pins through the plane

by Mungo Park, Winniprg Canada, Wednesday, April 01, 2009, 19:00

Being a Nubie I am trying to think things out and not ask the easy questions I can figure out myself.
But this one has me stumped.
I was reading that hollow rods are put through the wood so that if the wood shrinks it will not pull in the sides of the plane. This makes sense to me so far.
I am wanting to make a small plane for starters brass sides steel sole. If I make a 2"X 6" plane do I need the hollow rods or are they not used on a smaller plane, I guess it is still as wide as a bigger one. If these hollow rods are used what do the screws grip onto/into, is something in the hollow?
Also are the brass screws a traditional thing for looks?
Cheers Ron.