Making A Small Hand Plane

[@dominictramonte2687]

That is an excellent job, for someone reasoning from first principles. Well done. I am a plane maker myself, both wooden and metal bodied. You probably don't know it, but what you've made is a scrub plane, not a smoother. No problem; you can turn it into a scrub plane just by annealing the iron, grinding the cutting edge in an 8 or 10 inch diameter radius and re-hardening it. Once you've made an actual smoother, that is :-) The rest of it is practically perfect for the job. Where you went wrong-- I'm not busing your chops here; you didn't know-- is: The iron is too narrow. I know why you did it. You told us in the video. But for a smoothing plane, you will be better served with an iron 1-7/8"--2-1/4" wide. It's hard to get the surface even with an iron as narrow as you're using. Don't let it get too wide, though; it gets hard to push. The throat is far too wide. For a smoother, you want the mouth to be about filled up with the plane blade. I usually use a feeler's gauge of about .010 or .015 inches to determine clearance. When I restore old wooden smoother planes, I practically always have to replace some wood in front of the blade. The reason is because the iron and the front of the mouth work together to take a thin shaving. With the mouth as wide as you have, it will allow a shaving much too thick to enter the body of the plane. That's fine for a scrub plane but not so good for a smoother or a block plane or even a jack. Further, you will get tear-out with complicated grain in the wood you're working with. It'll work fine, until you get close to a knot, or if you're using highly figured wood. Then not so much. It will tear out or clog your plane. The chip-breaker is set too far back from the cutting edge. You're making what we call a double-iron plane, or at least I think that's what you intended. 1/32 of an inch is a good compromise. Remember, you're only taking a shaving about 10 microns thick with a smoother. The mouth needs to be tight; from the chip breaker and iron to the front edge of the mouth. A single iron plane works too, but they're not ideal for a smoother. The blade chatters without the extra support of the chip breaker and it won't get as smooth as it could be. Easy fix: just cut the chip breaker shorter and turn it into a single iron plane. If you really intend to make double iron smoother, you're making the blade far too thick. A sixteenth of an inch is enough with the double iron. Plus, that gives you room to fit everything under the tensioner. The adjustment screw is too coarse. A difference of a few microns in blade protrusion makes a really big difference in how the plane cuts. And you're going to hate using a wrench to adjust the blade, believe it. You'd be better off with a star-shaped adjuster or a knurled body. Use a fine thread bolt there, and wish you could get a finer thread bolt. There is a relationship between the length of a plane and what it is good for. You don't give dimensions, but I'm thinking your plane is too short for a smoother. 10-12 inches is about right. Shorter than that is a scrub plane. Shorter still and you're into block plane territory. 14 inches or so is a jack plane, and jointers go on up from 18-36 inches. I've even seen a 48 once. As I said, though, that's a fine job for a newbie. I particularly like the way you've pinned the plane together. Traditionally that's done with dovetails, hammered and peened into place and sanded smooth. Do you not like sanding? I don't blame you, of course, it's miserable. But it does save you on material cost. There's no need to use ground steel for the plane body. Mild steel will do, or even something soft as brass. You could have made two more plane blades with the O-1 you used for the body! And a note of workability. You have made the knob too narrow on top. It's going to wear a hole in your hand if you use it much. On a plane that short I'd have probably used a cover for the front end, pinned in place, rather than a knob. And the tote is on backwards. It also shouldn't be glued in place. What happens if you drop it and it breaks? You'll learn. You're already well on your way. Good job!

[@1984wodka]

As a former cabinetmaker (now making knives) I am so glad I found your comment, so I didn’t have to write my own😊 absolutely spot on. But I must say, I love this channel for his drive and spirit!

[@markfryer9880]

You can't get much better advice than from a plane maker himself! Talk about lucky with your spread of viewers. Mark from Melbourne Australia 🇦🇺

[@dominictramonte2687]

@@1984wodka A great job, truly. I really like the way he just decided to make a plane and just does it. When I think of how long it was before I started...

[@nicmasterdude]

As an avid hand tool woodworker, this comment is legit. I'm hoping we get to see a second plane!

