Frankenplane

[outofstepper]

Greets all. Lurker / first post. Great forum.

I'm relatively new to woodworking -- and am starting to build a basic tool set.

by basic I mean, the highest quality I can afford now.. and growing slowly.

That said I've just picked up two veritas planes, the jointer and the older

bevel-up smooth plane. (the $20 I saved on that one went to a dovetail saw).

Anyway, they haven't shown up yet, but I need to flesh the set out with a

scrub / roughing.

In order to save some cash (or get something else), I'd like to put what could

be a very stupid question out there; so apologies in advance.

Could "my friend" just order a second iron for the smooth plane and put a 3" or

so radius on the business end, drop it in the smoother, and use it as a scrub?

The mouth looks like it might open up enough.. though the bevel up design might

make the angles invovled a little ugly.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

-Tony

[mlehikoinen]

I have heard that you don't need to break the bank on a jack plane and tend to agree that tight tolerances are not needed. I think you would benefit from a jack that has a longer sole than your smoother and suggest a look at eBay or a cheapie. Once you have your planes setup, you don't want to have to mess with them I you can help it because once it becomes a pain to start swapping setups, that's when it stops being fun.

[Roger T]

I have to agree with Mike. Pick up an old stanley #5, Grind a 6" radius camber on the iron and you are good to go. You can probably do this for less than 40 bux. Pick up a second blade and grind an 8" camber on that. This way you can scrub till the cows come home. I have a Stanley 40 that is a wood eating machine. Real easy to get carried away with it and hog of to much material. Also, going this route leaves more money for other things.

Roger

[flairwoodworks]

Could "my friend" just order a second iron for the smooth plane and put a 3" or

so radius on the business end, drop it in the smoother, and use it as a scrub?

The mouth looks like it might open up enough.. though the bevel up design might

make the angles invovled a little ugly.

Yes. Or you could convert an old #4 which you should be able to find for about $20. The blade won't be as thick as a true scrub, but you'll just have to take a bit lighter of a cut. This is what I have done.

[outofstepper]

What I currently have is one of these.

(Great Neck 9" jack)

Something I inherited from my old man. Its older (but has plastic handles!).. somehow the

fact that its $27 makes me chuckle.

Anyway, i cleaned it up and, although I really have no context for comparison, it really

is a pleasure to work with. I can't imagine what the veritas planes will feel like. At any

rate, when its properly sharpened I can get some useful work out of it. It soothes the soul

so it must be doing something right.

So ... if I round the iron, would this be suitable as a scrub?

-Tony

[jwatson]

9 inch plane is more in line with a smoother or #4 in the stanley termonology. you would be in the same boat of it being a plane a little shorter which isnt terrible but not ideal. a jack plane would be of the 15 or 14 inch length.

edit: my jack plane is a Millers Falls 814 which I paid 18 bucks for.

[kesac]

Do you really need a scrub plane? I have several I got on Ebay from people who had probably never used them. You can probably get one there pretty cheap.

I also saw guy using a #6 Stanley with a reground blade as a scrub plane on some logs. This guy was a hoss. You could probably make anything into a scrub plane. I have an Ulmia with a real high angle to it that works well, and I have much lower angle Bailey clone that works just fine too. These don't take much finess, I don't think.

[kesac]

Yes. Or you could convert an old #4 which you should be able to find for about $20. The blade won't be as thick as a true scrub, but you'll just have to take a bit lighter of a cut. This is what I have done.

If you use a scrub plane much, you will start thinking light cuts are not such a bad idea. Those things will work you, just as much as you are capable of being worked.

[flairwoodworks]

If you use a scrub plane much, you will start thinking light cuts are not such a bad idea. Those things will work you, just as much as you are capable of being worked.

You're right, but I can actually take fairly heavy cuts dispite the thin iron. I don't exactly know why. I've use the Veritas scrub, I've used wooden scrubs, and I've used mine. I know I should be experiencing more of a difference, but I'm not noticing it.

[RenaissanceWW]

Basically if it holds the iron at a consistent bed angle you can use it as a scrub plane. Because the depth of cut is so aggressive sole flatness has nothing to do with it. A wide mouth to accommodate the thick chips is also a necessity. The scrub, taken from continental traditions is a bit shorter and a #4 or #5 would suffice quite well. The Fore plane taken from English cabinetmaker traditions is longer and more equivalent to a modern #5 1/2 or #6. Both accomplish the same job, but I find my Fore plane is much more efficient for typical furniture work with larger pieces. I like having the scrub around for smaller applications and it quickly will trim a board to proper width too. So easy answer is yes, your plane will work. Put a camber on it and go to work.