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Jack Plane
Duration: Unknown
Date Started: September 2004
Date Ended: October 2004
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Cost:
| Scrap Red Oak |
$0 |
| Padauk |
$10 |
| Iron & Chip breaker |
$0 |
| Total: |
$10 |
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Overview
Like so many others, I was not immune to the addictive forces of traditional hand planes. After learning how to sharpen tools I quickly found a new appreciation for hand tools. I ascended down the slippery slope, as this addiction is so appropriately termed, and found myself in constant search of old hand tools. One day I happened upon some information on the Internet about making your own hand plane. After an exhaustive search for more information I realized many others have made their own hand planes. During my research I found a book called Making and Mastering Wood Planes by David Finck which was the inspiration for my first hand plane. I highly recommend this book for it is very well written and covers an incredible amount of information that go well beyond making hand planes.
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Construction
David Finck's book uses a laminated method in which the throat area is created by laminating two side pieces to two center pieces all originating from a single blank. I have to admit after reading through the procedures I was extremely skeptical at how well the plane will perform once completed. Despite my skepticism I continued forward using scrap wood I had available from my previous project. For the chip breaker and iron I used a #4 Stanley I already had. I wanted to keep the cost low as this was primarily a prototype of sort. To add some visual interest I used padauk for the curved wedge. One part of David's book describes a technique of relieving the hard edges using a band saw which I found to be very dangerous. Instead I eased the edges using a combination of chisels, a block plane, and sandpaper. In the end I was astonished to find my newly created plane worked better than all my Stanleys I have in my shop. The nice thing about making your own hand plane is that you can tweak it to your own preference. For my next attempt I may try different wood, perhaps experiment with the shape of the body, and will also purchase a better iron and chip breaker.
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Conclusion
Making this plane was a complete joy. It is incredibly gratifying to make your own tools especially when it performs better than the tools you buy. I plan on making more planes using this method but I also want to try my hand at other approaches and techniques.
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