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I've made a couple of planes screws like that, too, and no issues. I have no machine tools, and for a person who is just using an optical center punch and doing everything else just made to fit, you can drill and tap a hole on each side of the lever cap a little off and still end up with a good plane.

I've made through-plates peined (on a wedged infill), too, and that worked fine, but only did that because the wedge was skewed and the screws would've been a no-go.
 
....... although the moving bearing surface is just the axle and the brass sides rather than the moving bearing being distributed across the width of the lever cap - I doubt that matters much though given it doesn't move much....

Richard, I gave the matter some thought before going that route on my first plane. At that stage, my experience of peening metal was very limited and I was worried about how I'd do it without locking the LC up (the solution, is, of course quite simple, but it only occurred to me later!), but it was mostly the desire to have the thing easy to dis-assemble that drove the decision to use screws. Indeed, not only does the LC move through a very limited arc, it does so raher slowly & infrequently in machinery terms, so there is negligible benefit in having a full width bearing surface. The clamping force is transmitted to the sides via the 'stub axles' or a full length pin exactly the same, so that part is no different.

As DW says, for the backyard/basement constructor with nothing more sophisticated than a drill press (& with luck, a decent DP vise), the problem is to get either the screw holes or the axle hole in the LC accurately. Indeed it doesn't matter too much other than to your pride if the screw holes aren't exactly co-axial, but check very carefully that the toe of the LC is sitting squarely on the cap-iron (or blade if it's a single-iron job) when the thumbscrew is tightened down. In fact, on my very first plane, I did get the screws "off" by a smidgin (I hadn't yet discovered centre-drills for starting holes more accurately), and so I knew I was in for some 'adjustment' of the toe of the LC. It wasn't off by much & not too hard to get it right, but it did mean having the LC in & out a few times. You could get away with the toe being a bit canted because a well-sprung lever cap will compress & absorb the difference to a limited extent, but pride & mechanical soundness dictate you try very hard to get it as close to perfect as you can...

David also alluded to the difficulty of using screws if the LC is skewed (deliberately skewed, that is, by 20 degrees or so). Here the through-pin may be the better solution. On the brutish skewed panel plane I made, I wrestled with what to do as I approached the job of fitting the LC. There are two ways to do the job. One way is to keep the LC square to the sides and 'twist' the nose to match the skew. I did this for a small 'badgered' smoother and it's in some ways the easier route, the axle remains square to the long axis, so set-up & drilling is straightforward:
5square LC.jpg

However, to do that for a large, wide LC requires a huge block of brass and a LOT of cutting & filing (& a lot of waste!), so I went with a skewed mount.
24 LC 3.jpg

It's actually easier insofar as making the LC itself is concerned, but thinking about how to drill that axle-hole accurately gave me several sleepless nights! Eventually, I figured out a very crude way, & got it very close but it could've gone either way! I have since picked up an idea from someone with more smarts than I have which will make it far easier to do if ever there's a next time.

But to the nub of the matter; I again opted for screws, although I was concerned that angled screw heads would be obvious & make it look a bit naff. In the event, by setting the screws a teeny bit deeper in the (4mm) sides, they blend in fine & you just don't notice the slight angle of the heads:
Brass-side PP.jpg

However, if I ever make another skewed infill (highly unlikely!), I think I finally have the clues about how to do a full axle & the courage to give it a try.....
:)
Cheers,
Ian
 
Hi Ian et al.

a couple of other things I have been wondering about before I get stuck in, that you have probably thought through...

how essential is the throat plate? I know these were added to many infills but doesn't the wood infill provide sufficient support? After all, wooden planes also work well. Do you bother with this?

There seems to be various ideas about filing the secondary dovetail bevel. Is it necessary to file that equally from the bottom of the dovetail to the top, or taper it so the angle is correct 15 degrees on the sole but it tapers to nothing at the top of the dovetail. That changes the angle of the visible outside of the tails though. Have you made a jig for that so it is consistent?

