Dovetailed infill smoothing plane

[Garage workshop]

In this video I make a dovetailed infill plane from scratch using brass for the sides and mild steel for the sole. I used dovetailed construction which I cut using a hacksaw, chisel and files.

If you're willing to do this yourself be ready for a lot of filling, cutting and sanding. For the infill I used elm for the tote, apple wood for the front bun and an apricot wood for the rear infill. I didn't have enough wood of a single species so I used three different but they match pretty well.

I cut a mortise in the front bun and but a piece of lead in it to add a bit more weight to it. Final weight is about 2.5kg. For the blade I used a 6mm chainsaw bar which I hardened in water ( probably not the way it's supposed to be hardened but the file skates over it and it holds an edge pretty well.)

The video is missing peening the dovetails because I lost that footage as well as making the lever cap but I already showed the process a bit in my spokeshave video. In the video you see me using the a die stock to cut the threads in brass and than in steel. The reason for that is that I originally went with brass but it wasn't strong enough so I switched to steel. I also forgot to film a little steel part which was welded to the sole that forms a frog with wood but it's made using files just like anything else.

Some of the original features (as far as I'm concerned) are a closed handle with a steel inbetween sort of like a knife handle. I've seen that before only on a Lazarus planes which are far superior but he uses an open handle. Also I've never seen someone add lead to the plane as well as the different sized dovetails.

Also one more confusing part may be the rear infill because I cut an open mortise in it and I cut rabbet joints in both sides of the handle to fit it.

I apologize because some of the shots are out of focus and I sometimes block the camera view but when you're in a zone you tend to forget about it. The test aren't great because it's in spruce but I will use it in future projects and videos.

Some very helpful pages in making the plane were:

Building a Dovetailed Infill Panel Plane
Making a Dovetailed Infill Smoothing Plane - Jim Yehle
Metal Plane Making
Woodworking by Hand: Making an Infill Smoother
Infill Smooth Planes — The Lazarus Handplane Co.

[kbalch]

Thanks Garage workshop! I've added your Dovetailed Infill Plane to our Planes category, as well as to your builder page: Garage workshop's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Dovetailed Infill Plane by Garage workshop

tags: hand tools, plane