Making a round moulding plane
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7 December 2014 at 9:20 pm #121939
Hi All,
I was wondering if anyone could offer any guidance on how to go about making a round moulding plane. Would it be possible to make something based on the way Paul made his rebate plane for example but with a rounded sole?
Any thoughts much appreciated.
7 December 2014 at 9:33 pm #121940I think it is but I’ve never made one, I know making one is quite difficult from what I’ve seen but I don’t think using chisels is a cheap alternative not unless you have many lying around. The blades are readily available through LN and well I can’t remember the others but atleast you know it is possible.
8 December 2014 at 12:31 am #121942Moulding planes are traditionally made in a different way to how Paul made the rebate plane. If you could find the iron you need you could probably come up with a way to make a plane to hold it in a similar way to how Paul made his though.
Greg has made several of his own planes so might be able to shed some light on a technique you could use.
There’s a really good DVD by Tod Herrli that goes over exactly how to make a round and matching hollow using traditional techniques. It’s not expensive and also covers how to make the irons. His site is here: http://www.todherrli.com/
Hope this helps.
George.
8 December 2014 at 12:23 pm #121946I’ve not ventured into making moulding planes. A rebate plane is as far as I have gone. You may take a look at Caleb James’ website. There are free plans for making planes there.
http://kapeldesigns.blogspot.com/search/label/Plans8 December 2014 at 3:30 pm #121949Thanks for the links – I’ll check them out. Another name I came across during my search was Larry Williams who also has a DVD on making a holow and round pair. That dvd is available in the uk as well I understand.
Hopefully it won’t all turn out to be too complicated!
I was also hoping to make the plane iron and am looking for a source for a small amount of steel. This company sell small sheets of mild steel in various thicknesses but not sure what would be needed
http://www.themetalstore.co.uk/products/2-0mm-thick-mild-steel-sheet
Cheers
Bill
8 December 2014 at 4:06 pm #121950Another source is the book “Making Wood Tools” by John Wilson
He shows how to make a variety of wooden planes including molding planes. He uses a number of power tools (belt sander, band saw, drill press) but nothing that could not be adapted to pure hand tool methods.
Two books on Wooden plane making are back in stock at:
http://www.astragalpress.com/John_Whelan_Books.htm
There may be other suppliers.
Craig8 December 2014 at 7:32 pm #121957Hi Bill
My understanding is that you need a tool steel for the blade Mild steel can not be hardened and would not hold an edge8 December 2014 at 11:00 pm #121964Thank you Peter and Craig for the book recommendations. Looking at John Wilson’s site I also saw there is a free 19 page supplement to his “making wood tools” book which is interesting. http://shakerovalbox.com/finished/supplement.pdf
David you’re right about the steel. It is tool steel I should be looking for of course. I just need to find a UK supplier.
I came across this article on tool steel for woodworkers http://www.threeplanes.net/toolsteel.html in case any one finds it useful
Cheers
Bill
9 December 2014 at 12:02 am #121967You can pick up the steel from sellers on eBay. Do a search for ground flat stock. It’ll be O1 steel. There are different thicknesses available but I think 1/8″ is commonly used for moulding plane irons.
George.
9 December 2014 at 9:40 pm #122032Thanks George – many sizes / thicknesses available on eBay. Good call.
Will probably go for a 3mm piece to start off.
Bill
Bill, Did you find what you need for your plane making? I took a class with Tod Herrli and have his video and can say that everything you need is in that video including making the iron from O1 steel. If you are patient and careful, you’ll be fine. If I remember right, Tod turns a dowel to use instead of a mother plane to shape the hollow and then uses that hollow to be the mother of the round. I don’t see that it must be done this way, if you don’t have access to a way to turn the dowel. I think you could patiently form the round first or fashion a scraper to use as a way to get the round, then use the round plane, when done, to cut the hollow.
You basically shape your plane blank and then cut an angled mortise for the blade and wedge. Tod uses a brace and bit to establish the angle, then opens the bore into the full mortise by chopping with a mortise chisel. It is at this point that you will need a couple specialized tools. First is an 1/8″ mortise chisel to handle the mouth. You’ll find it useful for other work. The other is a pair of planemaker floats. Tod shows how to make these from some O1 steel and a saw file. It’s not hard and you do not need to harden the floats. Or, you could buy them. You can find the O1 steel via MSC Direct in the US.
Tod hardens his steel with a pair of torches, one using MAPP gas. Paul showed how to use a charcoal barbecue, which I’ve never tried but I must say is the way I’d go. It costs nothing and is much slower, giving you more control over the process.It has been several years since I last did this, so I hope I’m remembering correctly. Tod’s information and classes are excellent.
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