#3 (3/8”) Hollow Moulding Plane

October 27

Introduction

I’ve made a number of Hollow and Round moulding planes now. I made a #4 (1/2”) Hollow and a #4 (1/2”) Round but also wanted a #3 (3/8”) Hollow Moulding Plane and a #2 (1/4”) Hollow Moulding Plane. Their mates #2 and #3 Rounds may come later. Making these planes can be addictive and I’d like to make them based on need. FYI … these wood moulding planes are named after the surface that they cut, there is a little twist to the name “Hollow and Rounds". The Hollow planes cut a convex surface, meaning they cut a “round”; while the Round planes cut a concave surface or a “hollow”.

Normally the blades for hollows and rounds are based on a 60° circle. I’ve chosen to make them based on the diameter. So the #4s and this #3 that I made are actual diameter dimensions. When I make my #2 it will be based on a 60° circle. Another thing is that the number is actually the radius in sixteenths. So a #4 is referring to 4/16” = ¼” radius.

Making the blade

I start by cleaning and prepping a blade for the #3 (3/8”) Round Moulding Plane. The blade is cut from an old plane blade using a hand grinder cut off disc. I have predetermined how wide and long the blade will need to be. I roughly cut the piece wider and will finish it on my bench grinder about 1/64” (015”) bigger then 3/8” wide.

Next I anneal the blade. This removes the steel hardness so that I can start shaping the bevel and refining the overall length and width.
The bevel seen here is the bevel from the plane blade. This will become a 35° curved cutting bevel.

Next I make the main (middle) portion of the plane body. I use a LV back saw to make cuts for a 50° bed angle and 60° breast angle. Then use a LV large hand router plane to remove the meat. Then I shape the bottom and finalize it. It must be perfect so I can slip in the rough cut annealed blade to check the fit and also scribe the sole shape on the blade portion sticking out.

After the blade has been scribed and shaped on the bench grinder, I then re-harden and temper the blade. I re-harden it in my mini forge until the cutting edge is cherry red and non magnetic. Then I quickly dip it into oil. I clean it up to shiny metal and then place it into a vise. Using a hand held propane torch, I bring it to a straw color and then quickly dip back into the oil.

Next I work the blade on my 220, 600, 1200, and 8000 DMT Diasharp diamond stones. I flatten the back, clean up the top, refine the edges and the cutting bevel. I finish using a Shapton 16,000 ceramic stone.

Building up the Plane Body

I partially use a laminated Krenov style construction for these planes. The mid section is all one piece with the mouth, cheek, bed and breast angles all hand routed out as mentioned earlier.

At this point I make the wedge. I always make two. They are usually smack on 10° but always fitted to make sure they match the bed and breast angles before laminating the sides onto mid section.

The bottom edge of the sides is 45° chamfered full length. Then they are laminated to the mid section.
Once this is done I start contour shaping. For the back upper rear corner I make it a 9/16 “ radius (1-1/8” circle on my circle template)

After all the contouring is done I go over the plane with card scrapers. I do not sand. This is how the plane turns out and ready for applying a finish.

The Finish

Finally I apply the finish. I use 100% Pure Tung Oil from Lee Valley. I do not use polmerized tung oil only pure tung oil. Pure Tung Oil is food safe so my hands on it all the time is safe.

I give the entire plane except the sole three (3) coats. I allow each coat a minimum of 12 hours to dry before applying the next one. After 3 coats I wait about 3 – 4 weeks before applying shellac. (Note: I also do this same procedure in tandem on a piece of tung oiled scrap. If there are no signs of problems with the shellac over the dried tung oil then I proceed with shellacking the plane).

Lastly…. I give the entire plane a couple of coatings of wood butter and polish up.

Here are the results.