Hand made Infill plane (woodwork)

[famas]

For the front knob I'm keeping with the theme of wood and metal.

I planed an straight edge on a piece of cherry wood, our over hand planer decided to break this morning so I pulled out an old jointer plane I made.



Next I went over to the engineering lathe. It doesn't get used much any more and tooling is sparse.
While I've done a fair amount of turning on our wood lathe I've only used this engineering lathe a hand full of times over the years and am only self taught (which equates to me probably doing every thing wrong)

I'm turning soft aluminium so it's not to bad. Here I'm machining the bottom part of the front knob.




From there I cut a piece of the cherry wood and fitted a threaded insert into the centre.



I then used epoxy to glue the aluminium to the cherry wood, using the bolt to pull them tight together.

Once the epoxy had cured I Glued the cherry to a sacrificial piece of wood that I could secure in the wood lathe.



Back to the familiarity of the wood lathe I turned the front knob to size.



Next I marked out and fitted another threaded insert into the maple infill.



And finally it's starting to resemble a plane.





With all of my fumbling with the engineering lathe that was time for another evening.

 

[famas]

I think patience is the hardest part of this project. I'm trying to do every thing as well as I can and going with the motto that it will take as long as it takes.

As with many things if you start to try and rush it, it soon goes pear shaped.

With that said it is taking longer than I had anticipated

 

[famas]

Thanks so much for all the comments guys I really appreciate it.

As someone who served a joinery apprenticeship, I consider your work to be almost art. Not a lot of people consider the complexity that goes into the manufacture of tools. Outstanding work my friend.

Thank you. I work with a small team of joiners Though I'm not one myself, and they make a lot of bespoke joinery for listed buildings.
Seeing the time, effort and work involved to create these projects is mind boggling.

It's difficult for me to show but a lot of time has gone into the design of the plane, from whats in my head to sketches and diagrams draw on paper and scrap pieces of wood.
There is also a lot of time spent problem solving, In my description I say I've cut this here or filed that there but in reality every stage has been thought through in detail before proceeding. I've had many restless nights where I cant switch off from thinking about what I'm going to do next.

This is why I appreciate the comments I get, they spur me on to get this project finished.

 

[famas]

With the tote and front knob nearly complete I turned my attention back to the small gaps in some of the sole dovetails.

While they where acceptable they would play on my mind if I didn't at least try to rectify them.
As the gaps where so fine the only solution I could come up with was to try and fill them with silver solder. This would fill any gaps and be as strong as the base metal.
Silver solder unlike its name is actually a good colour match to brass.

The main concern is the heat involved with silver soldering. the base metal has to be brought up to cherry red and the silver solder will flow into the joint by capillary action.
It's a difficult process on thick metals normally done with an oxy acetylene torch which has greater control over heat and flame.

I don't have an oxy acetylene torch but do have a mapp gas blow torch which is slightly hotter than a propane torch.

With the heat needed there is a high risk the sole of the plane will be distorted which could potentially ruin the plane.
There is also the chance that the brass and steel will expand and contract at different rates causing the gaps to enlarge even worse.

After much deliberation and research I decided to try so ordered some easy flo flux and silver solder.

The flux helps to draw the silver solder to where you want it and protect the metal from oxidisation. It's mixed with water to form a paste.



I tested on some brass off cuts first. The brass heated up quickly and the solder flowed well.



After filing off the surplus solder you can just about see two round punch marks filled with silver solder on the right.
The colour match with the brass is good.



Happy with the results I moved over to the real thing.

I used fire bricks under the plane to help hold in the heat.
The steel was much more difficult to get up to temperature than the brass. I was trying not to apply direct heat to any part of the sole that didn't need it.
After several nervous minutes the solder finally started to flow.



No way to do this neatly, the solder will flow where ever there is flux.
The sole of the plane did oxidise and blacken by the process but thankfully it went well and importantly there was no distortion of the sole.

After a lot of sanding with 60 grit to remove the surplus silver solder I was happy with the results. They should come up better when I sand through higher grits.



It was another difficult process and one I'm glad is finished. I'm thankful it went well as there was a high potential that things could have gone wrong and I'm glad I decided to try it as it's another thing I've learnt about along the way.

