Infill Plane Making Article *LINK*

Re: clarification?

Ben Knebel

>Hi Paul;

A combination of both really.

The dovetail construction method done properly is both easy and surprisingly strong and doesn't require any other tools than a file and a ball pein hammer. The historical aspect though is important. You could,for instance, build a Shaker chair out of molded plastics and it would look like a Shaker chair but is it really?

Someone once said that "just because a thing can be done doesn't mean that it should be done."

A wise person indeed.

Today,all to often,we do things because we can.

To my mind an infill plane that isn't cast or dovetailed is a "fake" while one done in the traditional methods is a "reproduction"---- A minor distinction to some but a huge one to me.

Best Regards

and may you and yours have a Merry Christmas and a helthy and prosperous New Year.

Ben

Re: clarification?

joel

>Infill planes made in Europe before let's say 1800 were brazed together - Some also just had the metal bottoms screwed into the wood. so you cannot say that a plane isn't authentic is it isn't cast or DT together.

Your mitre planes for example do not (as far as I know) use a tongue and groove mouth like the originals - does this make them any less a reproduction. Your irons are A2 not cast steel - ditto the previous comment.

Interestingly enough Stewart Spiers thought about using a laser to cut out the metalwork on his planes like you do but decided against it because of doubts about "authenticity"

I belong to the looks like a duck, smells like a duck, sounds like a duck - it's a duck.

THe planes in shopnotes are not reproductions, but they are infill planes. And I am really happy everytime I see another take on the world of infill planes. Whether it be your company offering pre-cut kits, Shopnotes offering step by step instructions to a simpler design, or guys like Ray Iles, Konrad Sauer, or Karl Holtey offering finished planes.

Re: clarification?

Gary Bingham

>The dovetail construction method done properly is both easy and surprisingly strong and doesn't require any other tools than a file and a ball pein hammer.

You're assuming that someone has bought a kit like the one that you offer. As someone who has just done the dovetailing using pieces that I cut myself, I can definitely say that it wasn't all that easy. Especially compared to how easy soldered box joints would have been.

If someone is building this plane as a user, I don't see why historical correctness should matter that much at all. Obviously if someone is building this plane, cost most likely has something to do with it. After all, if cost were not a factor, and someone really wanted a historically correct plane, they could just buy a norris or spiers. There are occasionally some that sell on ebay that are in very good shape, and sell for even less than one of your completed planes. Then you would have a plane with true history. If someone had the money and really wanted to make their own true dovetailed plane, then they could buy a kit from you.

Instead, with this method of making an infill, someone can make their own very easily. It doesn't really require any special high-dollar metalworking tools or a lot of extraneous manual labor. It most likely will perform pretty well if the person does a good job making it. If it's put together properly, it's not like it's going to fall apart tomorrow. All of this, and it really shouldn't cost much more than $40 or $50 in materials (more if you buy a blade) and maybe a few days of assembly.

So, a decent performing infill that you can make yourself for about the price of a new off-the-shelf stanley smoother. So what if it's not historically correct? I doubt most of the things in peoples workshops are historically correct. I don't see why there should be this elitist attitude that a hand plane has to be. That is, of course, unless you want an infill for reasons other than to use as a tool.

By the way, I would think that you would be happy to see an article like this. No doubt that it will lead some people to buying a kit from you, once they realize just how easy it can be. After all, not everyone has access to a milling machine or laser/waterjet to cut their own pieces. For most people, the easist way to make their own dovetailed infill is with one of your precut kits.