This 3 1/2" long plane was both a means to better my hand worked precision manufacturing skills and a way to fully document my plane making process.

The overall small size was a personal challenge I had wanted to undertake for some time. The shape is drawn from a few sources most notably an infill shoulder plane I had made a year prior and similar infill planes crafted by master tool makers, Karl Holtey and Konrad Sauer.

After initializing the form, Solidworks was used to 3D model the plane and produce scale fully dimensioned drawings used for the initial layout and metal working stages.

O1 tool steel was selected for it's higher chromium content, which would help prevent oxidizing and still be manageable with a hacksaw and files. Stainless Steel rod stock and other tool steel scraps were use to make the lever cap and infill holding pins. In the bottom right of the above image is a 4" height scribe white dramatically sped up the layout process and produced a finer line over the calipers to the left.

Because I do not have means to properly heat treat steel, a blade, referred to as the iron, was purchased from Lie Nielsen Toolworks out of Warren Maine.

The first stage of the hand plane was to start cutting out the sides, or cheeks. To do so, it is best to gang cut the two sides avoiding inconsistencies that would affect the tolerances required to tune the plane. Adding 1/16" to the bottom line of the layout provides ample material to peen over when they are joined with the bottom, or the sole. Aligning the highest layout line to the top of an engineering vise acts as a safety barrier for filing, ensuring the bottom of the dovetails are all at the same depth. This produces a better fit and fewer gaps that have to be filled.

Once the dovetails are cut and filed, it is easier to cut out the waste and file the top profile which reduces the amount of material that has to be worked through if it were done later. Having a course and fine cut mill file makes quick work of straight portions and a dremel with a sanding insert leaves a decent surface finish.

The second major step is cutting and tuning the sole. Due to the low bedding angle of the iron and the fact the iron did not extend the full width of the plane, the sole was cut in two sections where the rear, the heel, has a champfer filed into it supporting the leading edge of the iron and the front, the toe, is left square. 

Working in the same process as the sides, the inner faces of the cheeks were fastened to a parallel that helped keep the bottom of the dovetails it the same plane as the top side of the sole. Prior to layout the miter on the heel was carefully filed perfectly square. This is one of the two critical areas of the whole plane. If the miter is not parallel to the ground or square the iron will not seat properly or cut evenly. Once the miter is filed, the pins can be cut and filed and, using the cheeks as a guide, further filed so there is a very tight joint between the dovetails and pins.

The third major step is destroying the pins and tails that you worked so very hard to fit perfectly together. To do so, a sacrificial buck is made to hold the cheeks square to the sole and will help reduce the individual components from shifting while being peened. Great care should be taken while sizing the buck so it doesn't push out on the sides while also not being undersized. Then, with a good 3 hour window, peen over the pins and tails so they expand and push into relief cuts that will secure the cheeks to the sole.

With the body of the plane now constructed other fine fitting components can be made. To secure the iron into the plane a wedge or lever cap can be used, In this planes design a hybrid approach is used. A thumb screw mounted on a decorative support applies pressure to a wedge underneath that disperses the clamping force over a wider area. Here, I made the support by drilling and tapping a series of holes to allow the support to rotate for better clamping position. the protruding pins could then be peened over securing the support in place. While the infill has not been made other profile features can be refined and the sole can be flattened to remove the peened over material.

The fourth major step is making and installing the wooden infill. Curly Bradford Pear from the downtown Indianapolis area was used. Any exotic, hard, or burl wood is suitable for the infill so long as it does not easily dent or deform. Steel rod is used to secure the wood in place, as over time, epoxy will lose its strength with wood movement. Profiling and shaping can be done at this stage and the cheeks can be flattened on emery paper.

Once the infill is in place, the mouth can be opened up and the first test shavings made. The last step is to add any other decorative features such as champfers, sanding to the desired surface finish, and applying a finish to the wood. I chose to use shellac made from shellac flakes and denatured alcohol, as a sealing finish and paste wax as a buffing layer.

In total this 3 1/2" plane took approximately 120 hours over the course of a week to make.