Hi All: Last July at the Lie Nielsen Hand Tool Event in Cincinnati, OH I got to meet Ron Brese and try out his infill planes (www.breseplane.com). His model 875 is the nicest smoother I’ve ever gotten my hands on. Planing with it was like a dream sequence. The plane just floated down every board I put it to taking clean, silky shavings and leaving a high gloss surface in its wake. I bought one of Ron’s “show irons” in the hopes that I could make a plane that came close to the performance of Ron’s (yea, fat chance of that). My Brese iron is made out of high carbon certified steel that is ¼” thick, 2” wide, and a tad more than 6” long. This is easily the nicest plane iron I own. It sharpens up keener than my others, and in tests has easily handled the nastiest woods I have including a free thick ipe board that looks like a beaver pile reject. A while back I posted pictures of a fore plane I made intending to use the Brese iron in it. Once completed, I didn’t feel the plane did the Brese iron justice and so I shelved the iron until a better plane came to mind. The attached photos are the result. I styled the plane after the European plane on page 17 of Garrett Hack’s “The Handplane Book”, including making use of the chip carving design on that plane. It took me several failed attempts to shape a horn that looked and felt right in use. The horn is attached using a sliding dovetail. I made a piece to go behind the iron to fit between the web of my thumb and index finger, but it didn’t look right so I left it off. The plane doesn’t really need it. The rounded heel is plenty comfortable and the chip carving on the sides provide a good grip surface. I used hard maple for the plane. It is 14 1/2″ long with a tight mouth and a 50 degree bed angle. The mouth opening is 6 7/8” back from the toe. I will mostly be using it as a panel plane to smooth larger panel glue ups. I went ahead and put a screw clearance slot in the bed just in case I later decide to use a double iron with it. This European style plane is configured differently from my stash of metal bodied planes and my other wooden plane making efforts. In use, there is a tendency to take advantage of the horn and put slightly more downward pressure at the toe than an English style plane allows. By having the mouth nearly centered in the sole the downward pressure is evened out with the hand pushing forward at the heel. The result is a plane that smoothly glides across the face of a board while keeping the iron fully engaged in the cut (assuming the board is already flat). I now want to get another Brese iron and make a miter plane for it with a 35 degree bed. I just need to find some ebony or some of Derek’s super hard Australian wood at a good price. gdblake
Replies
Very nice, that iron looks like it is thick enough to hold down a railroad rail. Thanks for posting the pictures.
Troy
That's a nice looking plane,
That's a nice looking plane, G.
g,
my goodness man! what a fine job ya did. when you say miter plane, do you intend to shoot with it?
eef
Eef:
Yes I plan to shoot with it. I would like to copy the ebony miter plane on page 35 of Hack's "The Handplane Book". It is essentially a large block plane that has a 35 degree bed with the iron bedded bevel down. The plane shown in the book is stunningly beautiful in its simplicity.
gdblake
gdblake
Real nice effort on the plane. From the sounds of it, you've got a great bench plane that you'll have the rest of your grandkid's lives.
That mouth is very tight, almost like a smoother. You mentioned that you intend on using it as a panel plane. Do you intend on opening the mouth up to be more aggressive, or will you leave it tight for a "lighter cut".
I wasn't aware that Ron was selling irons for plane making. What did the iron cost you?
Happy Holidays,
Jeff
The mouth will stay tight. A panel plane is really just a big smoother. I did cut a screw clearance slot into the bed which allows me to use the plane with a thinner Hock double iron (iron with chipbreaker). Since a Hock iron is half as thick as the Brese iron it opens the mouth up by 1/8". I paid $40 for the iron while at the Handtool event. Ron has these irons available on his website breseplane.com. The quarter inch thickness of the iron makes it a super performer. The back of my iron was dead flat and only took a couple minutes of polishing on my 6,000 and 8,000 grit waterstones. The bevel took a little more work. That is because Ron left a little bit more steel at the edge than other iron brands I have. To me this is not a big deal. You can either take a pass on your bench grinder or do what I did and spend a few minutes grinding the bevel on my course waterstone. Total prep time getting the new iron super sharp was about 15 minutes. I've spend twice that time on other irons that aren't close to the quality of this one.
gdblake
Great looking plane Greg, and from what you've said it works well also.
I have recently taken the project plane irons off my web page. I was out of inventory on many sizes and at this time I don't know when I will be able to rebuild the inventory. I do have a few irons left in some sizes so if you're interested just email me thru the link on my web page and I can let you know if I have an iron in the size you request.
Thanks,
Ron Brese
Hi Gregory
As you know I am now doing housecall reviews. So just send me the ticket, and I'll pop on over for an eggnog and make a few shavings. First class of course :)
Very best wishes from Perth for Christmas and the New Year
Derek
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