That should be it for the dovetails, all that's left to do is sand them to a higher finish.

With the solder order I also bought some 4mm thick 01 tool steel for the blade.

I marked out and started to cut the blade.



I'm leaving it long for the time being as I'm not sure how long I need to make it in conjunction with the lateral adjuster I've yet to make.
The tool steel cut well, I was expecting it to be difficult to cut but it was similar to mild steel, I've not tried filing it yet though. Much easier to cut than stainless steel though!



The bevelled top of the blade is a traditional style found on early planes with wooden blade wedges.
That's as far as I can go with the blade for the minute so next I can cut the bed of the infill.

The surface that the blade sits against is called the bed. I know I want the bedding angle at 55 degrees.
infill planes normally had a bedding angle of 48- 55 degrees.
Commercial cast planes that you buy today have a bedding angle of 45 degrees.

Low angle and mitre planes vary between 12 and 25 degrees.

Generally speaking the higher the bedding angle the better the plane is at cutting hard or difficult timber grain often referred to as "wild grain"
The lower the angle the finer the shavings will be but can incur chatter in use.

First I cut the bedding angle. This cut has to align with the mouth cut out in the sole of the plane I made earlier in the project.
Any misalignment here will result in the blade not bedding correctly which could cause chatter when using the plane.



and the second cut opens the throat of the plane where the shavings will eject.



The throat and mouth will need to be adjusted later once the blade is fitted and the plane is tested. If the throat or mouth is too small the shavings with jam and stop the blade from cutting.



And that was time for another evening.

 

[famas]

Thanks for the replies and info guys.

I had expected you to pin the tote as well as epoxy it though

I did consider putting a couple of brass pins through the tote but due to the irregular curves I don't think they would have looked right.
Once the epoxy had set It was solid, I'm pretty sure its not coming apart.

Thanks for the info regarding hardening the blade.
I have considered making a small forge and using my mapp gas torch, or easier still I'll put the blade in one of our wood burners.
I'm a little way off this stage yet though.

 

[famas]

Next on the to do list is the blade adjustment mechanism.

Norris planes where one of the first to introduce a depth and lateral blade adjustment in one mechanism.

Later Stanley introduced their version of the adjustment mechanism which was regarded as being superior and is still in use on their planes today.

Keeping to the traditional theme I wanted to do something similar to the Norris adjuster.

I started by making the pivot pin.
I machined some steel round bar down to match the out side diameter of a 16mm ball bearing. I then machined a nipple on the end that was a friction fit inside the bearing.
I had to get the fit perfect on this part or it wouldn't secure itself in place.



Next I made the blade pin which is the same as the pivot pin only slightly smaller.




Blade pin on the left, pivot pin in the centre and 16mm bearing on the right.
The blade pin locates in a hole in the blade, this will adjust the depth of cut.
the bearing gets fixed into the maple infill and the pivot pin fastens to it, this will give lateral adjustment to the blade.



Next I drilled and tapped an m6 thread into the pivot pin.



then drilled a 5mm through hole in the blade pin.



After that I machined the end of an 8mm steel rod down to 6mm and threaded it to match the pivot pin hole.



I then tapered the shaft of the rod.
The pivot pin threads on first and the blade pin pushes on loosely behind it. I secure the blade pin in place with a circlip.



Next I started to make the thumb wheel.
I started by machining some brass down to 30mm



I then used a knurling tool to machine the knurl onto the brass. It was my first time using one.
30mm was pushing the tool to it's limit and there was a lot of lateral pressure needed to machine the knurl deep enough.
Looking into this later it's a good idea to fix a tail stock to the piece being machined to support it.



Next I added a bevel to the top of the wheel and a bevel and shoulder to the bottom.
After this I drilled a 6mm hole through the centre
Lastly I started to part the wheel off.



The parting tool wasn't long enough to go all the way through so I used a hack saw to cut the last bit of brass to free the wheel.



The Brass thumb wheel is a friction fit onto the steel shaft. I forced it into place using my vice then peened the end of the steel shaft to lock the wheel in place.



