Cutting Gains - How to Do It?

Discussion in 'Wooden Boat Building and Restoration' started by adt2, Apr 14, 2012.

  1. ancient kayaker
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    ancient kayaker aka Terry Haines

    I think the rolling bevel type gain would work well with glued laps as there would be no fasteners to cause splitting; the joint cross-section would resemble a scarf. I would be nervous using a power sander on a rolling bevel, at least on 4 mm stock. Much safer to use a Low Angle Block Plane and a really sharp chisel is also easy and quick.

    I have an older LABP with a superb blade that takes and hold a razor edge, something I can’t always say for its newer cousin. I probably should add a rabbet plane to my collection, but cannot justify the cost and I distrust the quality of affordable models.
     
  2. PAR
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    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    But I was around back then . . .
     
  3. troy2000
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    troy2000 Senior Member

    I wish I could get back even a fraction of the hours I've spent reinventing the wheel over the years.... can't count the number of times I've painfully hammered out a solution or technique, only to find later that the rest of the world considered it common knowledge.

    The creation of the internet has really been a help. Nowadays I google first, then brainstorm.:p
     
  4. ancient kayaker
    Joined: Aug 2006
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    Location: Alliston, Ontario, Canada

    ancient kayaker aka Terry Haines

    Rabbet planes must be like boats, one just grew in my workshop! I just turned my back for a couple of days . . .

    Seriously though, it didn't take long, maybe 2-1/2 hours. I used my 1/2" chisel which doesn't get as much use as the 1/4 and 1". Works well, far better than I expected - despite the chisel being less than really sharp. The chip ejection could be improved but that won't be a problem as it is only intended for finishing cuts. You will notice that there are 2 positions for the chisel, the forward location converts it to a bullnose plane.

    For those who may want to do the same, the body is 4 layers of 1/4" Baltic Birch Ply, the blade angle is 40 deg and the wedge angle was 12 deg, less 2 deg for the taper of the chisel. The mouth end of the opening is 3/8 without the chisel which reduces it to around 1/8". For info, the chisel is sharpened to 25 deg.

    The side cheeks limit the cut depth to 1/2" which is all I expect to need, but now I've tried it I realize I could have made the center web at least 1" deep. No problemo: I have an old handleless chisel someplace I can grind down to make a proper blade if I decide I need a regular plane design.
     

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  5. PAR
    Joined: Nov 2003
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    Location: Eustis, FL

    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    Terry, go down to the local automotive bone yard and pick up a set of old leaf springs, preferably from the early 50's or older. This spring steel will make dozens of blades and will hold and edge too.
     
  6. troy2000
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    troy2000 Senior Member

    I once cut up an old car spring to make lathe chisels, using a cutting wheel on a tablesaw. I cut three widths and made each chisel double-ended, for a total of six chisels. I shaped and ground the ends according to drawings in an old woodworking book written for Shopsmith owners, heated the ends red-hot, and quenched them in old motor oil. That probably horrifies people who actually know what they're doing with steel, but the chisels took a razor edge and held it...:)

    Then I made three handles, that slipped over whichever ends I wasn't using.

    Several years later when I was flush, I decided I needed some "real" chisels, and shelled out an ungodly amount of money for a set that I used for one afternoon. Then I dumped them in a drawer, and went back to using my homemade ones.
     

  7. ancient kayaker
    Joined: Aug 2006
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    Location: Alliston, Ontario, Canada

    ancient kayaker aka Terry Haines

    A slick is nice to have for carving stems, but expensive! An old car leaf spring makes an excellent slick. My current grinder doesn't have enough power for that job. Lee VAlley Tools has a heavy duty 1-1/2" chisel that's only cdn$24; the handle is unhardened steel so I could extend it to add mass if I need a slick, but the boats I am building at present don't really merit one; a spokeshave can handle the work.

    My chisel set is Japanese, plastic handles but laminated steel blades that take a great edge and seem to hold it forever. Good news: I found the old chisel so if I need a proper blade for a new rabbet plane I can start with that, but it will take some time with what I have at hand.

    I tried the rabbet plane again now the glue has dried, it works surprisingly well for a home-made plane. It is rather light and could use a bit more mass - I may add a bit of steel to the tail later but first I should resharpen the chisel to give it a fair chance.

    p.s., BTW it works a lot better with the chisel the right way around - bevel down - not bevel up as in the pic . . .
     
    Last edited: Apr 18, 2012
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