Balsa wood planer

[James Holford]

Can anyone give me a link to a small wood planer? Went to my 2 hobbyshops shops and both don't have them in Stock nor can they find any online to order.

Thanks in advance

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[Steve_Pollock]

Amazon, balsa supply companies and major hobby distributors all carry the Master Airscrew Razor plane for ~$10 or less.

[James Holford]

Thanks Steve.. going order now!

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[Howard Rush]

You mean plane?  That's the standard term from the manual tool.  Lee Valley has some cool tiny ones. I mostly use their standard size block plane and low-angle block plane.  They also have a nice book that tells how to sharpen the blades.  

[Mark Scarborough]

You mean plane?  That's the standard term from the manual tool.  Lee Valley has some cool tiny ones. I mostly use their standard size block plane and low-angle block plane.  They also have a nice book that tells how to sharpen the blades.  

This was discussed somewhere else recently
I use the Master airscrew one occasionaly, but most often I use a low angle block plane, it fits my hands better...
and the blade sharpness is the key,, ( along with blade angle)

[Dan McEntee]

  I use a small block plane, I guess it's called, that was made by Stanley and is still available, and a couple of cheaper ones from Harbor Freight, that wok just as well. They are only a couple of inches long, and have a real blade in them that can be sharpened. But I have never had to sharpen them, since they are mainly used on balsa. The Mater Airscrew unit is nice but requires their blade. I have one around here some where, but haven't used it much, so no idea of how long the blades will last.
  Type at you later,
    Dan McEntee

[James Holford]

Just ordered the Master Airscrew  and some replacement blades.

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[Phil Krankowski]

While the MA plane is pretty decent, they are not made like the old metal ones, or the heirloom quality ones mentioned.  The plastic is acceptable, but will flex in the hand if you are using a little bit more force like on hard balsa. 

If you are not using the plane constantly, instead only for a couple tasks every now and again, then you will be very happy with it. 

Phil

[Avaiojet]

I still have my all metal X-Acto plane. What a gal!

She's a beauty but unfortunately I use it very little because the projects I take on I use few balsa blocks.

Last time I used it was for the ARGO canopy.

Still in great shap after all these years.

I've seen X-Acto planes on ebay from time to time. Other X-Acto stuff also.

[Ward Van Duzer]

I've been using one that Hunt put me onto years ago. It came from HOBBY LOBBY and used SS Double edge razor blades. No sharpening, no expensive replacements! It was made by Sollingen. It would plane cross grained 1/16th balsa! Don't know if it is still available?

Ward  

[Tim Wescott]

Get one that uses disposable blades, or learn how to sharpen.  Balsa needs a really sharp blade, and the softer it is the sharper the blade it needs so you don't rip fibers out of the wood instead of cutting them.  On top of that, balsa contains silica which dulls blades, so it's a double-whammy on blade life.

And -- there's a lot that you can do by cutting freehand or by having a sanding blocks with a selection of grits handy.  I think that if my shop burned down I'd replace my whittling knife (4" long blade, made with a section of bandsaw blade and a tree branch for a handle) before I replaced my plane.

[Randy Powell]

I use an absolutely ancient Tatone razor plane. Uses double edged razor blades. Works well.

[Norm Furutani]

In this case, Ebay is probably the best and most reasonable source of the old style hobby razor plane. See: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1313.TR2.TRC0.A0.H0.Xrazor+plane.TRS0&_nkw=razor+plane&_sacat=0

For a discussion on which one, Hippocket has a pretty good thread. See: http://www.hippocketaeronautics.com/hpa_forum/index.php?topic=2734.0

Finding the old style blue double edge blades is also a challenge. Haven't had much luck with stainless blades.

Some guys are having good results with homemade planes and that info/plans are also on Hippocket.

NormF

[Motorman]

I moved away from planes and started using a 3" psa sanding disk in my hand drill. Never looked back.


MM

[Brett Buck]

While the MA plane is pretty decent, they are not made like the old metal ones, or the heirloom quality ones mentioned.  The plastic is acceptable, but will flex in the hand if you are using a little bit more force like on hard balsa. 

If you are not using the plane constantly, instead only for a couple tasks every now and again, then you will be very happy with it. 

