I can’t believe how many beautiful planes and tools you make, right in your kitchen. It just goes to show that it’s best to make the best of what you have and if there is a will, there is a way!!!
Really well done here. I think you'll find that for every float you have made, over time you will end up making a reciprocal if you continue to make planes. For example, the skewed float will be complemented by another float skewed in the opposite direction, making a left and right pair. The thin float may be complemented by making another that works on the pull stroke rather than push. All good stuff here, I really wanted to compliment you on this, you are doing really nice, and I'm sure very satisfying work. There is a sense of satisfaction knowing you made something by hand, and even more, satisfaction knowing you build it with tools that you crafted yourself as well.
Very well done indeed. Thank you for posting this. There just aren't an awful lot of tutorials out there regarding these things. So your sharing this was a major catch for me today. I have a lot of old, dull, and/or broken files that can serve as donors and am looking forward to trying my hand at making one. Thanks again! Carry on.
I'd like to know if you can make a float from an old file, I'm sure others would want to know as well. I think the material is too hard to cut with a hack saw and another file, please let us all know, when you have time. Good Luck !!
@@ROUGHCUT20 It can definitely be done and it's not as hard as you might think. You have to anneal it first, meaning you heat it to red hot and let it cool slowly. Then you'll be able to cut & file it. Once you get it into the shape you desire you heat it to red hot again and quench it (cool quickly) to reharden it. Finally, it must be retempered by heating it 400-500 degrees and holding there for a couple of hours. This removes the brittleness introduced to the metal in the quenching process. This is perhaps an oversimplification of the metallurgy involved but it's basically all there is to it. I know for a fact there are a lot of YT videos on the subject. Guys are making homemade plane irons out of old files all the time. Knife blades are also a popular way guys are reworking old files. Here's a short article on the subject I ran across doing a search of "Plane maker's float" on Google. Good luck.
@@dale1956ties Thank you for the explanation ! Probably beyond my means, the way I work inside and all. But, looks do-able for many others with a better facility. Great information, I learned something today and you have my sincere thanks !!
@@ROUGHCUT20 Let it marinate for a while. You may get inspired to try it someday. In the meantime if you search for "Plane maker's floats" on YT as well as Google you'll find tons of videos and articles on the subject. Who knows? Maybe you'll get enthused enough to give it a go. Just remember red hot metal stays really hot after the red glow dies away and be careful! Cheers! -dale {8^)
I use the same steel for everything I make, O1 tool steel, but for floats I don't harden or temper them, you can't re sharpen them with a file if you do that.
@@pointerish Raw O1 tool steel, same steel I use for all my plane irons. So, you are correct, after shaping and filing, I leave it that way. You could harden it, you'd have to do that before you put a wooden handle on it, then it would be to impossible to ever sharpen again with a file. Basically, you are caring for it the same way you would a hand saw, when it gets dull you just tune it up. Feel free to watch the other float videos I made, there are 3 others.
A plane makers float is used to shape wood in the body of a wooden plane. Many of the cuts made by the float will be in confined areas within the body, hence, the taper, which allows the float to reach those areas. If you are in the business of making those kinds of planes, you'll have access to steel for the blades, which is the same material used for the floats. Others who may use floats are pattern makers, wood carvers, finish carpenters, cabinet makers and gunsmiths. I've also used them to shape molded fiberglass. In the heyday of plane making, a worker using one set of tools could make thousands of planes, many of which still exist. Those tools, however, worn away by being continuously sharpened throughout the years, have not survived in any great number, that I know of. Although you buy them from a modern vendor, it's important, in my opinion, to be able to fabricate them on your own. I have an entire series of very detailed videos, showing how to make them, this video was just a preview. ruclips.net/video/R78itiThW50/видео.html ruclips.net/video/8N4IsldvwQc/видео.html ruclips.net/video/5nFhTR6U5II/видео.html rumble.com/v26eztl-the-plane-makers-float-volume-4.html
Dear Sir, thanks for your well presented work. I had contemplated making a set of floats but the only method demonstrated used a milling machine, to which I do not have access. You’ve renewed my interest in that your method uses hand tools only. I see on your site completed planes - they work!
You are very welcome ! Yes , they work well and I derive a great deal of satisfaction by using them to make planes and doing other woodworking jobs. Good Luck !!
Nice. I haven't seen many people attempting to make their own floats. I have joint issues which limit the amount of such hand work I can do in a week so plan to figure out how to easily cut the teeth on my milling machine.