How much extra steel do you allow for peining? 1.5 mm seem about right? I think that is what I allowed in the past but it has been a few years!

I'm sure there was something else...the most important thing... but, in a senior moment, its just gone for the now. Hate it when that happens :rolleyes:!

...ah - yes, how do you cut your sides out. I have used a hacksaw in the past. This plane is twice the size so not sure if that'll work. I do have a jig saw with a metal blade which I could try.

thanks

Richard
 
Ok Richard, lotta questions so settle in for a long answer!

First the "throat plate" aka "blade block" aka "chatter block". How essential? Blowed if I know. I think the purpose of the blade block is to ensure the back of the blade has a stable surface to rest against. Whenever you mate wood & metal you've got a potential problem because one moves with humidity changes, the other doesn't. With the thick blades used in the original infills, the blade bevel extends further up than the top surface of the sole, so if you want the blade to rest on metal, you need to thicken the sole, if your blade is thinner & sole thick enough, you shouldn't need a blade block on this basis. This diagram comparing the contact areas of a thick & thin blade should explain better than words:Blade block diag.jpg

For most of the "full size" planes I've made it was nip & tuck whether there'd be a decent amount of blade back sitting on metal if I didn't add a block (I've used 5mm thick soles in the main), so I added one anyway. It seemed a bit intimidating at first, but it turns out to be relatively easy, it just adds to the tedium of filing a thicker bevel and slightly complicates fitting the stuffing, but only slightly. If you take a bit of care with the riveting & make sure you beat those suckers down well, all external evidence of the block should disappear entirely. This is a partly-lapped sole and the rivets have already disappeared:
Sole & mouth.jpg

I don't bother with blade blocks on my 'mini' planes (<100mm body length), I reckon the proportionally thicker blades and the small size make the things stiff enough, The backs of 1/8" thick blades just barely meet the metal of the thinner (3.2mm) soles, but so far (through 6 or 7 seasonal cycles) I've had no problems & the planes are very good little performers.
Shavings.jpg

Dovetails: There are a couple of schools of thought here. I don't know about Norris, but Spiers didn't put much of a bevel on the sides of the tails, but he put a very pronounced notch in the corners. It really doesn't matter if the notches & bevels aren't precise & even, with an all-steel body it all disappears after clean-up, but if you use brass sides with a steel sole, you need to be reasonably consistent or your dovetails might look a bit wonkey from the sides. In fact, you don't even need a bevel with brass, the steel will deform it quite enough when you beat it over along the sides of the tails to form a distinct angle on the brass. I do add a small bevel, just 3 or 4 file strokes, mainly to make sure the sides are straight & even:
DT chamfer.jpg

When hammered up, you see a distinct dovetail from the sole side. Peter McBride does a nice explanation of the process - worth a look at his site for the inspiration alone.

I allow about 1.5mm for peening. The amount is fairly critical, too much & you tend to beat the steel over too easily without filling the gaps properly, & greatly increase the amout of work filing flush. Too little & you'll struggle to move enough metal over to fill the gaps. And the better the fit of sockets & tails, the easier it is to peen perfect joins. I strongly recommend doing a couple of practice dovetails with some scrap pieces & experimenting with the amount of extra because a beginner usually needs a bit more than an experienced peener.

For cutting out, I use various weapons, a 1mm cutoff wheel in an angle grinder, with a straight piece of steel clamped at the line as a fence for straight cuts; a hacksaw for some straight cuts & slight curves; and a jewellers saw for tight curves & cutting out tails & sockets. You can do it all with a hacksaw, in fact that's how I did #1, cutting out the sockets by making multiple cuts down to the line & breaking out the slivers with a screwdriver or small cold-chisel. For long sides where my saw can't reach, I have to do it this way: The hacksaw cuts:
centre waste a.jpg

And after breaking the slivers out:
centre waste b.jpg

This leaves a much rougher surface as you can see, with more filing compared with the saw-cut sockets either side. However, it gets the job done & I notice it's how Bill Carter does his...