I wasn't happy with the circlip holding the Blade pin in as I feared it would come off in use so I tapped and threaded a bolt onto the end of the shaft then secured it in place with a drill bit.



Not the most elegant solution but it seems to have work as I wanted.

The Norris adjuster used a left hand thread to hold the blade pin in place. One of the main critacism was the amount of back lash when adjusting it caused by having both left and right hand threads.

I ground the surplus drill bit away and the adjustment mechanism was nearly done.



All that's left to do it sand it up and fit it to the infill.

There was a lot of work involved with this stage and a lot of things I was doing for the first time.
The lathe work took a lot patience as I was having to double check every thing I was doing but it was enjoyable.

It took the best part of 3 evenings to finish this stage.

 

[famas]

With the blade adjuster made I needed to mount it to the maple infill.

I started by marking out and drilling a 16mm hole for the bearing to seat in.



From there I used a router to cut away the majority of the waste where the adjuster will sit.



A quick test fit of the adjuster to make sure I had removed enough material.



After that I used chisels and gouges to clean up the recess.
The bearing was a very tight fit in the hole but I also used a touch of epoxy to hold it in place.



And finally with the adjuster fitted.
The pivot pin is held still by the bearing, turning the adjuster moves the blade pin up and down to increase or decrease depth of cut.
Lateral adjustment is done by moving the shaft left or right which moves the blade in the opposite direction.





Now the adjuster mechanism is made and fitted I could measure how long the blade needs to be.
I cut the blade and drilled holes for the blade pin to sit in.
I also partially ground the bevel. I did not fully grind the bevel, doing this could potentially cause the blade to warp when heat treated.



Like I mentioned earlier in the thread I was toying with the idea of making a bean can forge to use with my blow torch to heat the blade but decided to go for the easier option of using one of our wood burners instead.

I placed a fire brick on the bottom and loaded it up with pellets.



I'm not sure what temperature it got up to but it was damn hot!
I placed the blade and a large bolt inside.
The bolt is for preheating the oil before the blade gets quenched. Heating the oil can reduce the risk of warping and cracking the blade.




Once the bolt was cherry red I dropped it into the oil.
I then waited for the blade to go red before removing it from the burner and testing it with a magnet, if the magnet is not drawn to the steel its ready to quench.
If the blade still has some magnetism it needs to be heated further.

I plunged the blade in the oil and stood back, the flames were impressive.



Once the blade had cooled I removed it from the oil. The blade has black scale from the burning oil so I gave it a quick clean up with some 60 grit sand paper.



Then like @touch described earlier I tempered the blade in my oven at home.
I tempered at 200c for 4 hours then left the blade to cool naturally.
When it came out of the oven it was a lovely golden colour.



Back at the workshop I sanded the blade with some finer paper to remove the colouring and deep scratches.



I tested the blade with a file to feel its hardness. If the blade is hardened properly the file should skid off the metal with a distinct metallic sound.
While the blade is definitely hard I'm not sure if it could be better. I'll have to wait and see how the final grind of the bevel goes and see how well it holds it's edge.

All that's left to do is grind the bevel fully then sharpen and hone the cutting edge. I'll do this once the plane is finished.

I have made the mouth of the plane wide enough to accept a 6mm thick blade but I couldn't find any 6mm tool steel at the time of ordering.
If it turns out my current blade didn't harden well I can either try hardening it again or get hold of a piece of 6mm tool steel and start again.

If any one has an off cut of 6mm 01 tool steel 120mm x 60mm I'd happily buy it from you.

A thicker blade is beneficial in single iron planes as it greatly reduce the chance of chatter in use.


And finally the adjuster mechanism and maple infill inserted into the plane body.



and the blade inserted.



I'd say I'm roughly half way through the project at this stage. I've come a long way and learnt so much since it all started. I dread to think the hours I've put into this plane, maybe at the end i'll tally it up, if I'm feeling brave.
Thank you for all the comments and helpful information along the way, I hope you're not getting too bored of my ramblings just yet.

 

[famas]

With the blade fitted I can work on the lever cap.

The lever cap mounts on top of the blade and locks it in position. I'm also going to try extending the lever cap towards the front of the blade to act as a cap iron "chip breaker" as well.

