Jointer completed!
Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)
>Well it has taken about 2 1/2 weekends to build this 30" jointer, but it is finally complete and I a very happy with it. I cannot believe that a plane this length - 30" - can be so comfortable to use. It turned out to be relatively light for laminated/solid Jarrah, just 2.25Kg (a tad under 5 lbs).
The iron is a 3/16" Hock that I infilled the slot with brass so that I could use it as a single iron. The bed is 60 degrees. The lever cap is brass, nearly the last of the unusually pink stock I have. This is extremely hard metal. It is polished to direct shavings out of the mouth. The lever cap screw is capped with brass to match. I shaped the side screws out of brass bar.
The razee construction was inspired by some of Steve Knight's work, but overall I see the influence of Terry Gordon.
I often wondered what Terry's (HNT Gordon) planes would be like with a tote, so I added one.
The mouth has a brass wear plate. It (the mouth) is very tight at present. I thought I would play with it like this first before opening it wider (as it is, I see this jointer taking fine shavings when truing edges of boards).
And, yes, it can make proper shavings. I only had a board of Karri Pine to hand, but it made light work with (in my impatience) a semi-sharp blade.
I plan to write up a few "how-tos" (would that make it "how three"?) on areas such as constructing a lever cap and cap screws without fancy shmancy equipment.
Hoping you enjoyed this as much as I ...
Regards from Perth
Derek
Re: Jointer completed!
#2Re: Jointer completed!
Hank Knight from SC
>Derek,
That is a fabulous plane! Very nice work. I hope you will do a step-by-step write-up for those of us who dream about making something that nice. Post shavings pics when you get it tuned to your satisfaction.
Hank
Re: Jointer completed!
#3Re: Jointer completed!
Paul in NJ
>Nice work Derek, I'm sure it will work much better when you sharpen your blade! I was wondering why you chose to have the tote so far back. It would seem a little toe heavy especially with the razee back. Thanks for taking the time to post words and pictures.
Paul
Re: Jointer completed!
#4Cool shaving!
jim reed @ tallahassee
>
Re: Jointer completed!
#5Re: Jointer completed!
Frank D. in Montreal
>Wow,
That's a whopper of a plane Derek! It looks fabulous...I'd be more than proud to own a plane like that. Thanks for showing us all the progress pics. I'll be looking forward to that little lever cap tutorial too.
Cheers
Re: Jointer completed!
#6Great Work!
Tom Colligan
>Derek, please be sure to cover how you made the tote; it looks like there is now from screw securing it. Would that mean the tote is inletted? And what about the machine screw holding the lever cap/blade. Did you turn that on a metal lathe? Thanks so much for your input on this forum! Tom
Re: Jointer completed!
#7Re: Jointer completed!
Moses Yoder in White Pigeon, MI
>That plane is a beauty. I wonder what the chances are of it staying straight? Another question I would have is the lever cap versus a wedge. Do you have some reason for preferring the lever cap?
Re: Jointer completed!
#8Re: Jointer completed!
Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)
>Hi Moses
I think that the chances of the plane remaining straight are high. The timber is stabilized and has a reputation for stability. The laminated construction should also help, in my opinion.
The reason for the lever cap is that it makes it much easier to adjust the blade. You can dial in the exact holding pressure on the blade. The lever cap also acts as a "chip breaker" in what is a narrow mouth opening (the relief side is 75 degrees - very steep!).
Regards from Perth
Derek
Re: Jointer completed!
#9Re: Jointer completed!
Rob Lee
>Hi Derek -
Bonza job!
If you send here, I'll be glad to review it..... ;)
Cheers -
Rob
Re: Jointer completed!
#10Re: Jointer completed!
Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)
>Hi Rob
I was expecting no less from you!
< grin >
Regards from Perth
Derek
Re: Jointer completed!
#11SWEET!
Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA
>It turned real nice Derek. Look like another thing to add to my wish list of thing to do...
Re: Jointer completed!
#12Re: Jointer completed!
Andrew Lunn
>Nice looking plane, Derek! I too would like to know more about the metalworking you did. Was this your first lever cap? It really turned out. I'm curious to know why you bought an iron and infilled it as opposed to making one from scratch, especially after making something harder like a lever cap. How did you do the infill?
In any case, this plane looks like one you'll enjoy using for a long, long time! Way to go!
Andrew
Re: Jointer completed!
#13Choice, absolutely choice. LOL
Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX
>
Re: Jointer completed!
#14Some details *LINK*
Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)
>I too would like to know more about the metalworking you did. Was this your first lever cap? It really turned out. I'm curious to know why you bought an iron and infilled it as opposed to making one from scratch, especially after making something harder like a lever cap. How did you do the infill?
Hi Andrew
I have posted a little before on this topic, and am planning to put the info on my web page, but here is something of a response.
This is about the fourth or fifth lever cap I have made. I have done several more in the way of cap screws. None of them took much in the way of specialised equipment as I either located items that could be converted (such as brass hose fittings from the gardening section of your borg), or I used basic tools (such as a belt/disk sander combo and drill press).