[@troutfitter547]

Lie Nielson is gonna have some competition in the future! Would really like to see you do another plane build.

[@RexusKing]

"I've never used a hand plane, but I want one, so I'm making one" This is why I love you and your content!

[@ambsquared]

Not a woodworking channel so understandable that you didn’t make a wooden plane. A lot of carpenters make their own out of a block of wood like craftsman from 200 years ago. In Japan they still make wood planes that are used to pull towards yourself instead of pushing. There are competitions in Japan to see how thin a complete shaving (no tears and width same as the board) can be made with the plane. They measure the winners in microns. You can read text through the shavings. It is crazy how precise they can make a blade and a block of wood.

[@kennethstaszak9990]

I subscribe to the Shoyan Japanese Carpenter channel and that's one of my favorite things. When he uses his hand plane I marvel at the shavings..

[@DD-DD-DD]

Young Je channel makes a lot of gorgeous planes in all sizes.

[@omegaflameZ]

So as a woodworker, that plane is a serious win for a first time out, those are some seriously heavy shavings you're taking, I'd be curious what the thin end of shavings is like. However, your rear handle is a bit of a miss as well I think. Watching the video you can see that you're having a heck of a time steering the plane through the cut and that's just going to get frustrating fast once you try and break the edges evenly on a piece. For me I find a plane of that size (looks like a bit of an oversized block plane, which isn't a bad thing) should really fit into your hand so the your fingers and thumb are supporting the sides and the handle is just a bearing surface for the palm of your hand. Your handle looks to be a bit like a cross between a squirrel tail handle and a traditional tote and you're trying to use it like a typical bench plane with a two handed grip but the geometry just isn't quite right for ot. I'd try re-shape the rear handle so you can grip it confidently one-handed and I think you'll find it much easier to use going forward. Loved the video, will be great to see you tackle something like a #4 bench plane.

[@artisanmakes]

Cheers. I wouldn’t read too much into how ergonomic it is based on the footage. If I were to hold it the way I would normally, my hand would cover the body of the plane and you wouldn’t really see much of anything. Kinda the reality of trying to film this stuff, I had to hold it in an awkward way so you could see the plane and shavings coming out.

[@JTL1313]

It looks to me like the wood handle is backwards. Very entertaining though.

[@mazchen]

So you get up in the morning, tell yourself "I'm gonna make a planer" and then you just do it? Loving it!

[@andromedajacobson2520]

I am a blacksmith and I needed a bench plane. I bought a beat up, dirty used one for $15 USD and restored it. Paul Zeller has a great video on the subject

[@stuartandrews4344]

Most of my restored planes have come free from house clearances & thrown out in skips (dumpsters as you call them in the USA) here in the UK.

[@anthonyseiver7000]

Metal and wood work together in one video. Nice plane too

[@joshwalker5605]

“im gonna make one but ive never used one before so i dont know what theyre supposed to be like” is a pretty wild start to a project but this is a great video, as always!

[@earlbushey8754]

This is impressive. Your design choices are good. Comfort and ease of use will let you know about changes. You are way ahead of most manufacturers in accuracy. Keep up that great work.

[@jambusspeakermouse1325]

This is exactly how i got into machining. Wanted some expensive woodworking tools and decided i could make them myself. Many thousands of pounds later would have been cheaper to buy the tools, but not as fun.

[@fluxx1]

Great job, for someone who has never used a plane. Since you lack lateral adjustment, you may consider grinding your blade with a slight camber (and I mean slight). This will compensate for any positioning error and any slack you may have side-to-side. This is however a very small plane and like you noticed, great for bevels and chamfers, but for planing the wood, you'd need a wider one to be effective. I'd like to see a project like that! But make sure you get your hands on a vintage Stanley no 4 or similar, so you can see the features it has and how they work.

[@PhilipLeitch]

I respect what you are doing and yet I hope one day that you begin to learn the benefits of old tools. I can find and restore/fix old tools on marketplace for a small fraction of the price of buying new or making my own. The benefits are generations of skills and knowledge.

