Lost Art Press

The Edge Plane

Posted on by meghanlostartpress
edge-plane-1
Fig. 1. What the finished plane looks like. The exact length is not important, but it should not be much shorter than 9 ins. as it may be liable to dig in. This plane is 10 ins. long with a 1-3⁄4 in. cutter.


This is an excerpt from “The Woodworker: The Charles H. Hayward Years: Volume I” published by Lost Art Press. 

Two ways in which the plane would come in handy are shown in Fig. 2. In the one the plane is smoothing right up to an internal corner, and in the other is a stopped chamfer in which the plane could work right up to the stop. Many other uses will suggest themselves— such as trimming a stopped rebate.

edge-plane-2
Fig. 2. Examples of work for which the plane is suitable. Note that a strip of metal is placed beneath the thumb-screw to cover the slot in the cutter. The knob is either square as shown or it can be turned.

It will be realized that it cannot be used in place of the more normal type of plane; it would dig in and fail to produce a flat surface. Furthermore, it could not be started. It is suitable only for working into a corner after the main surface has been planed. The great secret of its successful use is to press well down on the handle. Only in this way is it possible to avoid digging in. Then, the cutter must be set fine—sometimes without any projection at all—and gradually fed forwards. It usually happens in this sort of work that the corner is high, and that is why it will sometimes cut when there is no projection to the cutter at all.

edge-plane-3
Fig. 3. Side and front elevations and plan. Sizes can be taken from scale.

Fig. 3 shows the plane to scale. The main stock which should be of hardwood finishes 10 ins. by 1-3∕4 ins. square. Allow the width a trifle full for trimming and cut the front to an angle of 20 deg. Also shape the back. Finish neatly with a chamfer. The clamp is 4-1∕4 ins. by 1-1∕ 2 ins. by 1∕ 2 in. It has a hole and slot cut through it to enable it to be slipped over screw head and pushed forward into place. The thumbscrew can be any convenient screw, the hole for it having the thread forced in it. Bore a hole to the narrowest part of the thread and force the screw into it.

— MB

5 thoughts on “The Edge Plane”

  2. I have not made one, but I do own a LN chisel plane, which is the same thing. It’s one of those tools that you don’t often need, but when you do it’s the perfect tool for the situation.

  3. Veritas has a plane that looks similar to this – the “Cabinet Maker’s Trimming Plane”. The Veritas version is much shorter – 6.5 inches – and is made of metal.

  4. Well I had a good day, I went to the post office to pick up a package and then to the gas station to gas up the Blazer.I got on top of the Blacksmith Shop to put on some cool seal. I have been chasing a leak and can’t seem to find it. Maybe I got it this time? Next I spent some time sweeping out my shop. There was a good pile of wood shavings and saw dust. I have been making a few boxes and there was quite a mess.Today it back to doing a few thing to help Susan get ready for Christmas.Be safe,  we won’t be at Church this week. No Sunday School.  MERRY CHRISTMAS 

  5. I had a project last week where this would have been helpful, so I decided to make one. Dug through my box of old plane parts that I picked up at an auction several years ago and found a good iron and lever cap. Used a chunk of 8/4 Osage orange that I got for free from a local sawmill. Turned out pretty good! Not sure how to post a photo here…

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