Saturday 26 January 2013

Squirrel Tail Plane

Body 3.5” long, 1” wide blade, infill wood Ringed Gidgee

The idea for this plane came to mind while working on this jewellery box for my Grandmother’s 85th birthday.





I was using Lie Nielson’s version of this plane for cleaning up the delicate banding and inlay work, but found that the mouth opening was far too large for very fine veneer planing.




Here is a picture of my infill version of the Lie Nielson and an old Stanley #100, which I borrowed from a friend.

Left-Infill, Middle-Lie Nielson, Right-Stanley #100

Infill 50o pitch bevel down, Lie Nielson 12o bevel up, Stanley 45o bevel down


When using these three planes the extra mass of the infill plane is a welcome advantage. I also designed this plane to take a 3/16” thick blade, which also adds to the solid feel. From using the Lie Nielson, I decided to increase the height of the “tail” to fit my hand more comfortably. I also increased the blade width from 7/8” to 1”. This was my first go at a curved or “coffin shaped” infill plane with an “overstuffed” infill. Tricky, but worth the effort. The only change I would make would be to increase the length of the blade. The only power tool used on this plane was a drill press. I think this would be a treasured plane for any detail minded woodworker. I would consider making this plane again and I have some interesting infill woods to try. You can view more pictures of this plane in the gallery.