[@DaleDix]

He likes making things.

[@PhilipLeitch]

@@DaleDix so to I. And I respect he made one, I certainly couldn't. And yet that doesn't take away from my point.

[@mikesalm5053]

Oh, great! He's turning into a filthy wood elf. 😂 good job on the plane man.

[@stuartandrews4344]

🤣🤣🤣

[@StripeyType]

Lots of other woodworkers have chimed in here - I don't think it's necessary for me to say anything but that I think you did a great job. If you wind up using this tool for lots of work, I bet you'll figure out all sorts of things you like about it and things that you might have liked to do differently, but at the end of the day, you're now a member of a pretty exclusive club. If you've got letter stamps, you should mark this so that when someday somebody finds it and wonders about it, they'll know who made it.

[@alannaribich3622]

This is a great project. You do a great job breaking the complex plane body into simple pieces and assembling them together. Makes the project much more approachable than requiring castings or doing more complex machining from a massive block.

[@getsmartr]

Putting the chip breaker edge close to the cutting edge is the key to getting them to break. You did a fantastic job on this plane. Much better made than most of the famous but mass produced planes. I recommend a wide blade for the next one to allow for skewing cuts

[@barryshrives]

Go down the low angle route

[@borisjohnson1944]

Yep, as a fellow woodworker I agree with the breaker closer to the edge. Plus radius groove across it to hold it in place on the dowel.

[@the_r_t]

This is a great video, it was a great take on something very old school and just serves to show no matter how dependent we get on industry to provide all these type of tools where there's a guy with a lathe and mill there's a way to make them Happen. Top drawer video 👍👍👍👍👍

[@aserta]

A good base for DIY hand planes is U channel. You basically don't to weld anything. So if you ever come across a dropping of stout U channel, buy it, because it's perfect for this. Even if it's slightly bent, you can still use it and level it out using the face-to-face method (sharpie between a known flat surface, like a piece of granite) or the stone method, which is to take two sharpening stones (with dual grit) and grind them together until they're perfectly flat between them, then use one to flatten the U channel, alternating stones every few swipes). Watching any machinist channel on the topic of hand scraping will give one basic knowledge to do this kind of stuff. You do not need an all blue contact surface for a hand plane. A dotted surface, that's even across is more than enough. Some of my best English hand planes, i've tested them, and even when they were brand new (old stock, wrapped in cosmoline and paper) they still had a dotted surface (ie, dips in the face). Mind you, a good substitute for a machinist flat surface (like a granite slab or a cast iron slab) is any decently cut marble from a store. They're cut with saws, then stoned across, which affords them a pretty flat surface.

[@TheUncleRuckus]

Hey those cheap $35 hand planes the "number 33" or whatever aren't too bad if you're willing to take the time to tune them up first. I bought one from Harbor Freight several years back, it needed some work to make it usable, but after flattening the sole with sandpaper on some tempered glass for a surface plate, and reprofiling the iron/blade to remove the big divots it's actually a great little hand plane especially for the price. It's on par with my sweetheart and vintage Stanley planes now. 👍👍

[@matthewsimmons6831]

Im no expert and cant even remember the last time i used a hand pland. I enjoyed the video.

[@Smallathe]

Very cool indeed. Loved the pinning option. Nicely made, as always!

[@TalRohan]

well thats just plane old excellent workmanship 😉😁

[@LaraCroftCP]

Oh, its so cute!!! Im a Woodworker and i really like it but its even smaller than my blockplane. You really did great work and this plane will make a fantastic scrub. If you dont want to spend so much money on a plane you could restore a plane. If you are located in america than you most likely want to go for a stanley. If you are from Europe than you have the opportunity to get a old wooden plane secound hand for almost no money. If you are located in the near of japan, they make weired but pretty decent planes too. P.S. you are lucky that you dont made the blade and levercap to precise because after peening the rivets the space can become pretty tight. I made some Handcuffs a while ago and as i riveted them together i blocked the internal mechanism.

[@Peter_Trevor]

Mate, if we ever get hit by an asteroid, and we need to go back to basics, can we hang out together?

