Cool Little Block Plane

[Cleat]

I got a Bridge City mini block plane with depth skids (HP-8).  It looks scrupled; the best part is that the sides can be adjusted to set the height of the plane.  The plane is about 4” (100 mm) long, with a working width of 1.25” (33 mm).

 

Recently, I was running out of 1 mm thick material for steps.  I had 1.5 mm material so I set the mini plane to 1 mm height (using some 1 mm material) and planed the 1.5 mm material –  it works fine.  And it looks cool.

 

 

[Bob Cleek]

I've heard good things about that HP-8 plane. (They also sell a stainless and titanium "commemorative model" for $300.) The Bridge City catalog is very entertaining. They seem to be the Tiffany's of tools and priced similarly as well! Real jewelry for tool nuts. See: Planes – Bridge City Tool Works (bridgecitytools.com) 

 

Bridge City offers a chopstick tapered planing jig that uses the HP-8 plane called the "Chopstick Master." It seems that with a little bit of re-engineering, it could be a really neat tool for making tapered scale masts, spars, and dowels. The catch, of course, is that this jig system would probably cost you more than a Proxxon wood lathe! It's worth taking a look at it if anybody is considering building a jig for planing "sticks." Bridge City makes theirs fancy, of course, but the principles of their jig may be adaptable for modeling use. See: Mini Workshop – Bridge City Tool Works (bridgecitytools.com)

Edited December 14, 2023 by Bob Cleek

[Nirvana]

As for the HP-8 it is worth each penny. Got mine at a sale from them.

[Jaager]

15 hours ago, Bob Cleek said:

Bridge City offers a chopstick tapered planing jig that uses the HP-8 plane called the "Chopstick Master."

I have in mind the concept that spars were not exactly a straight line taper.   Is it not a curve with a slope that increases - with most of the increase in the outer quarter?  A very shallow ellipse?

 

Now that I visualize it. A jig with parallel sides and a shim that slides under the spar.  The shim would allow for an elliptical profile.

I think the process would be significantly faster than a lathe.  Planing along the grain would mimic the action of an adz and not leave a surface that is a series of concentric rings - which is what a lathe does. 

Edited December 13, 2023 by Jaager

[Bob Cleek]

23 hours ago, Jaager said:

Now that I visualize it. A jig with parallel sides and a shim that slides under the spar.  The shim would allow for an elliptical profile.

I think the process would be significantly faster than a lathe.  Planing along the grain would mimic the action of an adz and not leave a surface that is a series of concentric rings - which is what a lathe does. 

That was exactly what I thought. Once you get down to eight or sixteen sides, rounding it up is a piece of cake with a sheet of sandpaper. (In real life, they might rough out the shape of a solid mast or spar with an adze, but the finish work would have been done with a spar plane, which would have a concave sole and iron sized to match the circumference of the spar. It would take a set of these to get an accurately rounded spar.) I was thinking of a similar arrangement, but rather than a shim that slid under the spar, there would be a grooved "bench hook" base to hold the spar for planing and a threaded "jack" that could be finely adjusted to raise the base and the degree of taper one desired. Once the measurements were identified, an "inches per foot" taper index for each of the scales one used could be attached, making setup even less tedious. A plane would run on a "sled" or in a level track to cut the taper set by the amount of rise above the track set by the "jack" adjustment. This sort of a jig could also be used for cutting scale scarfs. It's the way many scarfs are made in full-size construction these days, often with a router base mounted on a sled running on an angled base.

 

 

Edited December 14, 2023 by Bob Cleek

[Wawona59]

On 12/13/2023 at 10:45 AM, Nirvana said:

As for the HP-8 it is worth each penny. Got mine at a sale from them.

I know I'm late to the discussion but I must second this.  My favorite plane for modeling is the Lie-Neilsen bronze block plane.  It's been my go-to modeling plane for years.  I got the HP-8 to precisely thickness strip wood. I like the heft of this little plane and it feels good in the hand.  I use primarily hand tools so this really comes in handy.

[Mike Y]

When using it for strip thicknessing - how are you holding the strip? Especially to make sure it does not spin...

Of course you can cut an oversized long strip, but it does not sound very efficient.. Trying to wrap my head around it before buying  

[CDR_Ret]

With reference to post #4 of this thread, this highly foreshortend digital view of my model's combined foretopgallant and royal mast shows the mast profiles according to Underhill's tables. A tool working on the principle of a pencil sharpener, if that is what is being described, wouldn't be able to produce the required profile.

My two cents.

 

Terry

[Wawona59]

20 hours ago, Mike Y said:

When using it for strip thicknessing - how are you holding the strip? Especially to make sure it does not spin...

Of course you can cut an oversized long strip, but it does not sound very efficient.. Trying to wrap my head around it before buying  

You are correct Mike, If you don't plane true and straight, the wood piece will spin.  I use a piece of wood about half the thickness of the wood I'm planing as a bench stop.  When you are planing with proper technique you are simultaneously pushing down as well as well forward which holds the material in place.  Granted, it takes some practice to get right.  I much prefer working with quality hand tools than running wood through a machine.  For stock longer than 12" you may need to hold the stock down in front of the plane with your free hand and hold the block plane with the other.

 

In addition to noise reduction another advantage is the plane and planing board with the bench stop takes up a lot less space than a dedicated machine.  Lastly, a plane makes shavings instead of sawdust.  The shavings can be used to make other things like wooden rings.  I work in a spare back bedroom and don't have a dedicated shop so space is at a premium.

 

I hope this clarifies the thickness planning for you. I can post a picture of my simple setup if that will help.  I won't be able to do it until next week as my wife and I will be celebrating our 39th wedding anniversary this week.

 

 

 

[Mike Y]

Thanks John! I think I got the idea, will experiment

Congrats on the anniversary!

[Wawona59]

Thanks Mike,

 

Feel free to PM me and let me know how it went.

 

[paul ron]

it looks like a standard block plane sitting in a cradle to be used as a thickness planer for us model builders. ive never seen such a setup but it sure is a great idea to have a height adjustment to lift it like that. i can see it as a very useful tool. 

 

 

[paul ron]

On 8/10/2024 at 3:59 PM, Mike Y said:

When using it for strip thicknessing - how are you holding the strip? Especially to make sure it does not spin...

Of course you can cut an oversized long strip, but it does not sound very efficient.. Trying to wrap my head around it before buying  

perhaps double sided tape to keep the strip in place? 

[Snug Harbor Johnny]

  The lower the plane angle, the finer the cutting (at least I found it so).  Also, I like to 'skew' the plane at an angle where possible.  But the SINGLE most important thing that can improve planing performance is a super sharp cutter.  The Goingmake system I got at Woodcraft (and there are other sharpening jigs available there and elsewhere) makes it easy ... especially getting an extra 2 degree 'micro bevel' after the primary angle is achieved.

  I use graded Japanese water stones (true them after use by working them against each other) and an ultra fine ceramic honing stone.  THEN be sure to strop the edge (for burr removal) on 1/4" thick shoe leather.  The blade will be as sharp as a surgeon's scalpel, so be careful how you handle it.  You want to cut the wood, not yourself.

Edited August 12 by Snug Harbor Johnny

[Wawona59]

I've found that another requirement for a super sharp blade is to flatten the back and polish the back to a mirror finish.  I like to use oil stones, a super fine black stone for sharpening surgical blades with a final stop on a piece of leather.