For those who have followed my progress on the Greene & Greene style hand plane set, I have finally finished. In the last post I had finished putting together the last two of the three planes and started on the fine details.As I have stated before the biggest differences in the basic construction of the Jointer plane was that I attached to sole of the plane after glue up of the body and sides. By doing this I could lock in the iron and chip breaker into the body and custom trim the mouth of the sole to fit the iron.
I hate to admit to my mistakes but will share them anyway. After glue up on the Jointer plane I realized that that the right side of the crosspin was slightly further forward than the left. I did not realize it at first because I custom fit the wedge and just didn’t notice it. I could have probably just left it and no one would have noticed but I knew that every time I looked down into the mouth of the plane I would see it. Cutting the body apart was not an option so I decided to use my files to take off the material to straighten it out. It worked pretty well and everything lines up now.
The last decorative pieces that I needed to install were the Wenge plugs. I decided that to go with a single on the Block plane, using three like on the Smoother just seemed to cluttered. For the Jointer I decided to try something different and use one plug about 3″ long, I originally wanted to use this detail on the Smoother but in the end it just didn’t look right on the smaller plane.
For final shaping I once again used my files and card scraper, then sanded with 320 grit sandpaper. To keep a light finish I used 3 coats of Tung Oil lightly sanding between coats.
To tell you the truth I am a little sad to see this project come to an end. I am very intrigued by the Greene & Greene style and it was a blast designing a tool around the design. I have a few ideas that could carry this idea a little further such as a case for the planes or maybe even a G&G Bow Saw? But who knows….
Keep on woodworking!
I know everybody else has said it, but these are beautiful. Great job!
Thanks Benjamen, they may have already said it but still nice to hear.
Beautiful work and a great idea, Green and Green hand planes! Have you thought of making a matching work bench?
Thanks for the comment Bob. I didn't use a blend but considered it. I didn't want a finish that just left a coating. The panes do have a shine when I polish them as I did add a wax to them.
GREAT looking planes!!!
Was that tung oil the real stuff (such as Behlen's pure tung) or a tung + varnish )Danish oil) combination such as the Minway and Watco products? They look very shiny for only 3 coats of real tung.
Thanks Steven. The smoother is my favorite for useage and the jointer has become my favorite look. I have said this before but my intent was for all of the plane to work as good as they look and I have been very pleased with the results.
Absolutely beautiful! How well are they working for you?