[@dinkledork4061]

Awsome job mate, love the " i need one so ill make one " attitude 😂 keep making great stuff man 🤙

[@mickfbr]

Absolutely love it, super cool bro.

[@daveys]

Superb job in taking us through the steps in making this. Well done!

[@PaulsGarageProjects]

Nice work! What a great project 👍

[@artisanmakes]

Thankyou

[@mattscimeca4288]

I've always wanted to try making my own plane, but never felt that I had the capacity in my shop. This project gives me hope! Great work

[@robertwalker7457]

Very smart work and very enjoyable thanks. A front knob that sticks out the front attached with a bit of flat may help as you really need one.

[@artisanmakes]

Thanks, that may be the way to go

[@PeregrineBF]

I think you need to invent & build a powered hacksaw. Sure, everyone will say "that's what a band saw is", but band saws don't take regular hacksaw blades. And this channel is iconic for hacksaw use, not band saw use.

[@bushratbeachbum]

Powered hacksaws have been around for a very, very long time.

[@bradthayer6782]

Really nice work, especially for your first one.

[@rodfrey]

Lovely work. Most people would say the handle was backwards. But all that matters is how it feels in your hand! On your next one, consider screwing the handle on from the bottom so you can try various shapes and orientations - it makes a huge difference in control and comfort when you're planing for an hour or so.

[@glencollingwood]

Well done.

[@kloptops]

Next time you’re after a plane, checkout any local antique stores. I got a few old Stanley planes for about $30 aud each. A lick of sandpaper, a quick sharpen, and varnish and they were as good as new.

[@peter360adventures9]

Awesome build.

[@AaronSpielman]

That is an excellent piece of work.

[@DH-xw6jp]

I counted no one, but _three_ different handsaws being used. You are spoiling us.

[@Horus9339]

Plane brilliant. Astounding good work once again.

[@cjm5002]

Not bad!!! If it ever gets taken apart I have a couple of upgrade suggestions for you. It may not seem like it but trust me, you will want to tear it down every so often. Replace the pins with brass for easier maintenance accessibility OR tap the steel ones for small screws. This next one is something I tell everyone when it comes to woodworking tools... paste wax. Its a long forgotten trick but the results are amazing. With the handle on it makes this step a little tricky but you could likely still do it with a heat gun, not a torch. Get the metal so its just at the point where its about too hot to touch and then wipe it down with a rag smeared in paste wax. After it cools back off you simply wipe the excess away. This seals the metal to prevent surface rust with something that won't stain wood like oils do ie wd40 and such. This works amazing on table saw beds, the bottom of circular saws, routers, really anything that rides on a wooden surface.

[@anonym51629]

great craftsman ship! dont take it the wrong way but i would spin the handle 180 horizontally. love the channel btw

[@blackoak4978]

To avoid gouging the wood on the sides it's good to make the edge of the blade curve slightly

[@be007]

nice job. cheers ben.

[@rjung_ch]

Nice tool, especially liked the list of tools you used on making this project. Cheers! 👍💪✌

[@HexenzirkelZuluhed]

Interesting look - I thought you put the handle on the wrong way. But I see it was intentional. Generally it should work great. I like when you can adjust the blade while using the plane, I think this would be my suggestion for a second attempt.

[@dalejones4186]

Nice change up. Great job.

[@kacperbromberg8148]

Couldnt do a woodworking project without milling some steel. I think it is an addiction.

[@merc7105]

Gold. Cheers.

[@AllanAndersen-u9y]

A low angle plane - or a plane with a low bed angle will allow you to make a series of blades sharpened at different angles for different uses. 12 degree bed and 25 degree iron ends up 37 degrees, as you said can tear out grain but a 50 degree iron gives a combined angle of 62 degrees which is great for Australian wood!

[@Caughtitoutdoors]

YOU NEED A BANDSAW! 1000 mod project videos after that.