A cap iron helps to direct the wood shaving up and out of the mouth, it also reduces plane chatter when in use.

First I made some mock up lever caps of different designs.



and settled on this one.



Ideally I'd like to have made the lever cap out of brass but I couldn't find a piece thick enough.
Aluminium was easily available in the sizes I needed and at a fraction of the cost of brass so I went with that.



The piece of aluminium I brought turned out to be too thick.
We don't have a milling machine so instead I mounted the aluminium in the lathe and used it to reduce it's thickness to 18mm
Not sure if this is a common practice but it seemed to work well.
Of course I could have cut and filed it by hand but that would have taken some time.



Next I marked out the bevel and curved end. The bevel has to be steep enough to clear the throat so as not to interfere with ejecting shavings but also not so steep that the tip would be fragile.



I cut the bevel and curve with a hacksaw.



Then used a disc sander to clean up the rough edges.



And the initial shape is done.



Next I used a router and 45 degree cutter to put a bevel on the curve.



Then returned the bevel part way down the sides with a hand file.



The router and disc sander left a lot of machine marks which I draw filed away.



I then gave it an initial sanding to remove any deep scratches that were left.

More to do yet but time is up for another day.

 

[famas]

Back on the lathe I turned a 22mm collar out of brass.



And drilled a 10.7mm hole through it.



I'm adding the brass collar to the lever cap to give the thumb screw a little more metal to thread into.
I think it also adds to the aesthetics of the lever cap.

I centre the collar on the lever cap and temporarily fix it in place with super glue.



I centre punch and drill three 2mm holes through the brass and aluminium and add a very slight counter sink to the holes.



I then insert three steel pins to hold the collar in place.



Next I mark out and drill an 8mm hole through the lever cap. This hole will provide the pivot point to secure the blade once in place.



Next I cut down and crush the steel pins into the counter sunk holes using an engineers vice.



The steel pins have mushroomed into the holes, this secured the collar tightly in place.



I then filed away the surplus metal.



Then cut and filed a straight slot to the through hole. This will enable the lever cap to be fitted and removed from the plane.



I test fit a piece of 8mm rod to make sure the slot isn't too tight.



I might have to adjust the length of thelever cap later down the line but I wont know until its fitted to the plane and the blade is inserted.

 

[famas]

Thanks for the comment em3bbs

 

[famas]

Thanks dirty.


Beginning this evening on the lathe again, I started making the lever cap thumb screw.
Much like the tote I want the thumb screw to be larger than normal and a feature.
I machined a piece of brass down to 30mm and added a knurl.
I have to say machining brass on the lathe is a lot nicer than steel.



Next I machined the shaft down to 12mm and added bevels and shoulders to the top and bottom of the wheel.



I cut a thread on the shaft using a 12mm die. I used the tail stock of the lathe to hold the die square to the shaft, doing this helps make sure the thread is straight.
After the thread is cut I gave the thumb screw a light sand and parted it off.



Next I made the pivot rod.
I started by machining a piece of brass down to just over 8mm. I wanted the rod to be a tight push fit into the lever cap through hole.
this stage took a bit of time to get right as the fit had to be perfect. To tight and it wont go on, too lose and there will be too much play in the lever cap.



I then machined the other end of the rod to 10.3mm and put a 2mm bevel on the outside.




And here is the finished brass pivot rod. The 10.3mm end will get hammered into a corresponding 10mm hole in the plane body to fix it in place.



Next I drilled a 10.7mm hole through the aluminium and set up a 12mm tap in the pillar drill.
I started the thread using the pillar drill to ensure it was cutting square.



Then finished off the thread by hand.



And here is the finished lever cap, thumb screw and pivot rod. I still have to sand them to finishing grit and polish but that will come later.

Thankfully the pivot rod was a perfect fit onto the lever cap, it was worth taking the extra time getting this right.



I'm pleased with how the lever cap turned out. Like I mentioned earlier I may still have to shorten it's length slightly but I can do that once the pivot rod is fixed to the plane and I've got a measurement to go to.



That's another few evenings down. Time really is running away with this project but I'm still really enjoying it.