I think you would find a jigsaw exceedingly clumsy & liable to make a big mess in this situation, people use metal-cutting bandsaws and scrollsaws, for sure, but once you get used to them a jewellers saw is safe and relatively quick. Use premium-quality blades only, like Grobet, Pike or Eberle for e.g., and get the coarser blades (anything from #5 up is ok, be careful not to order anything with "0" in the number, these are the fine ones, not robust enough for this sort of work).

Standard saws of reasonable quality cost around $25 here - one of those very expensive ladder-back saws would be nice, but overkill unless you intend making a lot of planes. The smaller 75mm throat models are easier to drive, but a 125mm throat gives you much more reach. With a little practice, you can cut very close to your lines, leaving much less work cleaning up. With a #7 or #8 blade, I can cut out a good-sized 1/2" thick lever cap blank in about 10 minutes or less:
LC done.jpg
(Sculpting it with files & cloth-backed paper takes a good hour or more though!)

So hope that helps a bit. My best advice would be, just hop in & start. I recommend making a smaller plane like a rear-bun smoother to start with, but I think you said you've already done something like that, so you should be well on your way...
:)
Ian
 
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Thanks Ian - that helps a lot. I have a friend with a mill so I'm doing the dovetails the easy way. Using a mill. The cutting out question was regarding the external shape. I think, having just had a brief try, a metal cutting jig saw will be good enough then I'll sand to the edge with a linisher, drum sander and files. Useful tips on secondary bevel and throat plate. I guess I can include that without too much extra effort although if I use/make a 3 mm thick blade, then maybe it isn't necessary with a 5 mm thick sole. I'll have to think about that as I haven't really decided what blade thickness to use. If the 4 mm thick iron doesn't really provide much advantage (going back to the discussion earlier in the thread that really, a Stanley will leave a surface as good as an infill with a blade more like 2.5 mm thick) then there seems little point making it that thick. On the other hand, if I use a second hand old iron, then it will be thick anyway...but getting a good old parallel iron is not a trivial task.

1.5 mm extra for peining... sounds like I'm on the right track.

Thanks again for the detailed answer. I'll check that link out when I have a minute.

Cheers
Richard
 
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Whatever works, Richard. I've never had good relations with jigsaws under any circumstances so the thought of trying to cut out fairly tight curves in metal with one doesn't appeal to me at all. Yes, the initial cuts don't have to be perfect, if you are using brass for your sides, you can be a bit more wild with the cuts, it's much easier to file & sand to the layout lines than steel. I try very hard to keep the filing to a minimum with any steel. The only machine I use in my plane-making is a drill press, so my advice is always influenced by the thought of minimising the drudge work, hence my fetish for cutting out as accurately as I can. Had I realised I was going to end up making as many planes as I haveover the last 10 years, I think I'd have invested in a decent linisher long ago!
Infills.jpg Block & rebate planes.jpg
( Those are my 'keepers', I've made at least as many more, & yes, I'll admit it, I do have a problem!)

Milling the sockets should get you a very nice fit, making the joints easy to close solidly so you should find 1.5mm a very comfortable peening allowance as long as you don't go wild with the side chamfers & give yourself way too much to fill. If you are using machinery to remove most of the excess metal after peening, it won't be as painful as having to file it off, so as long as you are careful with those side gaps & fill them rather than just curl the edges over, having a little excess metal won't bother you anywhere near as much as it does me!

The major part of the work in making these things is in cleaning up after peening & lapping the sole, so if you can take most of it off by machine & just tidy up with files & a minimum of lapping it will both speed things up & eliminate much of the drudgery. I'm pretty slick at whacking out tails & sockets after doing so many, & I reckon I could probably prepare the sides & sole for a medium sized plane in the time you'd take to set up the milling machine for a one-off, but I certainly wouldn't have said that for the first couple! Where I think the mill will really help is in machining the blade bed, that's a tedious job by hand, particularly as it demands a high standard of accuracy if you want a really good plane at the end of it all.