[@notarobot-markhunte180]

Great effort mate. Never built a plane myself so no criticism from me. But do use them and I guess as soon as you started to use it, you found the handle a bit awkward. If you could flip the handle around you may find that it works and feels better. and in the correct orientation. At the moment it is back to front. The handle needs to support your palm. How you have would put the end of the handle to dig into your palm..

[@1984wodka]

I think one the reasons you could not get the as sharp as you would like. Is in your heat treatment. The blade was way to cool before going in to the quench (judged by the oils reaction when you quenched it.) also I would recommend an oven temper instead of the flame temper. It gives you a much more gentle and consistent temper. Chuck it in your oven for two hours at 200C then it should be good to go.

[@lucasandri5462]

The end result is pretty good. I’ve also made myself a plane, a bit bigger, but only the sole in mine is made out of steel, the rest of the body is laminated oak and iroko. I’ve made the blade out of K720 steel and then machined a chip beaker and lever cap with a screw design similar to yours. As yours is a bit small, similar to a block plane I probably would have made a handle in a similar style to those ones but if the ergonomics work for you that’s all that matters. I’m always thrilled when a new video comes out because you always make a lot of interesting stuff!

[@dennythomas8887]

Nice work! I've got three words for you, Hone, Honing, Honed! Wood plane blades and wood chisels benefit from honing like no other tools in your shop. Hone them to surgical sharpness and watch them come alive!.

[@Engineerd3d]

Nicely done!

[@stephenbridges2791]

Very nice job. Very innovative.

[@socketwench]

Have you read "Making and Mastering Wood Planes" by Finck? While it's for more traditional all-wood planes, it has lots of useful info in it on plane making, use, and maintaining.

[@wallaceknifeworkshomestead]

This Guy can do anything! Whats next? Airplane? 🤣 Great build!!

[@ydonl]

I enjoy watching the way your brain works.

[@johnburch9908]

Great project! When you're holding something off one side of the vise (like at the 14:15 mark) you should put some material on the empty side. That'll stop your moving jaw from tilting as you tighten and give you more even clamping force.

[@sparkiekosten5902]

You're a sharp one aint ya!Way to shave money! I wood have never thought to make one! On the other hand it doesn't look to plane if you ask me. Keep up the wood work!

[@699hazard]

Great build mate! I thought you were going to glue some thread inserts in the bottom of the handle so you can replace it if it ever breaks. Would love to see you make a spoke shave next.

[@ilanmagen]

love it

[@stuartandrews4344]

Superb video.

[@swampy1584]

Nice job

[@JB-ol4vz]

Damn nize job man. Cheers 🇸🇪

[@hunteranglin3750]

You should do an ban saw build next

[@merkyworks]

Very nice

[@grahammctygue724]

Great job well brass pins make nice accents noice 🎉🎉😊😊

[@garrypalmer5014]

Nice job on the plane build, just 1 small thing I noticed you used the same cutting disc on your grinder to grinder the shape. Should never use cutting discs to grinder as they can't take the side load

[@honeycuttracing]

Only thing saw that you should touch up is the back of the blade next to the wooden handle, looks mighty sharp, all our wood working planes have the rear of the blade rounded over in all directions to avoid a n nasty cut if you was to slip your hand off the that handle, oh one last thought but probably too late, the wooden handle would have better grip with a cross hatch pattern carved in it, sort of like the pistol grips of old wild west pistol handles, other than that, a great build!!!

[@4GibMe]

I have no idea what you do for a living off camera. But, you should consider getting into engineering. Bloody Hell, nice work there mate.

[@robertlong9029]

You should do a version of the Stanley Sweetheart plane goo, it you’ll see them people pay a lot of lots of money for those if they well-made

[@plalonde2]

Your easiest chip breaker solutiin is likely to add a second bevelled iron between your cap iron and cutting iron. Don't need to harden it as its only job is to near the cutting edge (1/16"-1/32") to force the shavings to curl.

[@LSknivesofficial]

Men, now I want to make this😂... Before building another hand plane , i would strongly sugest you to get a bit more familiar with how a plane shoud work and be used. Paul Sellers is allways good place to start. Also take a look infill planes made by Sauer and Steiner, he is always a great inspiration.

