The Legacy Planeworks Blog About Infill Planemaking and kits

I thought this is the perfect board to test the A6 smoother on.  It’s a slab of walnut 2″ thick, 27″ wide and a little over 8 feet long that I had stashed away waiting a future purpose.   I used it’s adjoining slabs to make a Bombe chest and this was left over from the stack of lumber. I actually intend to use this slab as a desktop in a home office in the future, but using the board to test our smoother kit on would be a good purpose before becoming a desk.                                        

 Finally, the last post about peining this plane together….

 Remove the mouth support tabs.  The next step is to remove the mouth support tabs and complete the peining sequence around the mouth.  Mount the setup in a vise using strips of scrap wood to protect the sides from marks and scratches.  Using a hacksaw or coping saw equipped with a metal cutting blade, carefully cut the steel support tabs off both sides of the plane.  Starter tabs have been cut into the protrusions to get the blade started.   Do not cut into body of the plane - keep your cut parallel with the body of the plane.  Remove the mouth support tab on each side.  

 CAUTION:  Cutting and removing the mouth support tabs creates heat and will leave sharp metal edges.

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I’ve migrated to a new computer and decided it’s also time to migrate to a new theme as well.  The images in the header change randomly each time you visit and when you click within the blog.   There’s only five in the rotation currently, but I can add as many as I want as we go along.  Look for some photos of some Norris A6 sides and a sole to be added soon. I apologize as the previous posts have lost their formatting making them difficult to read.  I’m in the process of going back fixing them, but will use a less rigid writing style to avoid any future formatting issues.   Ernie   

I’ve been getting up to speed on my Mac as I am now a convert from PC.   I don’t want to sound like a Mac commercial, but this thing is amazing.  I need to do a few more tutorials and download some plug-ins that will allow to incorporate some multi media features such as video in future blog posts before I’m up and running full speed.     In other news the A6 sides and soles are ready for the first cutouts.  We’ll have a few samples cut and worked to a tight fit.   The soles will be 1/4″ steel and the sides will be naval brass…a classic look.    

  This post picks up where Part I left off….       Protect the sole plate.  Place double stick tape and a thin cardboard strip, aluminum or other thin protective material along the sole to protect it from ‘misses’ while peining. Remember: misses cause dimples and extra work removing then evenly.            The peining sequence involves locking the sole to the brass sides in a structured sequence to avoid introducing to much stress into the material.   The goal is to pein and lock the critical areas around the ends and mouth, then finish the areas in between.  The set-up can be secured in a vise for peining, or held and controlled by hand on a solid surface such as an anvil or thick steel plate. [Read more →]

I’m excited to announce that we’ve begun the development of a kit based on a Norris A6 Smoother! 

Marty and I discussed the smoother kit today including the design of the components, the quality of the components and construction method for the kit.   We have something interesting ‘up our sleeve’ which we are excited to try for this smoother kit and think you’ll be blown away- we believe we’ve figured out a way to make the building process go surprisingly smooth, more on that in the future…

The smoother kit will have a solid mass, have the click together fit which is an eternal component of our branding effort and will be made of high quality components.  We’ve decided many of the details, but we’re still discussing the bed angle which would be the most appealing to the majority of users.  I’ve placed a poll here on the blog in which you can vote for the bed angle you’d like to see.  I’m curious how the poll will go.  The majority rule will determine the bed angle of this plane, so vote to be heard.

We’re shooting for an November release date for the kit, which gives us a busy 5 months to complete CADS, the various components, R&D, work through any design changes, tweak the construction method, complete the manual, etc…you get the idea.

 I’ll start a series so you can follow along the process if you so choose.

This is a longer section in the manual so I’ll break it up onto two parts for the blog.   The first is a primer where I’ll try to show you what notto do when peining and the second part will show the peining for the actual shoulder plane.  

Lets pein this thing!!!

 But first….

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              The goal in this section is to create a tight fit between the work block and the components which will keep the plane square and parallel during the peining process.

Slide the saved cutout into the plane.  With the plane components held together by hand, slide the saved cutout piece from the work block between the bridge and sole plate for support when peining. This piece offers support to keep the area from collapsing while peining the bridge and around the mouth.   The picture depicts the wood block slid into place underneath the bridge.   Clamp the sides and sole onto the work block making sure the sides are pulled tightly against the sole plate and the work block.  Make sure the sole and both sides sit flat on the work block and the components fit snuggly together.  When satisfied with the fit, clamp the sides tightly.

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The goal of making a work block is to make a flat, square and parallel block of wood.  The purpose of the work block is to hold the components in the proper position which keeps the plane square during the peining process.  The block should be a solid hardwood, preferably maple or similarly dense hardwood.  The block is made long enough to allow for easy handling during the building phase and for easy removal of the plane body after the components have been peined together.

Rough out the work block.  Cut a 12″ length of board that is slightly thicker for the inside width of the plane you are making.  The board should be slightly wider than 3 1/8″ inches wide.

Joint one side flat. This will give you a flat surface for the sole to rest on when peining.  Check that the jointed edge is flat and square to the sides.  The jointed edge becomes the top of the work block.  

Surface the board to the correct thickness.    This thickness is the inside width of the sole plate and will keep the sides parallel during the peining process.   Use calipers to get as close to the thickness as you can, within + or - .005.  You can use a surface planer to get close then finish to proper thickness by lightly and evenly sanding the board to the correct thickness.

Match the width of the block to this width on the soleplate

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 The components have been designed to be gently tapped or wiggled together by hand.  Although you may find that the pieces will tap or wiggle together, you may have to lightly file sole plate or side surfaces to acquire the final fit of the components.  This is how the pieces should fit together when finished:

Polish the top of the sole plate.  Using 400 grit paper or by lapping, polish the top of the sole plate.  This is to prepare the area around the mouth that may be visible on the finished plane and to ensure the surface is flat.

Polish the inside surface of  the brass sides.   They are marked “inside” with sticker- you can also use a black marker.  Using 400 grit paper or by lapping, polish the inside surface of each brass side.  This is to prepare the visible areas on the finished plane where the wedge will eventually fit.  Once polished, handle this area carefully to avoid leaving scratches. 

Test fit the sole to both sides.  Secure one of the brass sides in a vise using strips of scrap wood to protect the sides from marks and scratches.  Wiggle and/or tap the sole plate onto the side.  Using a fine flat file, lightly file any areas that prevent the sole from tapping into place.  Repeat for both sides.  The sole should fit flatly onto the side.  Press the sole down with your fingers to observe the fit.  The sides may fit this well without any filing.

If you need to make adjustments, do so with a fine flat file and file lightly.  Test fit the sole plate to the sides every few strokes to avoid over filing.  You can see in the below photographs that only a minute amount of material may need to be removed which done properly looks like you simply polished the surface you filed.

Filing the Sole Plate (If Needed)

Filing the Brass Side (If Needed) 

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