I very much enjoy your videos. You do amazing work. I’m inspired to make my own floats. Can you provide the dimensions for each. Also,where do you buy your steel. Thank so much,
I've used Hudson Tool Steel in the past, I think they have a minimum order though. Be careful cutting the stock , excess heat will harden the steel and be impossible to cut with a file. 3/16ths is a good thickness for the stock, enough mass to make a face float and wide enough to make a decent edge float as well. Everything was 1" wide. The wood handle finished out to 5/8ths thick and 5" long, very comfortable to hold and use. The taper is taken from the angle of the wedge pocket, 10 degrees. I added a little extra length so the taper did not end at the handle. Also, the float can not be so short that it does not pass through the mouth of the plane and /or collides with the body of the plane at the top. The spacing of the teeth is 1/8", I cut them once, jointed the tops, marked again and recut/tuned as needed, using a magnifying glass. You're welcome & Good Luck !
No. I've mostly used a 4" angle grinder with a metal cut-off wheel. Also used a hack saw which I think is best of all, because the metal stays cooler ( softer).
@@calfaro37 Also, that (plane making)craft died off, because whole furniture making industry shifted for "mechanisation", mass production, different materials (MDF or other glue ups,) simpler edge finishes with laminates (Scandinavian design aka Ikea).
O1 - high carbon tool steel, oil quenched hardening (most popular amongst knife & tool makers etc). But if you're not US based, you have to research, which standard of steel is this an equivalent for your part of the world (technology wise, it's almost the same - just different codes for each country). The other option is to use old/used/cheap files. But to be able to process them further, you'd need firstly to anneal them.
I can’t believe how many beautiful planes and tools you make, right in your kitchen. It just goes to show that it’s best to make the best of what you have and if there is a will, there is a way!!!
That's a nice compliment, thank you !
@@ROUGHCUT20 I’ve learned a lot by watching your videos. I hope to make a plane soon.
Really well done here. I think you'll find that for every float you have made, over time you will end up making a reciprocal if you continue to make planes. For example, the skewed float will be complemented by another float skewed in the opposite direction, making a left and right pair. The thin float may be complemented by making another that works on the pull stroke rather than push. All good stuff here, I really wanted to compliment you on this, you are doing really nice, and I'm sure very satisfying work. There is a sense of satisfaction knowing you made something by hand, and even more, satisfaction knowing you build it with tools that you crafted yourself as well.
Thank you, David ! My next float segments will be skewed floats, including opposite handed floats !
Very well done indeed. Thank you for posting this. There just aren't an awful lot of tutorials out there regarding these things. So your sharing this was a major catch for me today. I have a lot of old, dull, and/or broken files that can serve as donors and am looking forward to trying my hand at making one. Thanks again! Carry on.
I'd like to know if you can make a float from an old file, I'm sure others would want to know as well. I think the material is too hard to cut with a hack saw and another file, please let us all know, when you have time. Good Luck !!
@@ROUGHCUT20 It can definitely be done and it's not as hard as you might think. You have to anneal it first, meaning you heat it to red hot and let it cool slowly. Then you'll be able to cut & file it. Once you get it into the shape you desire you heat it to red hot again and quench it (cool quickly) to reharden it. Finally, it must be retempered by heating it 400-500 degrees and holding there for a couple of hours. This removes the brittleness introduced to the metal in the quenching process. This is perhaps an oversimplification of the metallurgy involved but it's basically all there is to it. I know for a fact there are a lot of YT videos on the subject. Guys are making homemade plane irons out of old files all the time. Knife blades are also a popular way guys are reworking old files. Here's a short article on the subject I ran across doing a search of "Plane maker's float" on Google. Good luck.
@@dale1956ties Thank you for the explanation ! Probably beyond my means, the way I work inside and all. But, looks do-able for many others with a better facility. Great information, I learned something today and you have my sincere thanks !!
@@ROUGHCUT20 Let it marinate for a while. You may get inspired to try it someday. In the meantime if you search for "Plane maker's floats" on YT as well as Google you'll find tons of videos and articles on the subject. Who knows? Maybe you'll get enthused enough to give it a go. Just remember red hot metal stays really hot after the red glow dies away and be careful!
Cheers!
-dale {8^)
Awesome.
Indeed. These floats are the foundational tools of every plane I've made since making this video.
Wow, wow, awesome work...what steel are you using for these floats?
I use the same steel for everything I make, O1 tool steel, but for floats I don't harden or temper them, you can't re sharpen them with a file if you do that.
@@ROUGHCUT20So you buy annealed O1, shape and cut the teeth and use it that way? I’ve always assumed you’d need to harden and temper it too.