I suppose one of the reasons I've stuck so doggedly to hand tools is because I want to encourage others who are thinking of giving it a try, & part of my message is always stressing that you don't need a workshop full of machine tools to make a good plane. However, if you do have access to them, I think it very sensible to take advantage of any extra help you can get!
;)
Ian
 
Yes, I see you have a bit of a problem ;). I have done something similar with guitars and I cant even play!! Actually, I think I have guitars out of my system and they take up space if you house them in a nice solid case, rarely to be played by someone. So, perhaps a plane-making problem isn't so bad. I have no idea why I'm making a panel plane actually as I don't really use that size of plane much and have a good 51/2 ... just thought they looked nice I guess. Maybe a small low angle block plane would be a better bet next - the block planes I have made (I think I posted pics before of these, although they are a bit amateur really) are the same size as my Clifton one which I find a bit hefty for general stuff (although they all work well).

Anyway, I gratefully accept the milling help (especially the mouth/blade bed) and will minimise the secondary angle filing by tapering them top to bottom. I have made knives in the past (one pic below) so using my home-made linisher is a handy way to tidy things up quickly.

What blades/thickness do you use - do you make your own? I was thinking I could get some 3mm thick O1 and either get it professionally hardened or find someone with a big blow torch.

Must say, you are lucky to have access to such nice figured wood. Its pretty hard to find over here.

Cheers
Richard
 

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.....Yes, I see you have a bit of a problem ;). ...
It's ok Richard, I'm in therapy & expected to make a full recovery in about 15 years (by which time I won't be able to hobble down to my shed any more :D )


.... What blades/thickness do you use - do you make your own? I was thinking I could get some 3mm thick O1 and either get it professionally hardened or find someone with a big blow torch.....

I've used a variety of blades,. Up until last year they were all bought new or recycled. Many smaller blades were cut off lengths of HSS tool steel, which is readily obtainable in a variety of dimensions up to about 1/8 x 1", good for my minis & things like this dovetail plane: Done.jpg

I've used quite a few Chinese made blades, most not branded but made by Mujingfang, I suspect, which are usually fairly thick & (I think) A2. Whatever they are, I've found them all to be excellent blades, they cost half as much or less than the big name brands, come nicely ground & take little preparation to be ready to fly. They also have milled slots that are amenable to a simple screw adjuster, should you wish to add one . This "chariot" plane has such a blade, it's a full 3.2mm thick & nicely solid:
Finished.jpg

Last year, I bought some steel from a knife-parts supplier (1 1/2 x 1/8"). It's an economical way to acquire blade material, but I had a few hiccups getting it hardened & tempered. Heating was no problem, I used a MAPP gas torch & a "coffee can" furnace (if you google that you'll find plenty of info); it was getting a good quench that took a while. I've hardened O1 steel before by quenching in old sump oil, but this stuff (1080) refused to harden when dunked in sump oil. So I had to resort to the unusual ploy of following the instructions that came with the bar. About $10 worth of the cheapest vegetable oil Woolies stocks did the trick. Tempering can be done in a regular cooking oven (Hint: clean the oil off thoroughly & wait until your significant other is out for the day before trying this at home. :oops: )

Anyway, I eventually got a couple of very nice blades, one is as close to perfect as I think I'll ever get. It lives in this little "thumb" plane which is (very) loosely modelled after the Norris 31. Apron & Thumb.jpg

Bears a family resemblance to your plane but as you can see, mine is smaller, about the same size as a Veritas 'apron' plane. I really like this little thing, by good luck at least as much as good management, it's turned out one of my better efforts to date, so the poor old apron plane which served me faithfully to the best of its ability for 25 years or more now sits neglected in a dark cupboard.

