Miniature Handplanes

I love miniature handplanes and picked up an old user-made one at the dealers' show at the Brown International Tool Auction earlier this year.

The antique is in the background and my reproduction is in the foreground, made from Osage Orange. The main difference in shape between my plane and the antique is the sole. The original has a curved sole while mine is flat, since I normally build projects with flat surfaces. I also made a longer wedge so that the curve at the top edge of the wedge connects with and follows the curve along the back of the plane. The other thing I changed was the thumb hold at the front of the plane. This I beefed up since I noticed a tell tale glue line on the original that indicated it had broken off at some point. The length is 4". A tiny plane, but it still took me 14 hours to make, but that's including grinding, heat treating, and sharpening the blade.


After 5 months, the Osage Orange has taken on a beautiful amber color. I expect it will continue to get darker and richer until it becomes a very dark brown.