I have just found this blog entry for No 982 smoother that I forgot to finish. As it is very similar to the blog entry for the No 982 panel plane 14 1/2″ I have already done this week I thought I would just publish the pictures with no comments.
October 18, 2010
September 22, 2010
Knobs
Just a few more pictures of buns before I move on to the next subject. As you see I can work both the rosewood and the polymer side by side.
Pictures only, no text needed.
August 22, 2010
Window to my Workshop 42
A6 dovetail infill smoother
It was always my intention with this blog to show how much work goes into my planes and I hope that the format I have chosen has been successful as I don’t have much time to talk about my minutiae of everyday life and just stay focused on the work in hand. I am sorry that my postings are so random but as they are time consuming I cannot afford to put them before my work. I hope that you can see that my workshop is a serious workplace. I have difficulty finding time for travelling to tool events. I know this makes me seem a recluse but I can assure you that plane making to me is more than a full time occupation.
Sorry there has been such a gap since the last posting (and the time before), but any spare time I have had lately has been taken up with visitors and I have had to make some effort in my social life. If anyone is thinking of visiting you must be prepared to climb a mountain as this is my relaxation.
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The prefix on the smoothing plane is almost irrelevant as the techniques are the same. I feel that there are a lot of pieces missed out and this post is to try and fill the gaps. I will also try and fill in any gaps on the No 982 next. Then I will move on to new projects.
The A6 is the only overstuffed plane in my range and is one of the main difference to the A13.
Sometimes it is nice to photograph components at this stage as it is an insight into some of the work. Once everything is assembled it is gone forever.
As you can see here that the rear infill is made up in three parts. In the second picture you can see the three parts assembled showing the brass rivet spacers/sleeves and the recessing for the sides and adjuster. Also the adjuster fixing bar and the handle spine.
June 29, 2010
Window to my workshop 41
As I have mentioned before most of my entries will be piece meal and out of sequence. On this occasion I have managed to take some pictures whilst making chip breakers. Apologies for missing the bending and forming of the front edge of the chip breaker but I forgot to take the pictures.
These chip breakers are standard on all my smoothing planes with 2 ¼” blades. They are made from gauge plate.
Milling the faceted end of the chip breaker with a rough cutter.
April 3, 2010
Window to my Workshop 40
Just a couple of pictures that got left off Post no 38 on the A6
March 6, 2010
A13 Boxwood pictures
Just a few quick pictures of this Boxwood A13 I have just finished
February 7, 2010
Window to my workshop – 38
A6 Smoothing Plane
At last I have managed to find a little bit more time for another entry in my blog. For this entry I have decided use some old pictures of an A6 in the making as I have come across some pictures which could be useful. As usual there are a lot of gaps in the picture diary and so I will start with the project already under way. I feel sure that it will still provide some interest.
This A6 is one of the least copied planes around but is one of my personal favourites. This is the real smoother as this plane is never much more than 7-7 .5 inches in length as its only job was for surface finishing. This pattern is one of the most traditional, a fully handled infill plane.
I have been congratulated by many for introducing this informative blog as it shows how different my work is from other plane makers either historic or contemporary. There are good plane makers but I feel that my methods set me apart.
“The nicest things about standards is that there are so many of them to choose from “ Andres S Tannenbaum.
After all the profiling and dovetailing has been completed (this is the same process as with my other infill planes and has been documented elsewhere in these blogs), I can concentrate on the mouth and the frog. As you will see from the picture the mouth is slotted and the holes drilled in preparation for the frog riveting.
January 3, 2010
Window to my workshop – 37
I thought I would put this picture up for the benefit of the customer who is buying it. I plane all round for truing up. As you will notice I have chosen to do all my planing on the milling machine as it will plane true without any tearing when it comes to the more difficult grains. I achieve more accuracy this way than I would do on an ordinary planer/thicknesser.
January 1, 2010
Window to my workshop – 36
T21 Transitional Dovetailed Jointer Plane
Boring and counter boring the hole in the bun blank for the fixing stud.
Commentary – T21 Transitional Plane
I have been quite impressed about some of the comments on forums about my T21 plane and I would like to make my contribution to these discussions.
There was a reference made about the brass kicker pads being in the wrong position i.e. cutting through one of the dovetails. I have to assure everyone that I think long and hard about the positioning of everything. Sometimes I can ponder over these decisions for months. This kicker pad is there to assist in the lateral positioning of the blade, which works in conjunction with the adjuster. In the case of castings there was usually a pip in the pattern to do this job. The kicker only has to endure very light side pressure. However its positioning is important if it is to be effective.
An interesting comment, on my blog, was that someone noticed the positioning of the five pins in my spider hub and worked out the reasoning.
The most interesting point is discussion on the stability of wood. When it comes to wood stability we will always be losers. I have always had a fascination for transitional planes probably because I am more of a woodworker than engineer. Where possible I like to combine woodworking with metalworking. Engineering is not always all about metal. However, for stability and reliability metal will always win.
The reason I decided to laminate the sole is so I could chose a light weight wood for the body, something pretty like the quilted maple, and laminate it with a harder wearing wood. With laminating in this application straight forward bonding would not have been sufficient because of the oils in the wood I chose for the sole. This is the reason for using the jointing system like ECE have on their primus planes, except I chose to dovetail whereas ECE had a tongue and groove system.
The difference in movement in different materials would be cross grained and most of it will be tangential. Over a distance of 3 3/8” it should have a minimum effect. Whether these dovetails run at right angles, longitudinal or diagonal I would think would be irrelevant and it would seem that it hasn’t affected the ECE planes. The use of the dovetail joint is it is more positive than the tongue and groove and of course there is just that little bit of vanity.
I feel that I have made some inroads with the fittings that I designed, and I would like to make this plane again in smaller sizes and in a one piece stock i.e. without the laminated sole.