A Frankenplane

[rxh]

This plane was found at the back of a cupboard in my parents’ house. It must have been there undisturbed for at least 25 years and was evidently an unfinished project by my late father. As you can see, it is fabricated rather than carved out of a single piece of wood and was coming unglued. No adjusting mechanism was provided. I decided to have a go at making it into a working tool as I like to make useful things from what appears to be junk.

I re-glued it and added screws to reinforce it. The knob was rather irregular and seemed to have been made without a lathe somehow. I turned a replacement knob from an offcut of iroko. Then I made an adjuster that pivots in a brass tube set in the handle and engages in a hole drilled in the chip breaker.

It didn’t feel heavy enough for my liking and I had the idea of drilling it and filling the holes with lead weights taken from an old piano keyboard. As a result it weighs as much a metal No.5, much to the surprise of those who pick it up.

So there it is: a real “Frankenplane”, made of beech with an iroko knob, a mahogany handle, a 2” Stanley blade & chip breaker, a Record cap iron, a Norris style adjuster, filled with lead and made by two people about thirty years apart. It works quite well, particularly as the first plane to use on sawn wood. I intend to provide a way of adjusting the width of the mouth if I can devise one.

 

[Kalimna]

I love it - I love the history, the story, and quite honestly the slightly odd appearance
However - no plane thread is complete without a picture of a few shavings. How does it plane?

Cheers.
Adam

 

[ColeyS1]

Quite simply amazing !! I think it looks awesome
I wonder if you could make the mouth adjustable like a block plane ?- have the knob as the nut part ( let in a threaded insert perhaps) then have a bolt going through to the sliding mouth. I love wacky inventions, this one I'm jealous

 

[AndyT]

Brilliant!

I expect that the original inspiration was from Robert Wearing. He included a very similar design, using Stanley plane parts in a wooden body, in his book "Making Woodwork Aids and Devices" - published in 1981. Some of the same content turned up later in "The Resourceful Woodworker."

For an adjustable mouth, have a look at some of the German planes - such as my one in this old thread - https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/ugly-duckling-t54430.html - (nicer planes are available! - it's just the first place I found a picture of what I wanted to describe.)

 

[Richard T]

Looks like a spiffing and unique transitional. =D>

And just how was this adjuster achieved exactly? I think we should be told.

 

[bugbear]

Brilliant!

I expect that the original inspiration was from Robert Wearing. He included a very similar design, using Stanley plane parts in a wooden body, in his book "Making Woodwork Aids and Devices" - published in 1981. Some of the same content turned up later in "The Resourceful Woodworker."

For an adjustable mouth, have a look at some of the German planes - such as my one in this old thread - https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/ugly-duckling-t54430.html - (nicer planes are available! - it's just the first place I found a picture of what I wanted to describe.)

Is it Robert Wearing inspired, or some of the very late transitional Marples designs?

http://www.oldtools.co.uk/tools/Marples ... Plane.html

(or both...)

BugBear

 

[AndyT]

Is it Robert Wearing inspired, or some of the very late transitional Marples designs?

http://www.oldtools.co.uk/tools/Marples ... Plane.html

(or both...)

BugBear

Well, yes, quite. All from the same gene pool, even if the family tree is hard to deduce!

These are the designs I was thinking of - first pic is from The Resourceful Woodworker, the second is from a cover-mount version of the Aids and Devices book:

 

[jimi43]

I think since your father started it and you finished it, the least you could do is add a FLUX CAPACITOR somewhere! :mrgreen:

Great revival mate of a plane which, every time you use it, will bring back nice memories.

I love it! =D>

Jim

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Splendid job! I think 'Frankenplane' is a touch unkind; it may not have the jaw-dropping beauty of an exotic-filled dovetailed steel jobby, but it looks a capable workhorse. Handsome is as handsome does.

Like AndyT and Bugbear, I instantly thought of Bob Wearing when I saw it. I think in the 'Resourceful Woodworker' (well worth finding a copy), he suggests using a length of guitar fingerboard blank (from a musical instrument maker's material supplier such as Touchstone Tonewoods) as a glued-on sole piece; such materials are often of ebony or hard rosewood, and would improve the wear characteristics no end.

The general idea could easily be extended to make special planes such as a high-angle smoother, maybe with a vintage thick iron off Ebay or from one of the better secondhand dealers, or a modern thick iron from the likes of Ray Iles. A normal-angle smoother and a nice long try plane, and you could have a full battery of bench planes for a lot less outlay than even a set of Ebay specials.

 

[rxh]

Many thanks to all of you for your kind and knowledgeable comments. I believe I have now found where the design comes from - it is almost certainly a Bob Wearing design. My father did not possess the books mentioned but he did buy the Woodworker magazine. As I mentioned, the original knob did not seem to have been made using a lathe. However, I recall that he did buy a lathe about 1968 and would surely have used it to make a knob if available so this puts the plane before that date. I started to trawl though his collection of Woodworkers from the fifties and sixties and hit gold in 1961. In June of that year there is an article by Bob Wearing entitled "Adjustable Wood Smoothing Plane", which looks very similar in construction to my plane. The article includes the statement: "The body is built up with two sides glued to the two centre blocks in much the same way that the jack plane described in the February number was made." Sadly, the February issue is missing from the collection so if anyone has a copy I would be very pleased to hear from them. I do have the March 1961 issue in which Bob provides a design for an adjustable scraper plane to be made in a similar built-up technique.

The adjuster is my own design but influenced by Jim Kingshott's book: Making & Modifying Woodworking Tools. I'll provide more details in a separate post. The lead filling is entirely my own idea. I hope to make progress with the adjustable mouth over the weekend and I'll take some photos of shavings, as requested.

 

[bugbear]

These are the designs I was thinking of - first pic is from The Resourceful Woodworker, the second is from a cover-mount version of the Aids and Devices book:

I think the rear shoulder shape confirms that this is the Wearing design. Thanks for posting it.

BugBear

 

[rxh]

Here are some details of the Bob Wearing smoothing plane and scraper plane designs I found. Also a Marples ad. from May 1960. It looks like hybrid type planes were popular at that time.

 

[rxh]

Here are some details of the adjuster construction, as requested by Richard T. The brass disc is glued to the plane to provide a sliding surface and prevent contact between moving metal and wood. The brass tube was made by drilling a piece of 3/8" OD bar and is glued into a hole in the handle. The threaded rod started as a piece of 1/4" OD mild steel bar - it was turned down at one end and threaded 2BA; the main length is threaded 1/4" x 32TPI ME. The knob was found in my junk box - I drilled and tapped it to suit the threaded rod The remaining parts except the washers are made from 5/16" AF and 1/2" AF hex mild steel bar stock.

I also attach a couple of photos of shavings as requested by Kalimna (the wood is ash). The blade is currently ground to a curve and so the plane works best for preliminary planing of sawn wood. I have made a start on adding the adjustable mouth feature and when this is done I'll try swapping the blade with the one from my Stanley No.4 and see if I can get thinner shavings.

The idea of a sole in ebony or rosewood is attractive and I hope to incorporate this in my next plane. I have found an old Robert Sorby 2 1/2" wide blade and I'm starting to think what I can do with it.

 

[rxh]

The adjustable mouth is now added. Maple and brass added to the list of materials.

 

[Richard T]

Many thanks for posting the adjuster details as well as all the fab photos. =D>