Bluekingfisher
Established Member
I am repairing an old carpenters tool chest, whereby parts of the lower back panel, both lower side panels and their attached skirting boards were rotted out. I suspect due to sitting on a damp floor for years.
In the photo below you can see the repair to the bottom of the chest and the patch made on one of the existing skirt boards. Unfortunately the other side skirt board and rear skirting were beyond repair.
Therefore I needed to make two new skirtings, i.e. One long back skirt, approx 34" and one side skirt approx 20".
The chest is made from pine, I didn't have any on hand so I used some sapelle/meranti from an old conservatory we had replaced a couple of years ago.
I was determined to complete the project with hand tools only ( only used a battery drill to bore screw holes for plugs)
I have never used a combination plane other than with a straight cutter, and so here is where I became unstuck and seek advice from those who have experience with the combination plane.
Below is the profile I needed to cut to match the existing skirting profile.
The profile is an almost exact match for a 1/2" ovolo, or is it ogee, I always confuse the two. I believe it is cutter #62 from My Stanley 55 box of cutters. With the cutter fitted it is obvious one side of the cutter contacts the wood before the other and so I could not figure out how to set the plane up to cut the profile. I made a pass, adjusted the cutter down, made another pass, adjusted the cutter down and so on until the profile roughly matched the existing. It seemed very hap hazard and by the end of it the cutter extended about 1/2" below the skate. I was afraid the protruding side of the cutter was at risk of snapping off.
Did I set the plane up correctly, see below and should the cutter extend so far beyond the skate?
Is the 45 capable of making the cut or is there an additional attachment required to support the sharp end of the cutter. Is the fence on the correct side of the plane body?
I didn't have a long enough section of timber to cut the two skirts from so I had to profile the back skirt then start again for the side skirt. I figured I would try the fence on the other side of the plane I also shaped the profile onto the replacement skirt and planed away most of the waste, at least there would be less resistance on the long edge of the cutter.
Then with the fence on the right side of the plane
Both skirts turned out not to badly although it was hit and miss, I would have expected very close to matching exactly rather than judging by eye.
New side skirt mitred to back skirt, profiles not perfect.
Original front skirt mitred to new replacement side skirt (note the heavy sanding to match the worn corner) lol.
......and finally the repaired side skirt mitred to the new replacement back skirt.
.
I got away with it because it was an old distressed tool chest, where mistakes could be easily hidden to match the condition of the piece. If I had been repairing an antique or building a new piece my errors could not have been so easily disguised.
Therefore any guidance or advice on how I should have set up the plane (or indeed a 55 ) with this particular cutter will be gratefully recieved.
Many thanks.
David
In the photo below you can see the repair to the bottom of the chest and the patch made on one of the existing skirt boards. Unfortunately the other side skirt board and rear skirting were beyond repair.
Therefore I needed to make two new skirtings, i.e. One long back skirt, approx 34" and one side skirt approx 20".
The chest is made from pine, I didn't have any on hand so I used some sapelle/meranti from an old conservatory we had replaced a couple of years ago.
I was determined to complete the project with hand tools only ( only used a battery drill to bore screw holes for plugs)
I have never used a combination plane other than with a straight cutter, and so here is where I became unstuck and seek advice from those who have experience with the combination plane.
Below is the profile I needed to cut to match the existing skirting profile.
The profile is an almost exact match for a 1/2" ovolo, or is it ogee, I always confuse the two. I believe it is cutter #62 from My Stanley 55 box of cutters. With the cutter fitted it is obvious one side of the cutter contacts the wood before the other and so I could not figure out how to set the plane up to cut the profile. I made a pass, adjusted the cutter down, made another pass, adjusted the cutter down and so on until the profile roughly matched the existing. It seemed very hap hazard and by the end of it the cutter extended about 1/2" below the skate. I was afraid the protruding side of the cutter was at risk of snapping off.
Did I set the plane up correctly, see below and should the cutter extend so far beyond the skate?
Is the 45 capable of making the cut or is there an additional attachment required to support the sharp end of the cutter. Is the fence on the correct side of the plane body?
I didn't have a long enough section of timber to cut the two skirts from so I had to profile the back skirt then start again for the side skirt. I figured I would try the fence on the other side of the plane I also shaped the profile onto the replacement skirt and planed away most of the waste, at least there would be less resistance on the long edge of the cutter.
Then with the fence on the right side of the plane
Both skirts turned out not to badly although it was hit and miss, I would have expected very close to matching exactly rather than judging by eye.
New side skirt mitred to back skirt, profiles not perfect.
Original front skirt mitred to new replacement side skirt (note the heavy sanding to match the worn corner) lol.
......and finally the repaired side skirt mitred to the new replacement back skirt.
I got away with it because it was an old distressed tool chest, where mistakes could be easily hidden to match the condition of the piece. If I had been repairing an antique or building a new piece my errors could not have been so easily disguised.
Therefore any guidance or advice on how I should have set up the plane (or indeed a 55 ) with this particular cutter will be gratefully recieved.
Many thanks.
David