@@pointerish Raw O1 tool steel, same steel I use for all my plane irons. So, you are correct, after shaping and filing, I leave it that way. You could harden it, you'd have to do that before you put a wooden handle on it, then it would be to impossible to ever sharpen again with a file. Basically, you are caring for it the same way you would a hand saw, when it gets dull you just tune it up. Feel free to watch the other float videos I made, there are 3 others.
I have no idea what this is for ?
A plane makers float is used to shape wood in the body of a wooden plane. Many of the cuts made by the float will be in confined areas within the body, hence, the taper, which allows the float to reach those areas. If you are in the business of making those kinds of planes, you'll have access to steel for the blades, which is the same material used for the floats.
Others who may use floats are pattern makers, wood carvers, finish carpenters, cabinet makers and gunsmiths. I've also used them to shape molded fiberglass.
In the heyday of plane making, a worker using one set of tools could make thousands of planes, many of which still exist.
Those tools, however, worn away by being continuously sharpened throughout the years, have not survived in any great number, that I know of. Although you buy them from a modern vendor, it's important, in my opinion, to be able to fabricate them on your own. I have an entire series of very detailed videos, showing how to make them, this video was just a preview.
ruclips.net/video/R78itiThW50/видео.html
ruclips.net/video/8N4IsldvwQc/видео.html
ruclips.net/video/5nFhTR6U5II/видео.html
rumble.com/v26eztl-the-plane-makers-float-volume-4.html
Dear Sir, thanks for your well presented work. I had contemplated making a set of floats but the only method demonstrated used a milling machine, to which I do not have access. You’ve renewed my interest in that your method uses hand tools only. I see on your site completed planes - they work!
You are very welcome ! Yes , they work well and I derive a great deal of satisfaction by using them to make planes and doing other woodworking jobs.
Good Luck !!
Nice. I haven't seen many people attempting to make their own floats. I have joint issues which limit the amount of such hand work I can do in a week so plan to figure out how to easily cut the teeth on my milling machine.
I very much enjoy your videos. You do amazing work. I’m inspired to make my own floats. Can you provide the dimensions for each. Also,where do you buy your steel. Thank so much,
I've used Hudson Tool Steel in the past, I think they have a minimum order though. Be careful cutting the stock , excess heat will harden the steel and be impossible to cut with a file. 3/16ths is a good thickness for the stock, enough mass to make a face float and wide enough to make a decent edge float as well. Everything was 1" wide. The wood handle finished out to 5/8ths thick and 5" long, very comfortable to hold and use. The taper is taken from the angle of the wedge pocket, 10 degrees. I added a little extra length so the taper did not end at the handle. Also, the float can not be so short that it does not pass through the mouth of the plane and /or collides with the body of the plane at the top. The spacing of the teeth is 1/8", I cut them once, jointed the tops, marked again and recut/tuned as needed, using a magnifying glass. You're welcome & Good Luck !
Thank you very much!
Wow
What angle is the skew on the rabbet plane float?
25 degrees
I want to make some floats as well. Is unhardened O1 better than using mild steel, spring steel?
I'm not qualified to answer that question.
curious how you cut the dimensions of the floats? Did you use a bench grinder to shape anything?
No. I've mostly used a 4" angle grinder with a metal cut-off wheel. Also used a hack saw which I think is best of all, because the metal stays cooler ( softer).
Very nice, just a question, what is the thickness of the steel? 5/6 mm?
I found 3/16 ths to be a good thickness, I'll let you convert that !
@@ROUGHCUT20 thanks, it’s about 5mm!
@@ROUGHCUT20 thanks, it’s about 5mm!
nice work !! question: did you harden the steel? or is it not nessesary
I think that, traditionally, floats were not hardened, so they could be sharpened with a file, just like a hand saw. Mine are not hardened.
@@ROUGHCUT20 thanx
Yes, they would use them up and discard them after sharpening them to their end which is why it is so hard to find antique floats.
@@calfaro37 That is what my research told me as well.
@@calfaro37 Also, that (plane making)craft died off, because whole furniture making industry shifted for "mechanisation", mass production, different materials (MDF or other glue ups,) simpler edge finishes with laminates (Scandinavian design aka Ikea).
Ver y nice work, what kind of steel are u using for the floats?
O1 - high carbon tool steel, oil quenched hardening (most popular amongst knife & tool makers etc). But if you're not US based, you have to research, which standard of steel is this an equivalent for your part of the world (technology wise, it's almost the same - just different codes for each country).
The other option is to use old/used/cheap files. But to be able to process them further, you'd need firstly to anneal them.