A13 dovetailed infill plane continued (6)
Parting off and trimming spacers which I use on all my infill planes for better dimensional stability.
The spacers are drilled and reamed for the 7/32” rivet, from both ends for better concentricity.
Flushing off rear infill.
This is done with a temporary spacer to represent the handle as it is too difficult to do this with the handle in position. I also use sleeper rivets and spacers for location
The polishing is done after excess materials have been removed.
At this stage the plane with its infill can be put into the milling vice to flush the end. After further polishing the infills are ready to accept the handle.
Even without any machines this is one piece of equipment that everyone should have – just an ordinary drill press. This picture shows the drill press being used to drill the hole for the brass bar which is then drilled and tapped later on in situ for the adjuster fixing.
Inserting the brass bar for the adjuster fixing.
This is shaping up beautifully. I’ve always been intrigued by the machining/fabrication process – especially when the medium is metal.
Comment by Torch02 — August 10, 2009 @ 2:16 am
Hi
Making planes is an opportunity to work in metal and woods, combining machine and hand work, to very fine tolerances. It is a pity that it has taken me so long to document my work (and if I had known how long it would take I might not have started
). There are many other projects awaiting words. It is also an opportunity to illustrate the skill involved in machining.
Thank you for your interest.
Comment by admin — August 11, 2009 @ 9:35 am
Looking great Karl. I wish I could get all this documentation in one package that could become part of the the long term documentation and history of the plane. Any thoughts on this.
Mike
Comment by Michael Brown — August 11, 2009 @ 2:16 pm
Hi Michael
I would like to put all this documentation in a book sometime. I have been taking photos for some years now and have plenty of material. I am hoping to interest a publisher.
k
Comment by admin — August 11, 2009 @ 4:08 pm
I’m thoroughly enjoying this series showing how you make these beautiful planes. One thing I did not understand from this post, why do you ream the brass spacers after drilling them?
Comment by Curtis Andrews — August 12, 2009 @ 7:17 pm
Hi Curtis
Good question. The material I use for these spacers is a thick walled brass tube. There is too much material to remove for reaming straight off so drilling is necessary. Even after drilling with a 7/32nd drill and using a slightly undersized rivet it still wont go through so the reaming is necessary. I believe that brasses and bronzes repel away from most cutting tools so there may be some stretching and deflection when passing a drill through. Even if I make a second pass with a reamer I can still produce more swarf. The reamer does not flex as much as the drill.
k
Comment by admin — August 12, 2009 @ 9:02 pm