If you're making one of these planes along with me, here are some errors you can avoid.
When drilling into the mouth to open it up, follow the angle of the bed line.
I forgot to do this and instead drilled between the layout lines that marked the bed and the lower portion of the throat (below the break angle, referred to in my books as the "wear").After drilling the third hole in a row, I suddenly remembered why I should be following the bed angle.
I had drilled right into the lower part of the abutment that keeps the wedge in place—thus blowing it out—and also into the side wall of the abutment. I also drilled above my break angle.
Nothing a few carved pegs can't fix. You will see these mistakes when the plane is finished, but I don't mind. It will be a good conversation piece and it fits the rustic, craftsperson-made look.
The other thing I forgot is that it's best to keep the front of the throat flat until all your angles are cut—before you start carving any curves. It's much easier to mark the location of the break angle on a flat surface.
Sucks when you gotta fix stuff. But that's sometimes just part of the deal. Better yet, others can learn from your slight miscalculations.
ReplyDeleteAs Chet Atkins used to say, "all mistakes are intentional."
Bob Ross always said there is no such thing as a mistake, only happy little accidents! I think it looks fantastic!
ReplyDeleteI hope this is not a double comment, it did not seem to take my first one, my apologies if it did. Now, what I wanted to say was Kari - thank you for sharing the Good, the Ba..., No - there is nothing but Good in woodworking, we love this craft! Thank you so much for being "Real" and sharing your incredible talent.
ReplyDeleteBob, I was glad there was a solution to fix this, even though it will be noticeable. At first I thought I'd have to waste this lovely block of cherry.
ReplyDeleteDave, I like that phrase! Another friend would call this an SDC: Sudden Design Change. It's all how you look at it.
Jon, only one comment showed up. Sorry for the trouble and thank you for retrying. I couldn't agree more with you. Even if we mess up, it's still a learning experience. :o)
Looking Good.
ReplyDelete