 

[famas]

In your first post you said you'd never done any metal work!?
You must be a natural then, it's looking fantastic, I can't wait to see what the final result is!

Thank you, nor can I!

Indeed this is my first metal work project of this level.

I've done some basic metal work over the years. Not that I'd even call it real metal work, resizing bolts, filing escutcheons etc. Very basic stuff.
I've also only used the engineering lathe a few times prior to this, again for basic machining of aluminium tube.

I've done nothing on the same level and detail as this plane, I never in a million years expected it to come out as well as it is, not for a first attempt.

A lot of the hand skills are transferable from wood to metal so that's helped.
I am taking my time with it though and trying not to rush at any stage, while there are tedious parts I'm really enjoying it, makes a nice change from wood.

The late evening's aren't going down to well with the Mrs though!

 

[famas]

With the lever cap made I can drill the holes for the pivot rod.

I marked out and drilled an 8mm hole through the body of the plane.



I test fitted the steel rod and could see that the front part of the infill needs reducing so as not to obstruct the throat of the plane.



Next I counter sunk the 8mm hole on the right hand side of the plane and enlarged the left hand hole to 10mm



I then marked out and reduced the front infill using a block plane, approaching from both sides to avoid break out.
Maple is a beautiful wood to work.



With that done I could drill the three remaining holes needed to secure the front infill in place and the rear infill plus tote.
I marked out the holes and drilled them on the pillar drill.



I'll use 4mm brass rod for the front infill and rear of the tote then 6mm brass rod for the front of the tote.



Here is the front infill and rod test fitted.



And the two rear rods test fitted.



I drilled the two rear holes with the maple infill fitted but with out the tote in place. Once the holes where drilled I then inserted the tote and marked the holes, I then offset the holes very slightly so when the rods are finally fitted they draw the tote downwards tightly onto the sole of the plane. It's the same principle as wooden draw boring.
Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of this.

Next I marked out the taper on the edges of the plane body. I used a vernier gauge and blue marker to help show the lines.



The taper is 2mm onto the edge and 5mm onto the face. Here are the curves marked out.



I initially filed with a course file to remove the majority of the waste, being very careful not to file past my lines.
The curves where particularly tricky to file.



I then went back over the taper draw filing with a finer file.



I used a combination of needle files for the curves.



After both sides where done I gave them a light sanding



Another long stage, this part took a good few evenings to complete.
The initial waste removal is fairly straight forward but fine finishing takes a lot of time and patience. Cutting down to the scribe line and getting sharp corner transitions was very difficult.
I'm pretty happy with the finished taper, it really finishes off the sides nicely.

 

[famas]

Thanks for the comments chaps, hopefully update more later this evening.

 

[famas]

It's been quite the journey so far, from a few sketches on a piece of paper.



To what's in front of me now. Hard to believe there is over 3 months work in this little lot.



The finish line is in sight now.

With all the parts ready I can start to assemble the plane, no going back after this stage!

I start with the front maple infill.
I mixed up some Araldite in the plane body then inserted the infill



I add a little more Araldite to the pin and secured it in place.
Next I did the same for the rear infill and tote.



I hammered in the rear 4mm and 6mm rods to secure the tote in place.



Wonder wipes did an excellent job of cleaning up any surplus glue that squeezed out.



Once the Araldite had cured I cut off the surplus brass rod and filed it flush with the body of the plane.
I then inserted the brass lever cap pivot pin. The hole for the head of the pin is 10mm and I made the head of the brass pin 10.3mm so it was a very tight fit.




To secure the pivot pin further I used a pencil torch to heat the head of the pin



Then flowed soft solder into the counter sink.



I did this on both sides of the plane and on the 6mm pin securing the tote.

Once the solder had cooled I filed away the surplus flush with the plane body.



I then spent the next 3 years flattening the sole of the plane, did I say years? I meant days but it felt like years!
I fixed sand paper to the bed of our planer and worked the plane back and forth until it was flat.
The only part of the project I've not enjoyed, it was bloody hard work!



As if that wasn't enough, after that I flattened the blade and ground the final bevel.
I then sanded the blade with fine paper to remove any deep scratches left over from the hardening process.
The blade seemed to grind well so hopefully it will hold its edge.



