Home Made Tools. Fig. 1. — Iron Trying Plane: Longitudinal Section. Fig. 2. — Ditto: Transverse Section. Fig. 3. — Ditto: Enlarged Section Of Mouth.NOTE: Click on image to enlarge. The following article is taken from the 1889 trade publication “Work” (Saturday, April 13, 1889 – Vol. 1, No. 4). It should be noted that it is unsure at this stage just who exactly “J. H.” may be, but they do seem to posses some interesting knowledge and insight into the casting process and planemaking in general. Articles like this, from the “Golden Age” of infill plane making — and indeed metal planemaking as a whole (after all this was the era in which Stanley Tools were kings amongst a plethora of other makers in the U.S.) are invaluable in helping to understand the artistry and craftsmanship of these makers and companies. Home-Made Tools. By J. H. I. – An Iron Trying Plane Introduction – Pattern For Stock – How To Make Pattern – Casting – Trueing Up Sole And Side – Filing – Fitting Wood Blocking – Plane Iron – Filing Mouth – Wedge – Polishing – Lever. In this series of papers I propose to describe the construction [...]

You can find this original article on Handplane Central at Planemaking – Casting And Making An Iron Trying Plane

While in business, the Shepherd Tool Company sold some 1000 kits and 450 finished infill planes of various descriptions, including smoothers, jointers, chariot planes and shoulder planes. The kits proved to be an affordable way for many woodworkers and beginner plane makers to embark on making their first hand plane. Woodworker Steve B. explains how he went about building his own plane from a Shepherd kit. For some time I had gazed at images of various infill planes with lust, but could not afford a new Holtey or an old Norris or Spiers. However my desire for such a plane seemed a few steps closer when I came across the web site of Shepherd Tool Company. After browsing the web looking for further references to Shepherd and their wares, I decided to buy their Spiers #7 Smoother kit with brass sidewalls. The photographs that I’d seen of completed planes, and the reports of some people who had actually built the kit were very compelling. I started to get quite excited! I placed my order in September 2005, and the charge was debited to my credit card. After more than two months had passed, and after many unanswered or misleading e-mails [...]

You can find this original article on Handplane Central at Building A Shepherd Smoother

These side plate profile drawings are from a later model Spiers dovetailed infill panel plane and are offered more as a template for cutting out the side plates for dovetailing, rather than a full and comprehensive set of plans or diagrams. Typically the side plates of these planes were made from 3/16″ thick pieces of mild steel and this particular plane was no exception. Likewise the sole plate was the usual 1/4″ thick. Unfortunately the dovetails are not marked here, though I may draw up a proper set of plans at a later stage. In regards to the actual plane itself, the lever cap was an embossed and dimpled “Spiers Ayr” type in bronze and the infill was Brazilian rosewood. though there was a fillet piece of pine (not beech) behind the mouth in the rear infill. The plane was not disassembled so I’m not aware how far back the pine extended, though I would assume that it wouldn’t have been too large. The front bun, too my knowledge, was solid rosewood as there were no signs of veneering present. The lever cap screw was also a later type. The plane had its original cutter and backing iron, stamped with [...]

You can find this original article on Handplane Central at Spiers No. 1 Dovetailed Panel Plane (13-1/2″)

Infill plane maker, C.R. Miller, takes a departure from building dovetailed planes to a plane made solely for the creation of sliding dovetails. While there is beginning to be quite a substantial influx of information appearing on the web, and other places, in relation to the making of dovetailed infill planes, for some reason there appears to be very little in the way of plans, diagrams or tutorials for making a simple “dado-esque” plane for cutting the male part of a sliding dovetail joint. Its interesting to note that none of the major books on planemaking — to my knowledge — mention or give any instruction to making this type of plane. There are a couple of web pages around with a few very helpful and descriptive illustrations but the more information out there, the better, I say! As many woodworkers would, no doubt, know the sliding dovetail joint is ideal for shelving and carcase work as it provides a strong and somewhat decorative alternative to other woodworking joints. While much of this type of work is now done with noisy plunge routers, a specialized dovetail plane provides a much more quieter and calmer option that can be used in [...]