Phil

   I have used the same Master Airscrew plane since it first came out, extensively, and I am pretty satisfied with how it works. I also have the Combi and Exacto types and I think the MA better.  I had no luck with the type that uses double-edge razor blades - they're just too prone to deflecting and cutting off more than set depth.  I installed a heli-coil to replace the screw thread into plastic, and sanded the bottom and the ramp exactly flat so it hold the blade better. I have been planning to replace the plastic thing that goes on top of the blade with a steel or brass part for about 30 years now, but haven't quite gotten to it.

   Over time I have starting using planes more than sanding, and if you can carve a HLG airfoil most of the way in 3/32 5 lb balsa in a minute or two, I am not sure what more you would want.

     Brett

[Fredvon4]

Being a woodworker long before ever getting to be somewhat competent at building models, my initial thought was James wanted to know about Planers...I have several including very good jointers to deliberate machine 4 square wood

So I will continue my initial response:
No hobby sized planner or wide bed area sander is worth the money unless you are producing a LOT of dimensional lumber for a kit or project

I do Use my full sized wood planers, jointers,  and sanders for Balsa, Maple, Spruce, Basswood machining

This obviously is all for finish and thickness and not FOR SHAPE machining

I have used specialty router bits but the cost is prohibitive

Spoke shaves, and various hand planes are in my kit of tools

There are Many small hand planes that are excellent for shaping tapers and airfoil...some are uber expensive from Violin making and some are too cheap to consider...BUT what Brett said above is pretty good advice...

MY Great Planes razor plane is extraordinarily hard to set for a thin slice shave...so I made a brass blade holder and still have to sneak up on the just enough slice.... but once set, I love this little zero weight plane....

Google small finger planes and you will be amazed at the variety and costs......

[paw080]

I moved away from planes and started using a 3" psa sanding disk in my hand drill. Never looked back.


MM

Hi Motor, If you built and flew competitive Indoor and Outdoor HLG, you would know why using  a

sander to initially shape balsa is a Huge No, No!  But as long as You're happy, Never Mind.


Tony 

[Akihiro Danjo]

Japanese plane may be better than US one to shape balsa.
This is OK Model's, aka Pilot, plane, though I have been using 45 years old 'Italian' bland blue plane.
Aki
http://www.okmodel.co.jp/catalog/accessories/balsa-plane/index.htm

[Sean McEntee]

I started using the Master Airscrew plane when i started building FF DLGs.  Works very well.

MA also makes a good stripper that takes #11 blades.  Good for cutting cap strips among other things

[Dan Berry]

http://www.hippocketaeronautics.com/hpa_forum/index.php?topic=15860.0

Reply #3 has a picture that will solve the problem.

[Steve Helmick]

The Hippocket link to the Jim Jones maple razor plane was interesting. I have one in the shop, and it happens that I was the one who inspired Mr. Jones (who I never met). I was bitching about trying to use my Little Giant (I think) razor plane with the worthless stainless steel double edged blades, and suggested in my club newsletter (Bat Sheet) that a Gem blade (i.e., single edge paint scraper blades from the paint department of Ace Hardware) would be a huge improvement.

A few months later, I got a package in the mail with the Jim Jones razor plane and a dozen or so replacement blades. He had contacted the razor blade company and managed to buy some blades with the doubled-over reinforcing part deleted. If you wanted to remove that yourself, just grind off the edge. Jim mostly made rubber strippers for indoor rubber fliers, and also sold Boron fiber. You wanna buy a full spool of Boron fiber? I offered it to Howard, but he declined. As this was long ago, almost in another Galaxy, I assume that Mr. Jones has passed on. I might be able to find out, but the links posted previously will lead y'all to drawings for two different planes that use the single edge razor blade.  Steve

[Phil Krankowski]

Backless single edge razor blades are still available. 
search:
spineless single edge razor blade
backless single edge razor blade
"spineless" seem to give the best results from google.

Most backs are simply crimped on so laying the blade flat against a stop it is easy to work a fine edge scraper under the spine to loosen and remove it.

Shaving razors cost more than utility razors, but the edge is finer or at least more controlled through production. 

Phil

[Rich Perry]

My Stanley low angle block plane is one of the most used tools in my shop. Makes short work of Leading edge shaping, and does an excellent job.  Never had any luck with small hobby planes.