Incidentally, I think I have identified the metal in the lever cap as phosphor brass - it is incredibly hard and I "machined" it with a small angle grinder!
The reason for infilling the slot in the blade? Long story kept short. Ron Hock (of Hock blade infamy) offered the members of the Porch (Old Tools forum) blades at a reduced cost to build a bevel up smoother. I wanted to participate in the fun but had recently built an infill BU smoother (link below), so decided to build a jointer instead. When the time came, however, the blade was too short to use on the longer bed of a BU design. So I changed this to a BD design. Since I wanted to use a lever cap rather than a wedge, and because I wanted to keep it a single-iron configuration, I needed to infill the slot for the cap screw. To do this I cut out a piece of brass that was a smidgeon to large, placed in in a plastic bag and this in the deep freeze, and shrunk it! Then I hammered it into the slot. It expanded and stuck. And Bob's your uncle.
Re: Jointer completed!
#15Re: Jointer completed! *LINK*
Kevin Adams
>Hi Derek--
You might be interested in knowing that Terry Gordon will be offering toted planes in the near future. I have several of his planes now (just beautiful) and I must say that I love the side handles. I find it to be a very versatile hand position and it helps me push down at the beginning and "lift off" at the end of a cut. However, on a long jointer I would think the rear tote is the way to go especially if you joint boards "traditionally" in a front vice vs. using a long shooting board where the side handle planes excel.
Great job on your plane--it is really stunning and appears to work great, too.
Take care,
Kevin
http://www.hntgordon.com.au/newproducts.htm
Re: Jointer completed!
#16Comparisons *LINK*
Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)
>Hi Kevin
Thanks for the comments and link.
Yes, I know about Terry's new "toted" versions as he also sent me the link. On the shorter planes, such as the HNT Gordon Smoother and the Trying Plane (link to my review below), I find it comfortable to use the cross pieces. I should qualify that with the Trying Plane - I prefer a Western Grip (as opposed to the Eastern Grip) when jointing edges. Consequently, for this jointer I decided that the plane would benefit from a tote.
Here is a picture of the jointer alongside the (17") HNT Gordon Trying Plane for reference. I positioned the tote (a full four-finger size) where I felt it balanced the plane when held (I set the plane on a fulcrum and placed the tote at the position where it rested balanced). This is more in line with modern jointers where the mouth is set further back (but school is still out and I may decide to shift it forward at a later date). At present it feels comfortable.
For comparison, here is Steve Knight's beautiful razee jointer (representing the "modern" planemaker) ...
Re: Jointer completed!
#17Re: Some details
Andrew Lunn
>Derek,
Thanks for the explanation and link. I must have missed your article about the infill you made; you are very prolific! And resourceful, using the body of a #3 for an infill. Your plane looks like it works real well. I'd like to try my hand at an infill someday but don't know when I'll find the time--there's so many things to make, and so little time!
That's a really clever way to shrink the infill for the slot in that blade. I follow along at the Porch from time to time and recall that bu smoother project you mentioned.
Keep up the great work!
Andrew
Re: Jointer completed!
#18Re: Comparisons
Warren in Lancaster, PA
>I am having trouble understanding your method of balancing. It seems to me that the handle is far from the balance point (center of gravity) and as Paul suggested there would be a tremendous moment about the tote axis.
In contrast to your plane, the Dominey jointer (1766), which is 33 1/2 inches long, has the mouth 13 inches from the front. The tote is just behind the sloping iron.
I am also curious to know if this jointer has advantages over the other jointers that you have used previously.
Re: Jointer completed!
#19Re: Comparisons
Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)
>Hi Warren
I think that we accept that the "balance point (centre of gravity)" is the mouth of the plane. But how do we achieve this? The vintage planes tend to have mouths closer to a third of the plane length as measured from the nose. More modern planes have a mouth about the mid point. The razee design has the advantage of lowering the centre of gravity, but it also lowers the mass at the rear of the plane, making it nose heavy.
Now I am not sure what the answer is. My interpretation was that the tote needs to be shifted back to a point where it acts to balance the mass around the mouth. So what I did was to actually place the mouth of the plane on a fulcrum, and used the handle to balance it at this position.
As I stated earlier, this was my solution. Will it work? I really don't know if it is the best position. I will try it out for a month like this and let you all know. I am prepared to move the tote forward if necessary. All I can say at present is that it feels comfortable and the plane has a lightness that surprises me. My front hand guides the plane from about 2-3" in front of the mouth, where with other trying planes and jointers (with totes further forward) my front hand is a few inches further forward still. In other words, what has changed is that I am pushing the plane from a position 2-3" further back than expected.
Regards from Perth
Derek
Re: Jointer completed!
#20Re: Comparisons
Warren in Lancaster, PA
>Derek, you write " I think we can accept that the balance point is the mouth of the plane." I am sorry to say I never heard this notion before. I have no experience with planes that balance at the mouth.