Plans for making a simple plow plane?

On Thou, 25 Aug 2011 12:32:12 -0700 (PDT), "William F. Adams

Yup, I designed and carried out plans for my plow plane and it's turned out real well.

1. Called my nearest Lee Valley Tools store and confirmed they had a right hand model in stock.
2. On my way over, stopped in at the local tavern and chatted with the boys while I ate a steak on a kaiser bun and quaffed two Sleeman Creme ale beer.
3. Headed over to Lee Valley and picked up my plow plane with imperial diameter blades.
4. Rushed back home to test out the plane and was eminently satisfied.

All in all, my plans turned out real well that day. Wish most of my plans worked out as well.

(Sorry, it's been a slow day and I had nothing else to do. By the way, the story above is completely true in every aspect except for the fact that I first had to raid my bank account for enough money.)

Buy a copy of Making Traditional Wooden Planes by John Whelan.

This is the best book on planemaking I have seen so far, but this is not a frenzied field of publishing. It provides info on making many types of planes beyond the basic Krenov style covered in the Finck/Krenov book. Whelan uses b&w drawings/plans, dark photos plus building comments for around 18 types of planes, including three plough planes. Starts with a Krenov style plane and increases in complexity and difficulty from there. I would love to buy a copy of this book with better illustrations, but it doesn't exist.

I would suggest you have a set of plough cutters, preferably the same maker, or at least with the same angle on them before you start. There are 2-3 types of cutters, and you need a different wedge for each one because of the difference in angles.

You could probably buy a working plough plane with maybe a cutter off the bay for about $20, even less, or a lot more, depending on what you want. I've found a few a cheap as a gloatable $6 at fleas. Cutters usually sell separate from the planes and run from $20-60+ a set.

Amazon claims they have 8 books left in stock as of this posting. Lee Valley stocks the book also. You'll have to do your own Google search for online plans. They are out there, along with a couple of very good sites that cover building other types of traditional planes. Watch the line wrap on this URL:

Am I the only one with a strange visualization when you read the subject line?

I see this Piper Apache blazing down the runway in the snow with the plow clearing to the sides.

I see an A-10 Warthog behind that plow blade, using the 20mm cannon for clearing the thicker ice.

-- Life is an escalator: You can move forward or backward; you can not remain still. -- Patricia Russell-McCloud

You boys are obviously headed down a completely different slope than the rest of us.

We merely use a whole lot more of our imaginations than the rest of youse, and if it gains us some speed, so much the better!

-- Life is an escalator: You can move forward or backward; you can not remain still. -- Patricia Russell-McCloud

I'll have to kick this around a bit --- not winning on the auctions I'm bidding at on the Extremely Big AuctionY site, and not having any brilliant insights into designing one to make, nor finding any plans on-line.

William

William, if you're looking for an iron set for a #45 style plane, let me know. I have a unique Jaques/Knight set for sale. It was cryoed and heat treated/tempered by Steve's regular companies.

-- The problem with borrowing money from China is that thirty minutes later, you feel broke again. --Steve Bridges as Obama

Bid ... higher??

See the Crowbar FAQ for instructions.

Finally found a straight-forward plan: