Wood handplanes: Grain orientation/species?

Re: Wood handplanes: Grain orientation/species?

Bob in GB

>I don't have an answer for you but wanted to share I am doing similar right now. I have prepared my blank today. I have read Fink's book and that is what I am using as my reference. I think it is a little more detailed than Krenov's. Myself, I used a chunk of maple firewood off the wood pile. It sat for several years and has stabilized. I am starting easy myself with only a 9" smoother. I also "bellied up" and bought the Hock blades (1 3/4"). I was making my own but it became too much of a distraction. I'll keep you posted as this is my first attempt.

Bob

Re: Wood handplanes: Grain orientation/species?

Larry G

>Ref: B&W edition of Finck's book.

You want the grain running downhill from the front to back, so that the sole is wearing with the grain (of the sole). Same applies if you laminate another sole to the bottom.

He's got couple of nice joiners of pages 122-123: 4-126 and 4-128 respectively.

Try the cherry, DF says they're fine for larger planes (see pg 15, 2nd para), they just wear faster.

I've built a smoother and jack from the Finck book (Krenov style). I'll make a joiner out of red-oak.

ECE woodies have bodies made from fruitwood or eur

Michael Stadulis, in Gloucester County, NJ

>

Re: Wood handplanes: Grain orientation/species? *LINK*

Don Pierson

>A couple of years ago when I was first getting interested in woodworking I ordered and made Hock's kit. It was a fun project and the plane works just fine. I believe the sole is Jarrah from the south in Western Australia.


Hock Kit

Re: Wood handplanes: Grain orientation/species?

Glenn Madsen near San Francisco

>I built one or two with maple bodies and cocobolo baseplates. They look cool, and it made the building somewhat easier.

You know that David Welter worked with Krenov for quite some time at the College of the Redwoods, right?

It mentions that in the article

Dominic Greco in Richboro PA

>Thanks for the info about the laminated soles. And it does mention in the FWW article that Welter worked with Krenov. I was just confused that Finck's book (which many consider the manual for making Krenov style planes) didn't mention it.

Thanks Don

Dominic Greco in Richboro PA

>Don,

Thanks for the picture of the kit. That's what I was thinking of doing.

I was about to buy one of those Hock blades. But I came across a very nice W. Butcher Iron and chip breaker at a flea market this morning and walked away with it for $3.00! I still may buy one a Hock Blade/Chip Breaker when I make my razee jointer and use this old iron in a smaller plane.

See ya around,

Dominic

Cherry with laminated (harder) sole.

Dominic Greco in Richboro PA

>Larry,

You wrote:

"try the cherry, DF says they're fine for larger planes (see pg 15, 2nd para), they just wear faster."

Yeah, I saw that statement. That's the reason I wanted to laminate the sole in the first place. I was going to use some pear. But I was under the impression that it is similar in hardness to cherry. Anyone know anything about pear wood in regards to it's harness? I seem to remember that some Primus planes have pear soles.

I was browsing through the flea market this morning and came across an old razee jointer that looked to be made from beech. But it was stained cherry color. It was about 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" x 24" (approx) and weighed a TON. I wish I had my camera with me because that style was exactly what I want my wooden jointer to look and feel like. If they had wanted less I think I would have purchased it. But they weren't in the mood to bargain.

And here's an update. After getting home from the flea market, I was browsing through my wood pile and found a whole heap of hickory resawed to 3/18". This stuff was left over from a box making project I did several years ago. So it's really dry now and perfect for the sole plate!

Re: Finck went to school there, too

Glenn Madsen near San Francisco

>I have a copy of Finck's book around here somewhere. I didn't find it all that helpful when I built my planes, though. The article in a very old, black & white vintage FWW was much more helpful. As was the fellow in our wood club who had done a two year stint at CR.

My homebuilt planes are nice to look at, but the Steve Knight coffin smoother is a better worker. And not that much more than I have in the homemade plane. Considering time spent, cheaper.

Hickory's a good choice...

John in New Mexico

>'specially if its already cut to thickness!

I've got a cherry scrub I made along the lines of Cecil Pierce's planes, and it works well, though the sole does ding up pretty fast (but with a scrub, who cares!). I just saw his book again at an online dealer, now I've forgotten which! First time I've seen it since Cambium went the way of the dodo.

John

Ya Ya Ya Make that wood plane

Ernie Miller

>But aren't you a metal worker or somthing in you other life? what we want from you is an Infill plane stuffer with some fruit wood Cherry will work fine with the hickory sole. It really dosen't matter in the long run as you will end up building others and buying more and it will only be use every now and then build it how you wand learn and proceed in life with the knowlage you have gained.

Re: Cherry with laminated (harder) sole.

Thomas S Stockton

>Dominic

I would think that the pear would not be as durable as the hickory or osage although it would make a real nice body. Years ago I took one of the planemaking classes at College of the redwoods and we used maple bodies and iron bark soles. Using a seperate sole is a little easier to build. Other popular woods for the sole are any rosewood, lignum vitea, hornbeam etc, also as one person mentioned jarrah would be good to. I don't know if this is your first plane project but in my experiance the first one is a learning experiance and the second one always works much nicer than the first.

As for laminating the soles and wood movement I've had no problems with it and I made a couple of mine over 20 years ago and they have had some pretty drastic shifts in climate.

Tom

Thanks for the input Tom

Dominic Greco in Richboro PA

>

Re: Wood handplanes: Grain orientation/species?

James Watriss

>Be careful with using firewood for plane bodies. Very often, or at least as often as not, firewood is cut from the limbs as well as the trunk. Depending on the size of the tree, it can be hard to tell. The problem with using wood from teh branches is that there's a lot more internal stresses than there are with the trunk, becuase the wood "grew up" with the tension on the top side from keeping that branch aloft.

Even once it seasons, there are a lot of weird and wonky stresses waiting in that innocent looking piece of firewood. Better to make darned sure that you're using wood harvested from the tree trunk, which makes for viable lumber. It's not that there can't be stresses in the trunk, but they're less likely to be anywhere near as bad as they are in the limbs.

For something like a plane body that you'd like to be as stable and straight as possible, you really want to be particular about wood choice if you can.

Re: Ya Ya Ya Make that wood plane

James Watriss

>I say make sole and sides from Hickory, and infill that... :-p