offense intended!)
The only thing that matters.......does it make shavings?
Jeff
Edited 11/16/2009 4:40 pm ET by JeffHeath
Thanks Jeff,
Yes, i did intentionally leave a few rasp marks on it in the Krenov spirit (it's a tool, not a jewel, right?). And yes, it does make fine shavings (that's the part where I impressed myself).
Cheers,C
Hi Chris
That looks like a great plane and a grand tribute to JK. May it be the first of many.
Regards from Perth
Derek
Thanks Derek,
Indeed, i doubt it will be the last as I can tell i'm slipping fast down the slope...Thinking of a jointer next, then an high angle ~50-55 deg smoother, then a radius....
This plane takes whisper thin shavings now, though I do need to steepen the angle of the front block to let the shavings clear when the chipbreaker is set to the edge of the blade. I was a bit cautious about jointing the bed down and opening the mouth too much prior to final fitting and ended up filing more than I should have.
Also of note, this plane has been a bit of a rite of passage for my shop as well. I feel like I've hit a critical mass. I now have a full set up of machines and a decent set of hand tools after working for years without a full set up (e.g., lots of time doing work-arounds) or, for the past year, building up the shop, collecting wood, and dialing in machines. The accelerating pace of work is a relief.
Cheers,
C
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