Work Smoother Build Along

[TWalshPlanes]

Well here's my first post on this, I know it's not a lot. I'm still working on wood species. I have to perform an analysis of the sycamore I have to see if it's suitable. Otherwise I'm going to have to pick something else.



Here's the shot of the block of wood that I milled, originally for a totally brass bound shiphawk plane... but I think this might be a better use.



Images of the figure. If I'm into sacrificing this entire block after the moisture/movement tests I'll butcher it to get the best looking ray fleck on the majority of the surfaces.



I would plan to use a hot oil and french polish finish explained to me by a plane maker friend. I'm sort of going for a look similar to the Daed Toolworks bronze and satinwood smoother.

The lever cap screw will be made in house, I have several pieces of brass rod stock the right size. I have to take some measurements of the cap to nail down the screw size, but I'm leaning towards either 3/8th or 7/16ths NF.

Stay tuned for the moisture movement analysis!

[ww_wannabe]

This looks interesting. Can't wait to see the progress.

[Window Guy]

Welcome to the forum and looking forward to seeing your build.

Steve

[DaveBeauchesne]

TWalshPlanes said:

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Stay tuned for the moisture movement analysis!

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Looks like a great start - A verrry well known premium infill maker once posted that he won't use any exotic that is less that 10 years old / inch of rough stock thickness so the chances of moving were minimized.
I cannot comment personally, but a tough guide to follow - just adding a FWIW note - -
Look forward to the end result!!

[Corneel]

A reason for the old wood being more stable might be all the dry and wet seasons it went through. And there is a hysteresis in the shrinking and expanding of the woodcells. After a couple of cycles, it doesn't move as much anymore. I guess you could do the same in much faster time, if you make a simple killn and a steambox and just run the block through a couple of times. Making sure the dry and the wet cycle go all the way through to the core of the wood.

Now this is just a theoretical idea of mine, so no guarantees. The block of wood could explode too.

[mike9]

Iam excited to see someone take the plunge into their build. I have a nice piece of Cuban mahogany I want to use for my build but have been waiting to see others build theirs first.

[TWalshPlanes]

That's what I've gathered from the lack of builds. So I decided to jump in with it.

[hbmcc]

I like sycamore, too.

Mine arrived in today's USPS. Thanks, James. I am in the second (?) group. [Did the first group get poisoned and die?]

Just to clarify, I don't have metal working tools, so mine includes a cap screw, threaded; and lever cap, drilled and threaded. The two are a nice, snug fit. Those two items, finished, were the decision factor in going with this build. And, there is machining in the throat to aid in iron alignment.

Yes, for me it even looks not only doable, but can be a potentially outstanding product. Sturnella has high standards for quality.

Now, I need to decide on infill ....

[Schtoo]

That looks familiar...

(Mine just showed up 10 minutes ago. But 2 of them...)

Hmm...

I think I'll be hitting up some of the locals for some steel and some wood.

Just which steel or wood, I don't know.

Good luck,

Stu.

[BaileyNo5]

Hi TWalshPlanes

Welcome to the forum and thanks for taking the bull by the horns and starting a build-along. I've been waiting for someone to show me how to do one of these, so I'll be following closely.

I've been doing a little research on woods to use. Have you thought about using epoxy or other resin product to stabilize the wood? I've read of knife makers that use PC Petrifier Wood hardener to stabilize wood for their knife handles. Maybe a slow-set epoxy would also work. Applying it under a vacuum would encourage penetration. If something like this would work, I have some soft maple burl that would look great in this infill.