I made three wooden planes this last summer and until recently, have
been exceedingly happy with their performance. The problem is that they
are no longer flat on the bottom.
The bottom of all three planes hase become convex along the length and
I'm trying to determine why. Each plane is made of a different wood.
One is a 9" york pitch cocobolo with an 1-1/2" Hock blade. The second is
8-1/2" long made of dogwood with a 1-3/4" hock blade. The third is a
scrub plane made for maple.
I'm thinking of two possiblities.
1. When not in use, I've stored them with the wedges still inserted.
2. The winter weather is very dry here in the great white north.
Do either of these make sense?
TIA
William MacBain
>From: William MacBain
>I'm thinking of two possiblities.
>
>1. When not in use, I've stored them with the wedges still inserted.
That may have an effect, but if they are fit properly, it should be very
minimal.
>2. The winter weather is very dry here in the great white north.
>
That's most likely the culprit. Changes in moisture content of the plane body
can put stresses on it that cause it to warp. Not much you can do except
reflatten the soles. Of course, every time you flatten the soles, the mouthes
will get just a little bit bigger. That's why you often see old wooden planes
with wide mouths, and sometimes see them with patched mouths.
You might want to get Mike Dunbar's book on tuning and using old tools. It
covers flattening and patching mouths on wooden planes.
David
remove the key to email me.
[email protected] (J Pagona aka Y.B.) wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> >From: William MacBain
>
> >I'm thinking of two possiblities.
> >
> >1. When not in use, I've stored them with the wedges still inserted.
>
> That may have an effect, but if they are fit properly, it should be very
> minimal.
>
> >2. The winter weather is very dry here in the great white north.
> >
>
> That's most likely the culprit. Changes in moisture content of the plane body
> can put stresses on it that cause it to warp.
I asked Larry Williams (of Clark & Williams wooden planemaking
fame) why they recommended that you store their planes with the wedge
removed. He said it was because having the wedge and iron in
prevented the (almost) endgrain surface at the bed from
absorbing/dissipating moisture at the same rate as those at the heel
and toe of the plane. This would then upset the equilibrium and put
extra stresses on the plane, and likely make it warp.
Chuck Vance