Last Updated 11/15/07
The South East Michigan Woodworker Guild sponsered several plane making classes in the fall 2007. I had the please of attending the Nov. 11th class.
Members of the South East Michigan Woodworks Guild met at Dave's 'Just George' shop on November 11th to learn the fine techniques of making a Krenov style plane from the illustrious famed instructor Jim Hinze (Jim also teaches the class at the Woodcraft Store in Sterling Heights if you want to catch one of his classes).
Jim started the class by handing out a write up explaining the process of creating the construction style and showing the materials we would be using. He then allowed each student to pick the material of their choice. I chose a 3"W x 2" T x 14L" long piece of Purpleheart to make a 55° (middle pitch) jointer plane.
Next step was for each student to layout the cutting lines on each of our planes. We started by labeling the front of the plane and drawing a triangle on the top to allow for reconstruction in the proper order and position after the pieces have been cut apart. Next a 3/8" line was scribed length wise on each side. We then cut the side pieces off using a band saw and then ran them through a planer to flatten out each side piece. We used a jointer to square up the center section's two sides.
The center section layout was the next step; starting with a line from the center of the block the back angle profile was scribed (this is the side the blade would eventually rest on, mine as at 55° from the bottom up). The other side of the throat was scribed at 60°. With the center section layout complete we used a chop saw to cut angles. Each student made sure that they kept the center cut out, which was used as support while drilling the retaining pin holes and for making the wedge.
With the basic cuts complete, each plane was reassembled and clamped in place so that the back angle could be scribed on the inside of each cheek. Next the blade was placed inside the plane so the front end of the plane could be put in its proper position and scribed. The trick here was to place the front part close enough so the cutting edge (blade angle down) would be approximately 1/16" off the bottom. This allows for final tweaking of the plane later to get a tight mouth.
The glue up came next, we applied the glue (Tight Bond) on each side and reassembled each piece using the scribed lines on the inside of each side to hold position. Because the glue allows the parts to want to slide around, we loosely clamped the front and rear sides then used another clamp to ensure that the parts were in proper position with respect to the top and bottom. With everyone's glue up complete it was time for some pizza and pop for lunch.
After lunch we started on making a brass plane blade adjusting hammer. Each of us had a chance to turn their own handles on Dave's One Way lathe. The hammer head was made out of 5/8" brass. We drilled a 3/8" cross hole, using a wood fixture to keep the hole centered. We next chucked the part in a drill press and used a file and some emery cloth to round over the ends and polish up the part. The finished hammers came out looking very nice.
With the hammers complete it was time to unclamp the planes and scrape off any glue which may have leaked out due to clamping pressure. We each took a light pass on the jointer to ensure that the bottom was flat and the sides were square to the bottom.
The next step was to drill the cross hole for the retaining pin. To keep the inside of the planes throat from tear out from the drill the scrap piece, left over from the cut out, was placed back in the throat and the through hole was drilled. The hole was drilled just under size so the brass cross pin could be burnished in the hole to ensure a tight fit.
Cutting and fitting the wedge was next; each student had a chance to design a wedge of their own taste. After the wedge was cut out and finished, it was put the wedge in place with the blade to test the mouth's fit. Each of us had to carefully file out the bottom to just allow the blade's cutting edge to exit the mouth with just a few thousands gap. This was done to ensure a very thin chip when using the plane. Jim spent time with each student to ensure that the mouth was made correctly during this critical operation.
Once each plane's blade was properly fit it was time for everyone's creative juices to flow. Each student created their own ouside design; some pretty nice planes resulted.
And finally the class (left to right) Dave, John, Scott Jim & Justin
In my humble opinion the class was very good, Jim is a highly knowledgeable instructor with the patients to work with everyone no matter what skill level they are!
FOLLOW UP:
Well I've had my new plane home for about a week and have been putting it to work. I built a solid top maple work bench some time ago and the top was in dire need to be flattened. The hard maple top has some knotty areas which are doubly hard. It took a little tinkering to get the blade adjusted just right to make a wispy thin cut, but it has worked flawlessly since. I've had to sharpen the blade a few times, but that is to be expected. You can see the condition of the bench top in this partial picture 
The next pictures show the work in process 
and finally bench top as is today 
Now I can get started on that mirror for the vanity :)
Best Regards,