T'other blade I made I thought was still a little over-hard & needed to be brought back a touch more, but I recently gave it a good workout on some really "bad" wood and it took it in its stride with no evident chipping, so I'll leave it as-is for now, it can always have another session in the oven if I deem it necessary (& LOML is out for the day).
So although I was very dubious about my ability to make a decent blade, it does seem quite do-able. All you need is a reasonably good torch, the "furnace" costs virtually nothing to make, so it's something you may want to consider having a go at sometime. There are quite a few contributors on this forum who've successfully made their own blades, so you won't go short of advice if you need it. My blades worked out at roughly $10 each, which is a bit better than coughing up $80 & more for "name" brands!

.... Must say, you are lucky to have access to such nice figured wood. Its pretty hard to find over here....

Yairs, I have heard some of your compatriots moaning about the lack of choice over your side of the ditch. There are a few suppliers of choice woods over here who'll post to NZ, so if you produce a body that really cries out for some super fancy infill, you should be able to find something that won't bankrupt you. It's fortunate we do have a goodly number & variety of suitable "local" woods available at tolerable prices, the exotics cost an arm & a leg here, too! I suppose that's to be expected, given the ever-increasing use of resources, and I don't like the idea of using anything that is suffering from over-exploitation, so yes, I am indeed lucky! :)
Cheers,
Ian

PS. I must apologise to the OP, we seem to have thoroughly hacked his thread! Should have started a new one for the last half-dozen posts....
 
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Yairs, I have heard some of your compatriots moaning about the lack of choice over your side of the ditch. There are a few suppliers of choice woods over here who'll post to NZ, so if you produce a body that really cries out for some super fancy infill, you should be able to find something that won't bankrupt you. It's fortunate we do have a goodly number & variety of suitable "local" woods available at tolerable prices, the exotics cost an arm & a leg here, too! I suppose that's to be expected, given the ever-increasing use of resources, and I don't like the idea of using anything that is suffering from over-exploitation, so yes, I am indeed lucky! :)
Cheers,
Ian

PS. I must apologise to the OP, we seem to have thoroughly hacked his thread! Should have started a new one for the last half-dozen posts....
[/QUOTE]

I think I was the OP - it just morphed...as things do :) - do you have any companies selling figured hardwood that you'd recommend? I have bought guitar wood from Australia. Usually turns out OK and is probably cheaper than buying exotic native species in NZ. I think the best I can do here is Bubinga and getting nice examples of that is a bit of a gamble.

Cheers
Richard
 
OK, I don't feel so bad now, I guess an OP is entitled to steer his own thread where he chooses.. :D

There are a few timber merchants scattered round the country who carry the sort of wood you might be interested in, but the only one I have had any dealings with is this bloke. As you'll see on the page I linked to, his main emphasis is supplying knife-makers, but if you contact him with a special request, he will tell you if he can supply anything suitable & quote you a price. He has always been generous with the pieces I got, typically giving me a bit extra all round. He kiln-dries the wood so it's ready to use when you get it, though I'd leave it to acclimatise to your climate for a good while, for safety.

I should warn you that even straight-grained gidgee is a very tough wood to work (& bull-oak is a bit harder still), but the fiddlebacked or "ringed" stuff adds another dimension - cutting out the edges for the over-stuffing can be a very fraught process, with those wriggly little bits wanting to flake out just where you don't want 'em to!

Just sayin' - I don't want to receive any NZ-postmarked parcels that tick.......
:sneaky:
Ian
 
I know, I know....... I got embarrassed when Ian pointed out that I had more than one shoulder plane.

I don't feel so bad now, just inadequate that I don't have more.........Oh the shame!

😔 Yairs, ok Adam, I've acknowledged my problem (isn't that the first step to recovery?), but I also need to be taken to task for hypocrisy, regularly telling beginners they can make very acceptable stuff with just a few essentials & don't need a whole cupboardfull of tools!