[Dan McEntee]

http://www.hippocketaeronautics.com/hpa_forum/index.php?topic=15860.0

Reply #3 has a picture that will solve the problem.

   This was a very informative post. I have a Jim Jones balsa stripper from my indoor and outdoor free flight days, but never saw a Jim Jones plane. I recently acquired some stuff from an old friends estate and there was a small, wooden razor plane in that stuff and didn't recognize it. The drawing in the thread link above tells me that is what I  got here. It's a very nice, quality piece and will put a fresh blade in it and try it out.
    I don't remember if it was Jim Jones or someone else at that time, but I bought a whole box of the original blue steel double edge blades from him at about the same time. Seems he was on vacation in England and wondering around some shops near the shipping dock, and found an entire crate of these blue blades, still packed in a cozmoline wrap. The shop owner thought he was crazy when he told him he wanted to buy the ALL! I forget how many boxes were in the crate, and a box had a gross of blades in it I think. They work better in the planes that take double edge blades.
   Type at you later,
    Dan McEntee

[Akihiro Danjo]

I am sorry that this is an off topic post.
For those who are interested in tools, plane and indoor.
This is a special plane for indoor wood that can cut .006" thin. Generally, balsa wood cannot be cut thinner than .006" because the dia of the conducting vessel is .005" or so.
This plane is produced by a famous Japanese indoor modeler, Kihara san.

Aki

[david beazley]

The Japanese know a little bit about wood planes...
http://www.odditycentral.com/events/making-see-through-wood-at-japans-unique-planing-competition.html

[Brett Buck]

I am sorry that this is an off topic post.
For those who are interested in tools, plane and indoor.
This is a special plane for indoor wood that can cut .006" thin. Generally, balsa wood cannot be cut thinner than .006" because the dia of the conducting vessel is .005" or so.
This plane is produced by a famous Japanese indoor modeler, Kihara san.

Aki

  That's interesting, and not off-topic at all. This plane solves the issue I have always found with the razor-blade based types, that is, the blade flexes and digs in. That's most of the problem with the stainless-steel double-edge blades VS the carbon steel "blue" blades.  The modifications I made to the Master Airscrew plane were all intended to reduce the slop in the system so it would no dig in, and the blades themselves are very rigid.

    Brett

[phil c]

I have tried them all.  A double edge razor blade is not really up to cutting balsa.
'Bout 20 years ago I got a David Combi Plane locally.  It came with a backless or spineless single edge blade.  I'm still using the original one with an occasional touch up on a sharpening block.
Mine cost maybe $6, currently they are $20ish dollars.  This is one place-  http://www.foamez.com/david-combi-plane-p-161.html

Couple tips:
Don't try for really deep cuts.  Lay the blade into the plane, slide it forward until it touches.  Then put a bit of pressure on it and tighten the retaining block.  Make sure the blade is square.

Generally cut with the grain, and with the blade angled to the cut.  Trying to cut square to the workpiece tend to draw the into any irregularities in the grain and usually stop it. Angling the plane lets it slice through the wood better.

Phil C

[James Holford]

My master Airscrew came in today but the replacement blades didnt...

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[Frank Imbriaco]

Got a Master Air Screw and  an ancient Tatone.
 Two tips- don't be cheap with blades. Toss 'em as soon as they're dull.
The other - don't plane head-on to your work.
Cock the tool on an angle and you'll obtain better results.(Hunt tip)

[Frank Imbriaco]

Correction : Not a Tatone.  I have a "Little Giant". Just as ancient.
Not as good as the Master Air Screw (which also is less than perfect).

[Tim Wescott]

Hi Motor, If you built and flew competitive Indoor and Outdoor HLG, you would know why using  a

sander to initially shape balsa is a Huge No, No!  But as long as You're happy, Never Mind.


Tony 

Why?  What don't I know?

[Randy Powell]

Ty, mine looks like the one in the upper left on your picture. Has a reversible front piece for different types of shaping, As I say, it's works fine. I've leveled it and flycut the face once and it works with decent precision. People use what they are comfortable with. I've used mine for 30 some years. Even found a source for 1st quality blades for it.