You can find this original article on Handplane Central at Making A Dovetail Plane (Part I)

Here are some side plate profile drawings for a later model Norris number A-1 dovetailed infill jointer plane. These diagrams are a little more detailed but are still intended more for use as a template for cutting out the side plates and sole plate prior to dovetailing, rather than a full and comprehensive set of plans or diagrams. The scale should be 1-1, if I’ve done things properly. The side plates for this plane were made from 3/16″ thick pieces of mild steel and the sole plate was 1/4″ thick. The later years were full of much upheaval at the Norris factory, and some models varied quite markedly. The First World War interrupted production significantly, and just happened to coincide with the introduction of a new patented adjuster which Norris had developed in 1913. It’s possible that American planes started to gain more popularity in Britain, as newer and cheaper planes were introduced to the Norris range, including cast and malleable iron versions of some of the models, as well as a rather nice bronze-bodied smoother which had a thin steel section soldered on to the base, adding to the durability of the sole. Some cheaper planes also featured infills [...]

You can find this original article on Handplane Central at Norris No. A-1 Dovetailed Panel Plane (13-1/2″)

These side plate profile drawings are from a between-the-wars model Norris number 1 dovetailed infill jointer plane and are offered more as a template for cutting out the side plates for dovetailing, rather than a full and comprehensive set of plans or diagrams. The scale should be 1-1, if I’ve done things properly. I should add that the “base line” on this drawing was a little wobbly so I’ve straightened it up with a paint program. The side plates for this plane were made from 3/16″ thick pieces of mild steel and the sole plate was around 1/4″ thick. The dovetails are not marked here, though I may draw up a proper set of plans at a later stage. Like many infill jointer planes, this particular plane is in excellent condition. Typically these types of planes did not see a lot of work and are, therefore, well looked after and carefully stored away when not in use. If you take into account that these planes cost, on average, about three weeks wages to a skilled cabinet maker its understandable that the craftsman would protect such an investment. The bronze lever cap was marked “Norris London” and the screw was the [...]

You can find this original article on Handplane Central at Norris No. 1 Dovetailed Jointing Plane (25-1/2″)

C.R. Miller explores the reasons why it might be desirable to start making your own hand planes and other tools. Make Your Own Hand Planes? Why Would You Bother? Back in 1994 I was giving a planemaking demonstration at a National woodworking show. The plane I was building was a coffin sided smoothing plane in bronze and steel, using plates dovetailed together. Now dovetailing in itself is a relatively easy method of construction – but unfortunately it is laboriously slow, especially if all the dovetailing is done by hand and you’re spending most of the time talking to the public. Whilst filing away on one occasion I looked up to see a middle-aged man, and his wife, intently watching my every move. After a short time the man asked me what it was exactly that I was doing. I automatically went into explanation and demonstration mode, just as I had done a hundred or so times previously during the show. Seemingly satisfied with my presentation the man thanked me for my time and he and his wife proceeded to move on to the next booth. As they did so the wife turned to her husband and commented “Why would you [...]

You can find this original article on Handplane Central at Why Make A Hand Plane?

Infill plane maker, Cameron Miller, gives a rundown of the basic tools needed for making metal planes. In this second part he concludes the article by concentrating on fabricating, marking and layout tools. Joining And Fabricating Tools Drills – Drills are essential for planemaking, not only to drill holes for rivets, lever caps and screws, but to ease in the initial shaping of the planes’ side plates through chain drilling. A set of metal twist drills up to at least 1/4″ (or the metric equivalent) should be purchased, although a set of drills up to 1/2″ will take care of most of your drilling requirements. Additional twist drills of different sizes can be bought as the need arises – such as in the case of various tap drills. A countersink bit is also needed for making the many countersinks required for riveting. In a pinch this process can be done with a larger sized drill bit, but a countersink bit is more accurate and easier to use. For making the slot in the rear infill for the blade screw a Forstner or sawtooth style drill bit is ideal. It’s also good for drilling the cut out in a closed type [...]

