Small mitre plane continued...

The width of the plane is set out on my drawing, and the piece of brass had arrived from Droitwich. I'm trying to keep all of the parts as local as possible, this can be looked on from two different perspectives, firstly, when the plane is finished it's as local as I can get, that's good for other business's. Secondly, I don't want to waste fuel and unnecessary time driving around trying to find parts, so it's as Eco friendly as I can get, anyhow, my time is best making things. It's what I enjoy...

Here is the bridge marked up ready for the JH design and the 2012

I really like the idea of having the plane year of manufacture ( for this, my first year working for myself and it being an Olympic year for the United Kingdom) quite prominent, and you can't get more prominent than up the side of the bridge. 

The JH is offset to the left to allow for the 2012 down the right hand side, I've also marked out the curve on the bottom edge..

These little beauties have been in our family a long time, I think they were rescued by my Dad from a house sale, I'll take them over to Ian and Clive at Chalco to see what they make of them.. Some are Addis, Henry Taylor, with Beech, Rosewood and the odd Ebony handle..anyhow I managed to find the right shape that I wanted to engrave with..and it was sharp enough to use..

I used a fine pen to mark the JH, and carefully slid the gouge over the surface of the brass, and just kept on going until it looked like this. Then I cut away the shoulders and the rest of the bar..

The curve on the bottom edge I decided to round off onto the surface, I wasn't after a clean sharp look, here I'm after a smooth flowing area to go with the shavings that will pass through..

So here is the bridge and the front piece, both 23mm wide, I've got two lines marked onto the front piece, the lower one is the one I'm working to at the moment, once the body is peened together I'll file to the second line to ensure it's flush before putting the bottom on...

Here I'm checking the fit of the through tenons before assembly. I'm really pleased with how it's all going so far, the marking out is good, and the files are great, I do have the habit of checking and re-checking that it's all going right, the last thing I want right now is for something to go wrong..

With the front piece dry fitted you can see the filed away double dovetail, later this will be peened over to hold it all together..you can also see the front piece is too long as I said once it's all together I'll file it flush...

I bent the body around a stainless steel tube, the way Bill does, using a sash cramp. Then opened back out again to fit the bridge and the front, it's a really nerve racking time, too much bending and the brass could case harden and break, not enough and the piece is distorted..anyhow the peining is done for now...

the bottom is next..

I have to say, that there are easier ways to make a plane, and I'm really glad that I deceided to do this. To go through what Bill does, to acheive the remarkable little planes is great way to start my plane making career. The last time I was in contact with Bill and Sarah I told them that I was going to have a go at one, and they said they would really like to see the results..

Bill, I hope you like what I'm doing so far..I'll be in touch.

All the best

Jamie