Re: A Handled Smoother
L. Hanson - N. Idaho
>Thank you very much!
Sorry for the length -
The angle for the blade on this one is 50 degrees. It's the same angle as I did previously on another plane, whose basic design was gleaned from an old text by Leonard Lee and David Perch, and also from a book on making traditional wooden planes authored by John Whelan - a book I would highly recommend to anybody considering building wooden planes.
There were only a few issues during the whole process I would re-think... the first is using 2 disparate woods such as purpleheart and beech. They don't file or float quite the same, so you you have to be careful when doing an area where you are floating both types - but it wasn't too big of an issue, I just had to be a bit careful. Also, the purpleheart I used was very prone to tear out - but on the plus side it seems very much harder than the beech. I guess only time will tell on how the plane will fare.
Another issue I can think of involved the wedge... I've been using a 12-1/2 degree pitch, and I am starting to think that a shallower angle (like 8 to 10 degrees) would provide a better fit. The Auburn I got the iron from had such an angle. But I would have to experiment further before I could say that with any certainty.
I think I can also see some of the benefits to using a single iron rather than a double... The fit of the iron right at the mouth, the clearing of the shavings, and the wedge might all benefit from it... But there again, I don't have the experience (yet) to comment further. I think the next one I make will use a single iron, though, to test it out.
I can tell you that building it was immensely fun - there is no reason in the world that anybody who is a fan of wooden planes should try to make one. My understanding of the workings of a wooden plane (as simple as it may seem) has grown tremendously since I started making them.
Thanks again!
L. Hanson
norsewoodsmith.com