You can find this original article on Handplane Central at Basic Tools For Metal Plane Making – Part II

Making infill planes – from little planes, big planes grow Infill plane maker, Cameron Miller, gives a rundown of the basic tools needed for making metal planes. Part one of this article concentrates primarily on vices, saws and files. When I made my first metal dovetailed plane I had very little in the way of specialised planemaking tools. In fact, if the truth be known, I had nothing – except maybe an willingness to try my hand at a new skill, and learn from any mistakes I may encounter. This eagerness pretty much proved to be all I needed however, as many workshops – including mine at the time – already contain many of the tools needed to make planes. The tools I did use were a hacksaw, a half round bastard file, a set of cheap needle files, a 6″ rule, a machinists’ square, a set of twist drills and fortunately for me, a variable speed bench drill. I say fortunately because although an ordinary hand or power drill can be used for any of your planemaking needs, a properly set up bench or pillar drill goes a long way in making everything just that little bit more accurate [...]

You can find this original article on Handplane Central at Basic Tools For Metal Plane Making – Part I

When it comes to making the patterns used for castings, there are some fundamental attributes that need to be considered. Woods chosen for this purpose should be straight, and evenly grained, sufficiently dry and most importantly, dimensionally stable – with only a small amount of movement in service. Other requirements are that the timber should be easy enough to work and shape, and that it glues readily. There are generally no complicated woodworking joints in patternmaking as most pieces are simply butt jointed, with white or yellow P.V.A. glue. Traditional woods used in patternmaking are yellow pine, ( Pinus strobus ) also known as white pine, Brazilian or Honduras mahogany (Swietenia mahogani and Swietenia macrophylla respectively ), cherry ( Prunus avium ) maple ( Acer campestre ), and birch ( Betula alba ). Yellow pine was often the preferred timber for pattern making, unless several castings had to be made from the same pattern, in which the stronger and more durable mahoganies excelled. Mahogany was also chosen over yellow pine for patterns that required fine detail, as its strength was not as compromised in thinner sections. More recently it’s been common practice to use jelutong ( Dyera costulata ) as [...]

You can find this original article on Handplane Central at Timbers Used For Pattern Making

Following on from our interview with British hand plane maker Bill Carter, Bill has given Handplane Central a few of his tips and tricks that he has discovered over the years while making infill and wooden hand planes. On keeping things in their place: What I tend to do with planes is Araldite the infill first, once it’s fitted, and leave that overnight before I drill the rivet holes. That way everything is held in place and you don’t have to worry about clamps loosening off while you’re drilling. On truing beds: Although I don’t use floats, I have a wonderful tip that i’ve never, ever seen mentioned in any book or magazine. Get a normal woodworking chisel – any width – and heat it up to cherry red, then quench it. The chisel then becomes exceptionally hard and it will even cut steel. If you then grind the end of it to make it ninety degrees it will scrape timber like nothing else. It won’t dig in, but it will remove high spots like they weren’t even there – it’s fantastic. It’s much easier to use than both a chisel or a float, and even though I have several [...]

You can find this original article on Handplane Central at Some Hand Plane Making Tips From Bill Carter

It could be argued that the main feature which places Norris infill planes above all the other makers, as far as collectors go, is due to the ingenious, though somewhat flawed, Norris adjuster. While the adjuster feature is a “latecomer” to British infill planes it is, nonetheless, interesting that it should help Norris to usurp Stewart Spiers as the undisputed king of the infill even though it took some 70 years to make an entrance. How has it done so? Well, lets face it – woodworkers and collectors alike are much more used to seeing the Bailey pattern plane with its quick and easy adjuster system than they are to seeing non-adjustable infill planes – especially over the past 100 years or so. The Norris plane with adjuster is just like a souped up Stanley type plane, right? Erm….well no, not exactly. Now it has to be said that the average Norris plane – or any infill plane by a known maker for that matter – can far exceed the demands of an average Stanley Bailey plane – regardless of whether or not the Norris has an adjuster. Just the sheer weight, thicker blade, higher bedding angle and superior quality [...]

You can find this original article on Handplane Central at The Norris Adjuster