Vol. 1 Making and Mastering Wood Planes No. 2 Free-hand Sharpening Part 1 Irons and Grinding

[SuperNotSerious]

So, I've taken a look at your plane irons, and my only question now is: Do you sell the planes themselves?

[djfwood]

@SuperNotSerious I have made a couple for people, but I usually encourage people to give it a shot themselves. It's surprisingly easy and quite satisfying!

[djfwood]

Once the bottom is trued it can go out for several reasons: wood was not adequately dried to begin with, plane is made of unstable species and subjected to changes in ambient humidity, and/or  plain, hard use. However, it is easy to re-true!

[denienz]

Hi David, just a quick question. In wood action, does the face of the plane "the bottom bit" ever go out or need re-faceing at all?

Cheers

Denie

[djfwood]

The wedge for this plane style is a wooden wedge that holds the blade assembly in position. The blade assembly is made up of the blade, chip-breaker (mild steel) and screw (to hold the two together). The chip-breaker functions to help minimize tear-out, to stiffen the cutting edge, and add mass.

[dawg1157]

Just curious.... is a wedge and a chip breaker the same thing?

[djfwood]

Thanks for your comment. The blade does share the considerable thickness of Japanese irons, but it is not tapered or forged like those blades are, and unlike Japanese blades, it has a machined slot milled down the center for attaching the chip-breaker.

[Donegaldan]

Very good explanation. The blade design is from a traditional Japanese style.