Current Work

Krenov-style Block, Smoother, Jointer Planes
Beech, Lignum Vitae, Brass, Hock Irons

Brass Pins For a Krenov Plane

Brass has been an important component in woodshops for years. It’s warm glow peeks out in old plane depth adjuster knobs, wear strips on marking gauges, and binding old levels. It’s kind to tool steel, and patinas beautifully. It works easily with carbide tooling, and is easy to machine even if you don’t have a milling machine or metal lathe.

I’ve made Krenov style planes before, so to change things up I wanted to try making the pin in brass. I started by picking up a 12” long, ½” diameter rod, which cost me about $14.

I started by cutting one end square on the miter saw. It’s important to clamp any round stock, be it metal or wood. It’s too easy for the saw to catch the piece and spin it when it’s held by hand. Also, a miter saws forces go back and up, your clamps pressure must be exerted above the rods centre line. This forces the rod against the fence and down toward the table. In the photo below, you can see the rod, held by a block slightly raised above the table. The block is being pressured by the clamp, also fairly high. A spacer, thicker than the rod, puts the blocks pressure on the rod close to where the cutting happens. Then I measure, mark, and cut the rod 1/8” longer than the plane will be wide.



Next, I cut tenons on the ends. These are 1/16” shorter than the plane cheeks are wide, 3/8” in diameter. To make them I use a carbide spiral bit in my router and I use a wood guide. The block is milled square, and a centre line is layed out on its face and across the end. A sharp ½” brad point bit is used to drill the pilot holes for the bit and the brass. The router base is bolted directly to the block, and the whole jig is clamped in the vise. The rod is chucked into a drill and the router switched on. The feed rate is controlled by two things, the rate of plunge and the rpms of the drill. Keep both low for best results. Surface finish is markedly better if you were to approach the router from the opposite side; the cut is cleaner when the ends of the flutes do the work. The problem with that is the amount removed from the diameter of the rod is dictated by the offset of the holes drilled and there is no adjustability. Because the tenon sides are hidden by the plane cheeks, surface finish isn’t important, so I prefer to do it in this manner. Coming at the bit from its side allows you to tweak both dimensions, tenon diameter by varying the depth of the router bit, length of tenon by the depth of rod penetration. The drill chuck acts as a stop, so once I get the right length of tenon I measure the amount protruding from the chuck and do the rest with the same.



From there it’s to the drill press to dress and dome the ends. The rod is chucked up by the tenon to avoid marring the visible surface. I lower it against sandpaper backed by a foam sponge. The soft backing allows the faster moving circumference of the rod to wear quicker than the middle, resulting in a domed end. I use 120 grit paper to remove the saw marks, then it’s polished to 600. The pin will be 1/16” proud of the cheeks when done, so I strive to have the domes edge meet that mark. I do one end, and then I flip the pin and do the other. While it’s chucked up and spinning, I use the sandpaper to polish the rod itself.



Next, a flat is milled into the pin to match the wood wedge used to hold the blade secure. A simple jig is made to hold the pin; a 3/8” hole drilled in the same place in two wood blocks receives the tenon. Both blocks are brad nailed to a piece of plywood to keep them in the same plane, and the jig is clamped in a vise, further securing the hold. A steel screw is countersunk below the surface, its tip biting the tenon and preventing the pin from spinning. A bushing is installed in the router to leave a 1/8” between the flat and the tenon shoulder. The flat is 1/16” wider than the plane blade. The router is placed on the jig, the bit lowered until it’s touching the pin. The router is started, and using a slow feed rate passed back and forth over the pin until the span has been covered. Now the flat is measured. If it is not the same on both ends it is because the pin isn’t parallel to the top of the jig. Shim the side with the wider flat with duct tape, lower the bit until it’s touching the wide end, and try again. Once the flat is even I cut it to a depth of 1/16”.





Done!

Hold-Downs- Assembly

I chucked up a 1/2" straight cutting bit in the router table, attached a fence and stop block, and cut slots for wear strips.



I put a stop on the mitre saw and set it for the width of the routered slot, tested with scrap.



