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.
A new project - The No.10 Mitre Plane.
A very patient customer asked me to make a small mitre plane. He wanted an 1 1/4" wide blade to be bedded at 25 deg and bevel up with a short body. No adjuster was required.
I would classify this plane as a smoother/mitre. The small mitre plane has always seemed to be surprisingly scarce for its usefulness. Having got my simple sketch approved the first batch is now well on the way. I am currently blogging the making of this plane and it can be seen here.
It is a combined stainless steel bottom with naval brass dovetailed sides and brass lever cap and thumb screw. The blade is in my A2 original specification and has a top sneck. The length of the plane is 4 3/4". The sketch is approximately full size (depending on your screen size).
Despite its apparent austerity there will be no lacking in specification and quality. The designation will be No.10 and delivery will be end of November 2011.
The No.10 smoother/mitre plane blades are now completed, these must surely be the most overworked blades ever. Eleven grinding operations after buying the stock already pre-ground, (some of this work is shown in the 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.
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.
