C o c k Plane Build

[TheCabinetmaker]

C o c k Bead Plane Build

On November 5th and 6th we will be holding a SAPFM (Ohio River Valley Chapter) meeting at the Columbus Woodcraft. I will be doing a demo on Hammer Veneering on the 6th (along with a talk about different types of scrapers and their sharping). For this I will be veneering A drawer front and adding feathers (herringbone) banding along with ***** beading the drawer front. As part of this I will talk about the history of ***** beading and demoing how to make it with hand tools.

Early on a double bead (with a fillet) was applied around the carcass and drawer dividers. To that note I saw that Red Rose was making some c o c k bead planes. So I decided to make a couple for myself and took photos to share.

I would like to start out by saying that I use a leaning wedge as was the norm during the 18th century. This was explained in the video; Making Traditional Side Escapement Plane with Larry Williams.

Every 18th plane that I own uses this method and the little extra work yields better results. Another good video Classic Planemaking Vol1 by Todd Herrli, This video shows how to make Floats

First lets take a look at the Floats. As you can see some of these are from Lie Nielsen and a couple are Japanese Floats by Iwasaki. The rest I made using O1 steel and did not harden them.

   

   

Lets get started.

First I size the blanks a little bit larger so that any layout lines can be planed off. The blanks are also longer so hey can be cut off and I can save these in case I want to duplicate this plane. I am making both a 1/8” and 3/16” bead in this case. One thing to remember is the negative space (cutout for the profile) will be slightly larger as the iron will impinge into this area to cut properly.

   


Next the layout is done, as you can see the blank is longer than the plane and these ends will be cut off when I'm finishing up. You can see on the end shot the leaning wedge. As part of the layout I locate the grove for the boxing, Persimmon in this case. The boxing is cut on a bias of 60 degrees which is the bed angle. Bedding angles vary depending on what the plane used for. The 60 degree bedding helps the plane with recalcitrant grain as it will act more as a scraper. After the boxing is glued in, its time to profile the sole of the plane. After that cut and remove the material for the escapement. This will allow us to bore down from the top of the plane and begin to remove material for the mortise.

   

[TheCabinetmaker]

    Next comes opening up the mortise and testing the fit of the iron and wedge. This testing includes the bedding of the Iron using a dry erase marker to find the high spots. Getting this right is important for plane to work correctly (no chatter or shavings jamming). When you look at the wedge of a wooden plane they have a steep angle cut on the bottom, this helps direct the shavings out of the mouth. Sand and / or scrape all areas where shavings will touch.

   

   


Next it's time to profile the Iron. Start by applying layout fluid, then inserting the Iron and wedge in the plane body, Then using a small Scratch Awl trace the outline on the Iron. I first grind the side and bottom of the bit that will cut Fillet. Then using A rotary tool with A small tapered grinding bit I grind the bead and its clearance. After tweaking I follow up with a Cratex bit to hone the bead.

   


Now all that's left to do is the finishing touches such as rounding over the rear of the grip (3/8” R) and beveling the top and ends of the grip for comfort. Also a cove will be cut with a round at the bottom of the grip where the body widens to accommodate the iron. After that a little touch up and some finish is all that's needed.

   

   

                                                                                  Finished Planes

[barryvabeach]

Great post - nice to see some hand tools being made in the hand tool section.  Love the photos as well.  I made a pair of H & R's years ago, but it took a lot of time for me to get the profile of the iron to match the sole, you made it look easy.

[Arlin Eastman]

Just wondering why not three boards glued together so you do not have to chop out the mortise??  Does it made it easier to break if done that way?