Handplane from osage wood

[Bencuri]

I want to make my next wooden handplane. I made the last one from beech, I like it, but I work with it on woods harder than it all the time, and wearing is a problem to some extent. I work with black locust most of the time. The options I have is to use black locust for the plane, or I also have osage, that is about 15% denser as I remember. I wonder if it would be a good choice though? Besides being denser, I also read shrinkage or movements are not a really big issue with that wood. But when I cut the osage tree out, the bark released some kind of gluey sap. Like the fruit. It is very heavy stuff, very sticky. I wonder if that is in the wood too, and if it makes it difficult to work with the wood itself? Or because of the sap can it irritate my skin?

[AHill]

I think osage orange would be a great choice. It's a very stable wood, pretty wear resistant, and not bad looking as it ages. Shaping might be a challenge compared to beech or other woods, though. Osage is tough on tools. Make sure your files/rasps, or whatever else you use are sharp.

[Timberwolf]

I want to make my next wooden handplane. I made the last one from beech, I like it, but I work with it on woods harder than it all the time, and wearing is a problem to some extent. I work with black locust most of the time. The options I have is to use black locust for the plane, or I also have osage, that is about 15% denser as I remember. I wonder if it would be a good choice though? Besides being denser, I also read shrinkage or movements are not a really big issue with that wood. But when I cut the osage tree out, the bark released some kind of gluey sap. Like the fruit. It is very heavy stuff, very sticky. I wonder if that is in the wood too, and if it makes it difficult to work with the wood itself? Or because of the sap can it irritate my skin?

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Why not put a brass sole on it?? IMO, If you have the skill to make a wooden plane, you have the skill to make and install a brass sole.

[Bencuri]

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Why not put a brass sole on it?? IMO, If you have the skill to make a wooden plane, you have the skill to make and install a brass sole.

For me flattening metal soles is a nightmare. Have no proper tools to do that fast. Wooden soles are much easier to handle.

[Aram]

Osage orange and Bubinga are my two favorite wood species to make woodies from. Durable, not difficult to work, and (mine, anyway) seldom need flattening. 

Go for it.

[Timberwolf]

Osage orange and Bubinga are my two favorite wood species to make woodies from. Durable, not difficult to work, and (mine, anyway) seldom need flattening. 

Go for it.

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This little plane is made of beech pallet wood. I put a koa wood sole on it and inlaid brass wear plates in it in front and behind the blade. The brass reduces wear in the area of the sole that is most critical.

[Bencuri]

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This little plane is made of beech pallet wood. I put a koa wood sole on it and inlaid brass wear plates in it in front and behind the blade. The brass reduces wear in the area of the sole that is most critical.

The problem is I only have files to work metal. No delicate powertools to shape and flatten it after inserted. But I have seen such techniques. 

I have a metal sole rabbet plane, would need flattening and the side truing, have been postponing that for years as well, for the same problem. 

The only metalwork I do on metal planes is scraping, and sometimes sanding on sandpaper when finished scraping. But try to avoid that as well when I can take the plane to precision grinding.

[Scoony]

My experience with osage is that it is hell on tools. I made a whiskey cabinet from it and was sharpening the chisels after cutting out every socket in the DT joints. I do think it would make a fine plane.

[AHill]

My experience with osage is that it is hell on tools. I made a whiskey cabinet from it and was sharpening the chisels after cutting out every socket in the DT joints.  I do think it would make a fine plane.

Osage has a lot of silica in the wood, since it tends to grow in sandy soils.  It's very hard on tools, that's for sure.  But he's only making one plane out of it, so probably won't be catastrophic.  Just means more sharpening.

[hbmcc]

I want to make my next wooden handplane. ...

Osage is very popular with bowyers, and Indians who travelled thousands of miles to obtain it in the past. In bowmaking, shaping and tillering is normally done with knife, rasp, and drawknife on green or seasoned wood. Try to use heartwood as worms get into softwood parts.

Verrawood is the commercial cousin of protected 'lignum vitae'. I think it is still available, and an excellent choice for tools.