Finally I sharpened and honed the blade, I use Autosol and a leather strop to get it razor sharp.



And that was me done, my arms, back and legs where shot, I needed a sit down.

 

[famas]

Thanks for the kind comments guys

Now the majority of the work is done on the body of the plane I can start to final finish each part.

I started with the lever cap.
I used wet and dry paper starting at 800 grit and sanding up through the grades to 2000 grit.



Once I was happy with the sanding I used Autosol metal polish and a buffing wheel to polish the lever cap to a shine.



Tedious work is sanding, Always moving the paper in the same direction to avoid cross scoring, gets tricky when there are curves.
Finishing each part of the plane is going to be a long process, there where a good few hours in the lever cap alone.

With the lever cap done the plane is finally ready to take its first shaving.

I fitted the blade and screwed down the lever cap, adjusted the depth of cut and pushed through a piece of Tulip wood.
A shaving was instantly produced but I could see as the plane travelled along the shaving was not clearing the mouth.

A little adjustment was needed with a file, fortunately I could just get a file in between the pivot pin.

The smallest amount needed to be removed and a few passes with the file was sufficient.



I loaded in the blade and had another try.



A beautifully fine shaving was produced and ejected from the mouth perfectly.
The finish left on the wood was immaculate and required no further sanding.



Tulip wood planes nicely, I'm yet to try the plane on some harder wild grain timber but for an initial run I'm very happy.

I noticed that when tightening down the lever cap there was a little lateral movement in it which I wasn't happy with.
To combat this I decided to add two Allen bolts on the side of the cap.

I marked out and drilled the larger hole for the head of the bolt then drilled the smaller hole for the thread.



Next I tapped the hole



And inserted the bolt. I used a little ptfe tape to help hold the bolt in position.



Then wound it in so the head of the bolt was just protruding out of the hole.



I repeated the process for the other side.



The heads of the bolts fit firmly against the insides of the body when the lever cap is inserted which has eliminated the lateral movement as I had hoped.

Next up is sanding, lots and lots of sanding...

 

[famas]

Massive relief for sure.

I was fairly confident that it would at least work but I was unsure of just how well it would work.

Single iron planes can be a bit finicky to set up well and they mostly rely on a very tight mouth opening to control tear out when the blade is cutting.
If the mouth is too large they just tear the grain up and constantly jam.

The mouth on my plane isn't as tight as it could be as I cut it from one whole piece of steel meaning the mouth opening had to be at least the thickness of a file.

To achieve a very tight mouth the sole needs to be cut in two pieces allowing the bedding angle to be filed on one piece and the other to be fixed tightly to it.

English mitre planes are a good example of this as they have a low bedding angle of around 18 degrees and a fine mouth opening, some as little as half a millimeter.

Having a wider mouth on a double iron plane isn't so much of an issue because the cap iron (chip breaker) controls tear out.

The reason my plane seems to be working well is because I extended the lever cap close to the tip of the blade and it's acting like a chip breaker too.
I've never seen a lever cap act as a chip breaker on another plane before and maybe there's a good reason why not, but so far so good.

I also said I would have liked to make the lever cap out of brass but thinking about it now it would have been better in a harder metal like tool steel or even stainless steel.
I dread to think how much work it would have been to make it out of stainless steel though!

 

[famas]

Thanks for the comment Mark.

The blade seems to be holding its edge well. I've not used the plane for a long period yet so further tests will tell.

I'm still tempted to get hold of a piece of 6mm tool steel and make another blade. My current 4mm blade is twice the thickness of a commercial plane blade but a 6mm blade would be even nicer.

 

[famas]

With the plane now working I can start to final finish the body.

I sand the maple infills, tote, front knob and edges of the brass sides up to 500 grit. Another slow and painstaking process.



I then use fine line and masking tape to cover any part I don't want to be lacquered.



I give the plane 3 coats of polyurethane lacquer, not a traditional finish but I like its feel and durability.



After the 3rd coat I cut down with 1000 grit wet and dry paper to smooth out any roughness and key the lacquer



I then apply another 3 coats. The lacquer really brings out the natural beauty of the wood.



