Precision Infill planes taken to a new level.
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Maker of traditional dovetailed infill
hand planes since 1988.
I must emphasize that I do not make 'reproduction antiques' – my designs, although firmly based on traditional infill patterns, incorporate subtle modifications to achieve the standards of design and finish for which I have become known. My aim is simply to make the finest hand planes money can buy.
The No.10 Box Mitre/Smoother Plane.
This is the first plane that I have combined stainless steel with brass. The plane’s apparent austerity is deceptive; I have used a rebate providing a shoulder support for the dovetails, this is no easy feat using stainless combined with the naval brass sides. Unlike fabricated infill planes in the past I have achieved surface grinding all round maintaining a true precision and fine textured finish. Not only is there the obvious advantages of corrosion resistance but the stainless bottom will be harder wearing and with an improved scratch resistance.
Traditionally these planes were called mitre planes but with a 25 deg bed and the blade with the bevel up I couldn’t think of a better tool for finishing. The design
and size of this plane is the result of many hours of deliberation and discussion with David Barron who originally commissioned it.
This is a non adjuster plane with a traditional top snecked blade. When used with the screwed lever cap the snecked blade allows the user to easily set the blade in all directions. This snecked blade incorporates a unique integrated riveting system allowing a much lower profile.
The blade is precisionally ground on all surfaces. It is solidly bedded (as in all my planes) on a machined metal surface which is united with the plane structure in a tripod principle.
The plane is 4 ¾” long with a 1 ¼” wide snecked blade and a 25 deg bed with a bevel up blade of a finished thickness of 0.175”. The price is £2,460 (+ vat if applicable). There will be an all stainless steel version at £1850 (+ vat if applicable).
I have a limited amount of very rare Zitan to fill these planes at an extra price of £300 (+ vat if applicable). If you are interested in the technical side of building this plane please look at my blog.
Making an A13 Smoother
During the making of my last batch of A13 smoothers I photographed a lot
of the work in progress for my blog. I have now brought these pictures together with some new text to create a 'Making an A13 Smoother' page in the Technical Notes area of the site. Visit the new page here.
Although I have not shown every procedure involved I think that this page gives an idea of the ammount of time I spend making a plane.
The T21 Panel / Jointer.
Those of you who are regular readers of my blog will have already seen the
'work in progress' posts of my new T21 Panel plane. I now have a small number
complete in Maple/Rosewood and solid Rosewood. The price is £3150
+ VAT if applicable, please contact me if you are interested. Visit my T21
blog here.
A variation of the No.982 Smoother.
As I am getting down to the last few No 982 planes I would like to bring this optional variation to everyone’s attention. This alternative fixing technique incorporates brass cones. These cones provide a malleable bedding material as well as a decorative feature. Technically the plane is no different with or without the cones. It seemed an appropriate solution when a well known tool maker told me that I always hide my work.
All the fixing bolts I use have a 40 deg taper, that is 20 deg each side of the centre line. This provides a positive retention and with half a degree of appropriate discrepancy it provides a little deformation for the perfect bed.
After the 22 bolts have secured the sides to the bottom a further 12 taper
pins are also fitted to provide a more positive XY stability in the event
of accidental impact. With all the research I have made into plane making I have not found a project of this kind. All possible scenarios have been taken into consideration in creating a precision, stable tool. Every single component in this plane is a story in its own right.
If you are interested in the more technical aspects of making this plane I have detailed some of the construction in my blog. Sometimes describing every part in the making of this plane is frightening due to the sheer volume of the number of parts and the amount of work. However, the quest for the holy grail continues ..
Visit my 982 blog here.
The A7 Spiers pattern Dovetailed Shoulder Plane.
These pictures show some Spiers Pattern Shoulder planes which I made recently,
a very elegant pattern and my favourite of all the shoulder planes. UPDATE:As of November 2010 all my A7 planes are now sold. I do have some parts to make one more A7 in the Spiers style with a boxwood infil. This would be to comission only and would be the last A7 I make, as new projects now take most of my time.
As I have no plans to make Shoulder planes again this really is a last chance to buy a Shoulder plane of this quality, please contact me if you are interested.
Whether working with wood or metal I like to produce crisp and precise corners and joints and this is especially true of bi-metal dovetails, the picture below shows detail of the Spiers Shoulder plane dovetails.
Machining produces metal parts to the required tolerance for dovetails of this quality but of course the peining can only be done by hand, a laborious and painstaking process requiring a level of skill to keep the true form and detail.
I am often surprised at the poor quality of dovetails offered by other makers. In the case of steel on steel, like the original counterparts, one can get away with being a bit sloppy but it seems pointless to use bi-metals unless you can achieve a really tidy job.