[@anthonycengia6593]

Excellent job, always enjoy the content. One question though, isn't the handle facing the wrong way?

[@tristiancorbett8896]

A great woodworking channel is 3rd coast craftsman he is an amazing woodworker and instructional

[@connahjones8178]

Really good job but the wooden handle looks like its the wrong way round? Whatever is comfy for you though, looking forward to what you make next!!

[@larrybud]

10:28 Holy flex, batman!

[@slygamer01]

I'm certain that handle should have been glued on the other way around. At the moment, you have it pointing into your palm, where it should have the long edge running along your palm.

[@rcts3761]

You may not want to hear this, but there are some significant design problems with this plane if it is to function as a smoother. Most notably your mouth opening is much too large and you lack a chip breaker, thus you will always have tearout. I think it would make a good mini scrub plane though, if you camber the blade. For your use case you'd probably be best served by a rabbet jack plane with adjustable mouth.

[@Andrew_Fernie]

I have a small plane and at the front, rather than a knob, it has a "dimple" where you can press with a finger or thumb.

[@alanclarke4646]

Just want to point out that in woodworking, they are shavings, not chips. Very nice little plane, though. 😊😊

[@GTRgeoff]

Your rear hand grip is backwards mate. The ergonomics are terrible for delivering a smooth planing stroke as you have a contact point way up high and the plane is short forcing the nose down, and not the heel. This is a similar design though to famous Aussie plane maker Terry Gordon (HNT Gordon) except he uses hardwood. His 6mm tool steel plane blade is at an angle to be reversed and used as a scraper as well, and being that thick needs no “chip breaker” as it introduces a curl into the timber to manage waste. Those chip breakers 9plane iron cap) on cheap planes are because the blade is thin and nasty, needing the support and help with curling the shaving. He uses a timber wedge for blade setting, keeping the design simple. On longer models he fits a timber rod through to allow draw planing towards the user. Not a bad first effort, but some considerations of plane design would have led you to make other choices and a better functioning final result. Now that you need to sharpen the blade, time to research angles used and how to manage the burr to achieve the best cutting edge.

[@bobweiram6321]

Nice job. The handle is on backwards.

[@artisanmakes]

For you maybe, but I found this more comfortable this way

[@fedortitkin7134]

Работаю столяром 30 лет .Понадобился малый рубанок .У нас они плохого качества из Китая.Европейские стоят как старый автомобиль.Решил сделать сам .Посмотрел ваше видео.Рубанок получился хороший но очень тяжолый .Мелалл на ноже на половину толще чем надо.Передняя ручка неудобная и заднюю нужно развернуть на 180 °

[@troyam6607]

next project verti band saw :D

[@bDwS27]

for sharpening i cannot recommend getting a leather strop enough , get some hard leather from anywhere you can couch ,old belt, ect, as long as its hard leather itll work and even cheapo honing compound and youll be able to get that blade shaving sharp.

[@jc13781]

So glad to see so much hacksaw representation here. Hacksaw clan is very happy! Please keep this channel bandsaw free! Only lazy machinists use bandsaws and they are the scum of the earth 😂

[@0Logan05]

Rad🤙🏻

[@arthurmorgan8966]

Next is edge and corner chamfering plane 🫠

[@iolithblue]

Wluld you like a bit of carbon steel Damascus for a plane blade, or othet tool ypu might make?

[@jungko9031]

The wooden handle looks “reversed” to me, but other than that, looks great!! Thanks for making the video.

[@quertize]

I saw that your chip breaker kinda got askew when you tighten the blade. Maybe cut a shallow grove in it for the pin to register an it will pivot on the pin while clamping the blade?

[@tstthomason]

Would brazing the body together have warped it like you said welding it would’ve?

[@Kineth1]

What's next? Kumiko?

[@excavateboy]

When peaning those pins, I would have definitely destroyed the side of the plane with dents as my aim isn't that great lol

[@Tammy-un3ql]

👌👌👍👍

[@KX36]

isn't the handle backwards?

[@uoislame]

you want the edge to your blade to be slightly concave i believe.