an unconventional blade assembly

Last year, I started working on a plane that I honestly did not think I would ever have the chance to make again. I was thrilled when I was asked, and have been psyching myself up for it. It is by far, the most complicated plane I have ever made. Another badger plane.

The photo above shows the ‘revised’ blade. 

The sides of the blade needed to be ground to 15 degrees to allow it to rest properly against the edge of the tapered sidewall. I re-ground the edges on the grinder shown above, and re-ground the bevel on the other wheel of the grinder.

Getting close to establishing the new bevel. 

Once the blade was re-ground, it was time to start working on the cap iron. I decided the easiest way to do this was to install the cap iron and use the blade as a visual guide for cutting the sides off. Having the blade in place was a great visual cue for the correct angle and it also kept me on my toes! 

In order for the blade to ‘fit’ in the plane, the inside of the sidewall needed to be filed to allow the blade to exit to the outside corner of the plane. On the first badger plane, I relived the corner of the cap iron so I did not need to thin out the sidewall any more than I needed to. I did the same thing on this second badger plane. you can see the sliver of steel being cut off in the photo above.

Here are the re-ground blade and re-shaped cap iron. 

 After rounding over the front edge of the cap iron, I draw file it to further refine the surface. There is a noticeable change to the surface texture of this area - from coarse ‘push’ strokes, to very smooth draw filed strokes. A little sandpaper wrapped around a block and it is all polished up.

Here is a shot of the business end of the blade and cap iron assembly. You can see the 15 degree angle on both sides of the blade as well as the relieved corner of the cap iron (on the left side). 

 

 

The blade assembly in position. Next step... the lever cap.

I should mention that I have dipped my toe into social media. Instagram to be specific. And it is not really like dipping your toe... more like grabbing onto that large knotted rope tied to the tree at the lake and swinging... without really knowing what you are in for. Things really clicked for me when I started thinking about Instagram as a short form version of a blog.  And a blog, this blog, as the long form version. I am finding myself thinking about both formats quite a bit, and should be able to use one to help the other and visa versa. I have posted a few photos on Instagram about the badger plane, but this is a better format for a step by step process and for more in-depth information. At least, that is how I am approaching it now.