DIY Network

Homemade Wooden Plane

Master craftsman David Marks, host of Wood Works, shows how to make a wooden hand plane.

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Making your own hand plane out of wood is truly rewarding because you can create something that fits your hands and suits your needs.

Making a wooden hand plane is truly rewarding

By David Marks

There is a genuine pleasure in using a finely tuned hand plane.

Making your own out of wood is truly rewarding because you can create something that fits your hands and suits your needs.

Here is an overview of how to make a smoothing plane from purpleheart.

The heart of the plane is the iron and chip breaker. A good-quality, high-carbon tool steel will take and hold a razor-sharp edge, which is one of the key factors in making a plane work well. I prefer the thicker blades that are 3/16-inch thick because they won't deflect or chatter even under difficult use.

Japanese water stones are an excellent choice for sharpening.

Flatten the back of the blade and hone the bevel starting with an 800-grit stone, then work your way up through the 1,200-grit stone and finish with an 8,000-grit stone. You will also need to hone and polish the chip breaker so that it fits flush with the iron.

For the body of the plane, I've selected a piece of purpleheart, which is a hard, dense wood. It measures 11 inches long by 2-5/8 inches wide by 2 inches thick. Orient the blank so that the grain runs in the same direction that the plane will move. This will help prevent chip-out at the mouth.

Next, use the band saw to resaw two cheeks off the sides that are 3/8-inch thick. This will leave the center thick enough to house the 1-1/2-inch-wide blade. After that, run all the pieces through the planer to remove any saw marks and plane the center stock to 1-9/16 inches; this leaves 1/16-inch for adjustment.

Mark the center of the blank and cut it at a 45-degree angle. This is the bed angle and will support the plane iron. Opposite the 45-degree angle, measure and mark a 65-degree angle to allow room for the shavings. You can increase finger clearance by drawing a concave curve along the 65-degree angle and cut it out on the band saw.

On the 45-degree side you will need to rout a 3/8-inch slot to accommodate the screw on the iron. Now you can dry-fit the pieces in preparation for gluing.

Align the cheeks with the back of the plane's ramp block and clamp them. Set the iron on the ramp and slide the opposing piece into position. You'll want the iron's edge to rest about 1/16-inch up from the bottom. After marking the pieces, apply yellow glue and clamp them.

Once the glue has dried, lightly joint the sole. You will need to mark and drill a hole for a 3/8-inch brass pin.

To locate the pin, measure up about 1-1/4 inches from the sole and draw a line. Transfer the 45-degree angle of the bed to the outside cheeks, then pencil the width of the iron plus chip breaker and add 3/16-inch for the wedge. Then add 3/16-inch for the radius of the pin and place a mark where it crosses the line (1-1/4 inches up from the sole).

After drilling the hole and installing the pin, cut out the wedge on the band saw so that it is 3/16-inch at the base and thicker at the top. From here you'll need to install the blade and do some fine-tuning. I use the band saw and a patternmaker's rasp to curve the body and edges to fit my hands.

In his book The Fine Art of Cabinetmaking, James Krenov goes into quite a bit of detail describing the making and tuning of a plane. I'm sure that once you've tried your hand at it, you will agree there's nothing like a finely tuned hand plane to finesse your work.

(Master craftsman David J. Marks hosts Wood Works on the DIY Network. For more information, visit www.djmarks.com.)

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