I then made a sandwich of milled scrap, transfer tape, and brass shim stock.



A trimming cut was made, then parts were cut against the stop block.



A 1/2" circle is drawn on the end, and the disc sander roughs it out.



The curve is refined by handsanding.



I've used dowels for hold down shafts before, but it's not long before they are burnished smooth and no longer work. For this pair I'm using Lee Valley's short Hold-Down Posts. They are steel, machined with barbed grooves.



I drill a 3/4" hole 3/4" deep.



Then 3/4" deeper with an 11/16" bit.



I threaded the heads on, and the fit feels secure. If they become loose in the future I'll epoxy them, or cross drill and pin with a brass rod.

Leather is then glued to the pads, and clamped to dry.



To replace the fluted dowel, I hacksaw a 1/2" brass rod into two lengths, 1/8" longer than the clamp bodies are wide. The rod is chucked into the drill press, and lowered against sandpaper. 120 grit is used to remove the saw marks, then I went to 800 to polish. A sponge is used to back the sandpaper, which allows the ends to dome.



The leather is trimmed and the wear strips are epoxied into place.



Assembled:




Oiled:



I'm having a hard time not thinking of them as "bench bunnies".

Hold-Downs- The Cams

Two levered cams were laid out on a piece of 8/4 beech.



The cam applies pressure as the lever is pushed down. The lobe is 1/8" higher than the tounge at rest, and 1/8" lower when engaged. The peak of the lobe is forward of centre, so when closed it wants to stay closed. The curve behind the lobe is an 8" radius, to match the kerf of the dado stack.



A rip blade was installed and the tall cheek cuts were made.



Then the blade was lowered and the shoulders were cut. Pressure was applied to the stock to prevent it falling into the blade when the supporting waste was severed.



They were then seperated on the mitre saw.

The pattern I drew on the now removed cheek was bandsawn out.



A 1/2" dowel gets chucked into the drill press and spun against a piece of sandpaper.



This skinny dowel makes it easy to test fit my template.



I used the edge sander until I was pleased with the action, then I transferred the outline to my stock.



I used the removed cheek, transfer tape, and a 1/8" shim to make a stable platform so I could bandsaw to the line.



The lobe was refined with hand tools and sandpaper. The body was then shaped on the edge sander to allow the lever to raise.



The edge sander does quick work of shaping the body and lever. The roundover at the back of the body and the handle make a natural gripping point.

Hold-Downs- The Body

Today I made myself a couple of cam action bench hold downs.

I started with a piece of 8/4 beech, and drilled a 1/2" and a 1/4" through hole.



The gap was laid out.



The dado head was raised to the right height, and a stop was clamped to the fence.





The bandsaw made the kerf.



A stop was clamped to the mitre gauge and two heels were defined.



The block was then moved and the other two were cut out.



The waste in the middle was then removed.



The bodies were then parted in two on the mitre saw.

DoveTill Upgrade

I count our upholsterer Doug Carman as a friend. He gave me half a garbage bag full of leather scrap several years ago. Today I finally put it to use.



Using an iron set on low heat, I ironed the leather under a sheet of paper. I then used transfer tape to adhere the till to it. My Veritas striking knife did an excellent job flush trimming around the sides.



I think this will be a nice way to protect my drawer bottoms. The chisels don't slide around as readily, and the leather deadens the sound they make when I put the chisels away.

And it's super posh.

Krenov Plane

I made myself a wood smoother last week.

I used the vacuum bag to laminate a Lignum Vitae sole to the Cherry body.





I bandsawed the cheeks off, then cut the ramps on the mitre saw.



I'm making a pair, exactly the same, but one with a standard bed angle of 45°, and one at the Norris angle of 55°.

I lapped the iron bed with sandpaper on granite, working my way up to 220 grit. Checking it with a square as I worked it kept it perpendicular to the sides.



I tricked it out with an ebony wedge and crosspin. For kicks I treated the cheeks like a piece of marquetry,the circle in ebony, the three in lignum. It's the same length as a Stanley #3

Assembled:



And working:



I'm pleased with the results, the BEM in that photo came out like glass.