I'm going for a satin finish so once the lacquer had dried over night I cut back with 2000 grit wet and dry paper then use 0000 wire wool and soft paste wax to finish.



With the wooden parts finished I started on the brass sides.

I want a brushed look to the brass, I sand them with wet and dry paper up to 800 grit.
I use the bed of the planer again for it's flatness.
When trying to achieve a brushed look its critical to sand in perfectly straight lines. Any deviation results in squiggly lines which you then have to sand out.



The sanding leaves the brass looking quite dull so I used Brasso to add a little shine back to it.



Just about right.



With that the body of the plane is almost done. I've still to fix the front knob in place but I've decided to add an extra collar of brass under the aluminium just to give it a little more contrast from the wood.

Next I return to the blade.

From the beginning of the project I wanted to add a makers mark to the plane which is normally placed onto the blade.
I researched a few methods of doing this and after weighing up the pros and cons decided electroetching might work out the best.

Again this is something completely new to me and I was uncertain if it was even going to work how I wanted it to, or if I could even achieve it.

I started by designing a mark in Photoshop. My initials and my daughters name.



I'm fortunate to have a friend with his own laser cutter. Its not powerful enough to etch steel but can cut a perfect stencil.

I'm using black vinyl wrap for the stencil and after a few tries and creating a small fire inside his machine we get the settings dialed in for a perfect cut. (He wasn't happy about the fire!)



Unsure of how many attempts it would take me I asked him to cut me a few to practise with.



I cut one of the stencils out and stuck it to an off cut of steel.
Using an old 12 volt battery charger I connect the positive wire to the steel and the negative to a cotton bud that had been dipped in a salt water solution.

I then moved the cotton bud around the stencil holding it in place for 5-10 seconds before moving on to a new part. Changing the cotton bud regularly as it starts to blacken and burn.
after 15 minutes or so I removed the stencil.



I ran my finger over the mark and disappointingly it had not etched at all but only left a burn mark through the stencil that was now rubbing away with my finger.
I'd done something wrong and my first guess was connecting the positive and negative incorrectly.

So after changing them over and another 15 minutes later I removed the stencil and to my surprise it had worked, and work far better than I was anticipating!



It was time to try it on the real thing.

Good placement of the stencil was important. After a few attempts I was happy with it.



I stuck the stencil to some masking tape and carefully removed the backing.



The masking tape helps to place the stencil and once stuck down is removed. I then masked out around the stencil to prevent any salt water etching where I didn't want it to.



I spent a longer time etching the blade as I knew the steel was harder than my test piece and I wanted a deep etch. It took around 35-40 minutes



Removing the stencil the etch is looking good so far, there is a little water bleed through in parts.



With the stencil removed you can see the etch is darkened by the burnt salt water and cotton bud.
I used fine wet and dry paper to clean it up and remove the water marks.



I then used a tooth brush and some Autosol to clean the burn marks out of the etch. Once I was happy I gave the blade a quick polish too.



I'm absolutely delighted with the results, I never expected it to come out so well.



While I'm sure the mark isn't to every ones taste it means something to me and I'm really happy with it.



It's also another process I've learnt through the making of this plane which I'd never know about in my day to day work.

The plane really is starting to take shape now, there isn't long to go.

 

[famas]

Cheers guys

I tried etching a logo on a knife I made but it barely left a mark on the steel. I'm guessing the 7.5v RC car battery charger I was using wasn't man enough.

7.2 should be enough to etch, it will just be slower. I think the amperage makes a difference too, think my charger was 2A.
If it didn't work at all it could be the positive and negative where the wrong way round like I had them initially.
I read vinegar can make a deeper etch instead of salt water too.

Your etching looks very professional. I think I would have been tempted to leave the burn marks in the etch channels

Thank you, I was pleasantly surprised too

I did initially like the contrast too. The burn marks would eventually wear away but you can spray paint over the etch then sand away the surplus paint which leaves the etch coloured, this would be a more durable way of doing it.

I'm happy with how it looks at the moment. When the blade is fitted to the plane it's a nice feature but doesn't immediately jump out at you, which I like.