In my defense, m'lord I plead extenuating circumstances. I've long since fully retired from the workforce, we don't need another stick of furniture in the house (in fact we need to get rid of some!), my children aren't interested in the sort of stuff I like to make (Ikea standard seems to be their preference), & all live a long way from me, so what can an old bloke do to while away the hours? The irony is, I have far better & more tools than I had in my most active furniture-making days (I've even got tools specially for making tools!), but less work for the 'real' tools to do......

I don't expect any sympathy from anyone struggling to find a few hours a week to themselves to spend in their sheds, I do remember what it's like....
Cheers,
Ian
 
OK, I don't feel so bad now, I guess an OP is entitled to steer his own thread where he chooses.. :D

There are a few timber merchants scattered round the country who carry the sort of wood you might be interested in, but the only one I have had any dealings with is this bloke. As you'll see on the page I linked to, his main emphasis is supplying knife-makers, but if you contact him with a special request, he will tell you if he can supply anything suitable & quote you a price. He has always been generous with the pieces I got, typically giving me a bit extra all round. He kiln-dries the wood so it's ready to use when you get it, though I'd leave it to acclimatise to your climate for a good while, for safety.

I should warn you that even straight-grained gidgee is a very tough wood to work (& bull-oak is a bit harder still), but the fiddlebacked or "ringed" stuff adds another dimension - cutting out the edges for the over-stuffing can be a very fraught process, with those wriggly little bits wanting to flake out just where you don't want 'em to!

Just sayin' - I don't want to receive any NZ-postmarked parcels that tick.......
:sneaky:
Ian

I kid you not that a high speed belt grinder may be the ticket for all but the final shaping on woods like that. I've made chisel handles with mine, but no exotic plane parts at this point. The dust load is incredible, though, and you will be the color of the dust except where your mask was.
 
Thanks for the link Ian. I'll bear in mind what you say - maybe bubinga is a good bet after all - it is pretty easy to shape, hard and stable. I understand what you are saying about furniture making. I really don't need any more either and the offspring aren't settled in one place so don't need any - so my projects these days are small - like knives. I have too many of them too, but at least they can be stuffed in a drawer and forgotten about!

Cheers
Richard
 
Bubinga has fairly high shrinkage values for it's hardness. East indian rosewood is about as hard and dense with better stability and the plantation stuff is pretty reasonable (about the same as bubinga here).

Cocobolo is also nice, but higher now than rosewood by a long shot.
 
I kid you not that a high speed belt grinder may be the ticket for all but the final shaping on woods like that. I've made chisel handles with mine, but no exotic plane parts at this point. The dust load is incredible, though, and you will be the color of the dust except where your mask was.

David, I have enough trouble with dust in my shed without creating mini dust-storms!! Even the toughest of woods yields to a saw, rasps & files which are pretty hard to beat for efficiency when it comes to shaping plane totes & buns imo. Still dusty work with bone-hard woods, for sure, but at least the dust is more limited to the immediate work area & not dispersed over the entire shed. (My dust-collection system has been waiting to be set up 'properly' for 15 years).

Shaping the woodwork for an infill is far less taxing & more satisfying to me than most of the metalwork. The trickiest part is cutting the rebates to fit over the tops of the sides when overstuffing, and there are no powered tools that I could use safely to do that. I find filing off the peened dovetails on a medium to large plane a bit too 'contemplative', & not a very rewarding activity so I do sometimes wish I had a decent belt sander to alleviate that bit of drudgery. But wherever possible, I much prefer a quiet approach that doesn't obliterate the background music. Ain't got no deadlines, these days.
;)
Ian
 
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Is that shrinkage after drying or in the drying process? I had thought it quite stable and have used it in knife handles a bit. Cocobolo is generally unobtainable here although it is fantastic stuff. I got a bit for knife scales from the US some years ago. I'll see if I can get Rosewood. Again, fairly difficult to find here. The last lot for a guitar was from Oz but there has been difficulty importing due to the protected nature of many of these woods.
 

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