concave plane iron

Re: concave plane iron *LINK*

MikeW

>Hi Jack,

It may be a blade from a pattern maker's plane. I have two of them at the following link.

One is 12" long and the other about 6 1/2". Interchangable soles for the different radii on the blades.

They work great.

MikeW


Planes

this kind of radius?

Jack Guzman from Maine

>I couldn't really tell from the pictures but those blades don't appear to be the same as mine.They look like flat blades with a radiused edge. Is that right? My blade is made from a curved piece of metal.---Jack

The blade 

Jack Guzman from Maine

>

the bevel side 

Jack Guzman from Maine

>

FWIW

Bob Hackett

>I have a slick(or more rightly a former slick)that some demented blacksmith reforged into a mega-gouge for god knows what reason.It looks alot like the same fellow got ahold of your former plane iron.

Who knows why?

In the words of the immortal Fats Waller"One never knows,Do one?"

Mainely,Bob

is it useful?

Jack Guzman from Maine

>So I guess this means that this is not a common blade shape. But--is it practical? Would it be worth the trouble to make a plane body to carry it? The bed will be tricky to shape,not to mention the wedge.I wonder if it would work as a compass plane.---Jack

Re: is it useful?

MikeW

>Geez, Jack. I understand, now.

I don't think that's gonna work in a plane as is.

Even if you could build the plane body *and* the wedge to match, what purpose would it serve? Not much would ever be in contact with the wood.

An interesting find, nonetheless.

MikeW

The engineering of it all

Jim Reed @ Tallahassee

>Mounting the blade with bevel down would create one massive round plane. Could be useful for making a dugout canoe. Planemakers experimented with this shape, but determined that chatter was a huge problem, so they radiused the blade. Your planemaker probably figured that out. If you make a plane, I suggest making a solid frog as well as an interface to use between your curved blade and the flat frog. The tighter the interface, the less chatter. Good luck.

Re: the bevel side

Ed Mulligan, Cape Cod

>Jack -

This is just a wild guess. The curved blade reminds me of a gutter adze except your example doesn't have a hole for a handle.

There is a wooden shipbuilding tool that is in effect a hand-held gutter adze. The blade shape is like your example. The tool I'm thinking of may have originated in Portugal or perhaps among the Pacific northwest Indian tribes, can't recall. The end opposite the edge is wedged in a small tree branch crotch and lashed in place.

Ed

Re: is it useful?

Bob Hackett

>Can`t think of a reason to wade thru all the trouble to put this type of iron in a plane.

If you look at hollows and rounds the iron is flat with the appropriate shape ground onto the bevel edge.Same with both compass and spoon bottom planes,only the sole is shaped while the iron remains flat and the bevel edge ground to fit the task.

Off hand I would say the best use for this would be hung on the wall in a prominent place to spark conversation,that is unless you have a need for a primative gutter adze.

Mainely,Bob