Machining a bullnose plane
CJ
>I've got a bullnose casting from St. James Bay and have been spending the odd lunch hour in the basement at my office using the mill in the tool room to machine it. I've got the sides and bottom flat and square to one another (which is dead simple), but I have a question about how to sneak up on the mouth and about the shape of the frond of the plane.
The casting has a bit of lean to it such that the front surface is angled rearward of normal by a few degrees. While it makes sense to have the plane angled this way, I just wanted to confirm that this is correct and that this angle should be maintained.
The bottom of the plane is quite thick and I have a lot of material to remove to get close to opening the mouth. Can anyone give me a few pointers on how to open the mouth?
I'd also love to hear from anyone that might be able to set me straight on the bed as well. I'm using some inexpensive end mills that may be able to do a bit of the bed on the side of the tool, but not enough to go the entire width of the plane. Right now I plan to do as much as I can from one side and finish off with a file. I'm not certain how I might jig up the casting body so as to machine both sides of the bed in a co-planar fashion.
Thanks.
CJ