Wood billets

[bgeva]

Hi,

I am thinking about making a wooden plow the old stile with the center screw. Looking to get some proper wood billets. I assume quarter-sawn birch is the common? Can somebody point me to the source of dry stock like this?

Thanks,

BG

[Souperchicken]

Not sure if you really meant birch, I think beach is more commonly used for wooden planes, here's one source:


Red Rose Reproductions

And another (Isaac posts here):

Blackburn Tools

I haven't purchased wood from either but I bet either one would make you happy. Whoops, looks like Isaac is sold out, but looking for logs to saw.

[enjuneer]

Souperchicken said:

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Not sure if you really meant birch, I think beach is more commonly used for wooden planes,

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Many plough planes were made of beech, while yellow birch was quite common for molding planes in the early 1800's. Quartersawing either species will result in the most stable billet for a plane.

[bgeva]

Thanks for the info!

[Tim in Indiana]

This is a timely post. I have four large beech logs to saw. The smallest is 25" in diameter and they are all ten foot long. The first three logs have zero limbs so it is as clear as one could hope for.

I plan to saw some into stock for a couple bench builds I am planning. The remainder will be sawed, dried and sold for plane blanks. Can anyone tell me what sizes these blanks should be? Thickness and width?

I do not want guess and cut everything wrong.

Tim

[enjuneer]

Tim in Indiana said:

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Can anyone tell me what sizes these blanks should be? Thickness and width?

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Definitely quartersawn is best for planes and saw handles. Shoot for a finished thickness of 5/4 for saw handles with widths of 6-8" for large handles. Billet sizes for planes varies with the plane type. I will let someone else comment on that.

Smaller pieces can be used for chisel and screwdriver handles.

[Tim in Indiana]

Thanks for the info. I will probably be sawing the logs this weekend.

Tim