German Style Smoothing Plane.

[swagman]

The following Smoothing Plane has been sitting in my workshop for the last 5yrs waiting for an opportunity to be fettled in and put to use. Today was that day. The sole of the plane needed a light dressing back, the irons wooden bed and wedge abutments were received a fettled in, and the double iron was de-rusted and prepped for use. The sole of the plane then received a rubbing of wax and was put to use on a short length of wedge stock that needed to be hand thicknessed down from 1" to 5/8". Thick or whisper thin shavings, this smoothing plane managed it effortlessly. This post should be treated as a kindly reminder that you don't need to spend a lot of money on a premium brand bench plane.

Stewie;

 

[thetyreman]

nice! I also like the fact wooden planes are so much lighter, it's easier to use them for long periods.

 

[whiskywill]

No good to me. It's a left handed plane. :wink:

 

[Trafalgar]

There's a whole lot to like about those planes!

 

[Trafalgar]

No good to me. It's a left handed plane. :wink:

Horn tilts to the left for a right-handed worker...they do make them with a right-tilting horn, at least ECE does I believe.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

I was looking recently at a Goldenberg (so Alsace, nearly Germany) smoother, but reminiscent of that in style, which had a rather nice Lignum sole. But a double iron with no screw to hold them together. It was for sale for £4, but I figured that the time it would take me to learn how to set the iron properly would be worth a lot more ! Still, yours is working well and gives me a twinge of regret for not buying ...

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Better to regret something you did do than something you didn't.

 

[D_W]

I was looking recently at a Goldenberg (so Alsace, nearly Germany) smoother, but reminiscent of that in style, which had a rather nice Lignum sole. But a double iron with no screw to hold them together. It was for sale for £4, but I figured that the time it would take me to learn how to set the iron properly would be worth a lot more ! Still, yours is working well and gives me a twinge of regret for not buying ...

Loose cap irons are a pain, because they can change set when you change the depth of cut. That's one of the reasons the cap iron in a japanese plane is a matter of last resort in day to day use rather than an always-set type of thing like you can manage with a western bench plane.

 

[Woodster101]

Always liked the primus and was sorely tempted, at a car boot found similar to yours, the abc danish quality smoothing plane, and the shoulder plane with adjustable toe, got both for £15, the smoothing plane is lovely to use, bit of tapping about but once you get it there, planing with its therapeutic,rather use it than my no 4, made up with it =D>

 

[Corneel]

I've got a plane like that too, an older Ulmia Reform smoother. The reform type has a somewhat higher pitch, 49 degrees, and an adjustable mouth. Mine also has a lignum vitea sole. The adjustable mouth is a joke, very difficult to set, at least in my plane.

I really have to get it out of the drawer and use it more often.

 

[Woodster101]

Sounds like a nice thing to be sat in the drawer, at least it's different from the numerous bailey planes we all end up with, forgetting, De rusting, sharpening, forgetting, De rusting, sharpening....and so it goes on (homer) hope it's not just me!

 

[Corneel]

Sounds kind of familiar.

 

[swagman]

Then lead by example and fettle those wooden bodied bench planes back into service.

 

[swagman]

Not too bad for my 1st attempt at shaping a German front horn. English Walnut. Left handed plane. Next on the list is to place an order for a quality brand German parallel double iron.

 

[Corneel]

Indeed, not too shaby for a first try. In fact it looks great from here. Did you attach it in the standard way, dovetail at the back, round tenon below?

 

[swagman]

Corneel; the tote is just sitting in position for the photo. The front of the planes main stock will be stepped down to receive the tote, no different to the other German plane I recently refurbished.

The tote will be glued into position.

Titebond No-Run, No-Drip provides a strong initial tack and fast speed of set, yet allows realignment of working pieces. It also develops a bond stronger than the wood itself, offers excellent sandability and is unaffected by finishes.

 

[Corneel]

i don't know if glue only will be strong enough. There is going to be a lot of force on the horn in use and the glue surface on the plane block is mostly endgrain. Traditionally there is also a mechanical connection, usually a sliding dovetail at the back of the horn and the bottom of the horn is usually fitted in a round hole, either the same diameter as the bottom of the horn or a smaller diameter, so the bottom of the horn sports a round tenon.

 

[swagman]

Hi Corneel; will see how things pan out during glue up.

Way too much hassle trying to order 1 5/8" double irons direct from ECE.
Went ahead and ordered 1 5/8" double irons from Lie-Nielsen Toolworks.

regards Stewie;

 

[Corneel]

Here is my Ulmia smoother. I just picked it up from the drawer, sharpened the edge and tried to plane a small cherry board. As you can probably see, when looking at the shavings in the background, it didn't work very well. A couple of problems I have:
- Sole not flat anymore. Well, that should be easy to repair.
- The capiron slides too much. I have to tighten it first, then hammer it into position.
- What's worse, it slides when adjusting the plane too!
- Adjusting the plane is completely different from my other wooden planes. It seems to be very sensitive to even a light tap of the hammer.
- Something is wrong with the bedding or the sole. I have the edge exactly square to the sides of the blade, but still I have nowhere enough room to laterally adjust the blade. It is always cutting deeper on the left.

After playing a bit with this plane I picked up my wooden cofin plane quickly making effortless shavings. I wonder if it is worth my time to delve deeper into the Ulmia.

 

[swagman]

Corneel; have you considered grinding the thread end of your lever cap tensioner to a point. It should help localise that pressure and stop the double iron from sliding to the right as you apply pressure. Once you have resolved that, I would also check to see if you are achieving even contact at the lower end of the lever cap. A piece of ink paper slid between prior to tightening should highlight where good contact is being made. With the cap iron, you want to inspect the final threads on the cap iron bolt. The front lip on the cap iron may also require some additional bending if its lost some of its original spring. The flattening of the sole is a gimme, but you may need to add some slight cross grain bias if you don't want to alter the current 90* alignment on the front edge of your cutting iron. Checking the plane bed for flatness is another gimme for a man of your competence. Hopefully the suggestions help. Stewie