Well I have had a big break from making so lost a lot of enthusiasm.

I was unsure of myself so thought I would start with something to test whether I was still interested

 - making a plane!

I am trying to get back into making things without thinking about them too much.

Just going for it and letting things work out as you go, this is work that tends to make me happy,

while so much can simply make me unhappy, this is a hobby after all.

This is a chip breaker I have made which is 2mm too wide.

Angle Grinder Time!



Lots of blades and wood ready for me to put them together.

Nice piece of Hornbeam.

So this is a new idea for a Japanese plane using a Laminated blade and homemade chipbreaker.

Something I have been working on for a while now.

Using the Krenov method, I knew this might not work, as I have tapered the Laminated blade by 1mm on each side, so it wedges into place (can you see what is going to happen? I was sleepy and didn't)

 - I did not feel up to chopping out the bed...

Here I am hollow grinding the blade.

Then rub over a course diamond stone and grind off the highlighted areas again below the top edge.

Eventually you get a perfect ground edge - not quite ito-ura (thread edge) but good enough.

Glued up and cleaned up.

A quick make this - not going for perfection - just a trial of an idea.

Cutting the side channels for the blade - so it wedges into place.

Chisel work - my favourite part of making this plane was cutting and chiseling this out with tools I made.

What a mess - it just goes mad sometimes when your in the zone, riding the wave.

The plane is OK but my Pillar drill is rubbish - cheap crap.

Which is my excuse for drilling the bar at an angle - trying to correct it I increased its thickness.

But the test proved this idea to be stupid.

Banging the wedge in just works against the glue joint of this laminated construction.

Time to use it as a model for marking out another - time to chisel out a one piece body.

I am in the mood now - back into making stuff.