[Motorman]

Hi Motor, If you built and flew competitive Indoor and Outdoor HLG, you would know why using  a
sander to initially shape balsa is a Huge No, No!  But as long as You're happy, Never Mind.
Tony 

Well, a sanding disk is not for extremely delicate work but you can get pretty good with it. I think the trick is to know when to stop and move to hand sanding. Never been a problem on my speed planes . If the job is too small for the disk I can move right to hand sanding so, using a plane or disk is just personal preference in control line IMHO.

MM

[Dan McEntee]

Why?  What don't I know?

    Model Airplane Building 101: Any time you do any kind of cutting on balsa wood, you are creating and releaving stresses. In typical free flight models of any kind, keeping things straight is probably more important that for stunt models. Using a hand plane and carefully removing wood that way before the sanding starts greatly reduces the effects, especially if you use proper sanding techniques and procedures. As a way of illustrating this, the tail surfaces of most indoor gliders can get down to 1/64" wood. No one sells wood that thin any more (I think SIG used to, and maybe Indoor Model Supply) so you have to start with 1/32". This may not sound difficult to most people, but draw an outline of a typical horizontal stab from any glider, then work it down to the finished part dimensions. It takes practice.  For a real challenge, build a "Coot" category 1 indoor hand launched glider, or something similar. It's wings start out as 1/8" balsa sheet, but are carved to an under cambered airfoil that is only about 1/16" at it's thickest point, and the wing flexes to change shape at launch velocity, where it flattens out, and goes back to the airfoil shape for the glide portion of the flight. A real challenge to build, trim and fly.  If a person thinks that they are really a Kracker Jack model builder, but have never participated in any form of free flight, especially indoor, then you owe it to yourself to try even some simple models.
   HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
    Dan McEntee

[john e. holliday]

Ty, mine looks like the one in the upper left on your picture. Has a reversible front piece for different types of shaping, As I say, it's works fine. I've leveled it and flycut the face once and it works with decent precision. People use what they are comfortable with. I've used mine for 30 some years. Even found a source for 1st quality blades for it.

Randy, I have one like that that must 50+ years old and is my go to tool for rough shaping.  Do have to change the blades often depending on the balsa and spruce.  Mine was an ordered off an old TV ad before color TV.  I also have the Master Airscrew with extra blades.  Even have a powered planer that goes through balsa like butter that I got from Towere Hobby.

[Brett Buck]

 That's interesting, and not off-topic at all. This plane solves the issue I have always found with the razor-blade based types, that is, the blade flexes and digs in. That's most of the problem with the stainless-steel double-edge blades VS the carbon steel "blue" blades.  The modifications I made to the Master Airscrew plane were all intended to reduce the slop in the system so it would no dig in, and the blades themselves are very rigid.

   After further study (during my ~18-hour total travel time red-eye flight to visit my parents...), there's another flaw solved by Kihara san's plane is present in almost all of the classic wood planes big and small. It's so obvious I can't believe it hadn't occurred to me before. The base of the plane shouldn't be one flat surface with the blade sticking out. The base of the front half of the plane should move with respect to the blade, and the rear half of the plane should be exactly even with the cutting edge. In the very nice plane from Mr. Kihara, the cutting edge is flush with the back half, and the depth of cut is set by adjusting the front plexiglas part (presumable with shims, although that is not obvious). The other flaw is, once you realize the bit about the front and back half, it means the front/leading base should be *much* longer than the back half. In fact it almost doesn't matter if there even *is* a rear half, aside from the fact that the blade has to be supported somehow.

   It's all obvious because that's how rotary planers are set up. You adjust the cut depth with the in-feed table, moving it up or down as necessary. The out-feed table is set to be even with the top of the cutting blades. The Master Airscrew plane has only a very short "in-feed table" and that and most full size hand planes have the blade nearer the front than the back.

     It is also clear that when making the cut you should put almost all the pressure on the leading base. With a completely flat-bottom hand plane, it almost has to cut a slightly concave curve. Balsa flexes enough that for the most part you probably can't tell the difference. But with hand planes, that's generally what happens. That's actually a bonus in many cases. If you want to glue two boards edge-to-edge, you want it to touch at each end and have a small gap in the middle, so when you go to clamp it, you can pull it together with the clamps and pre-stress it so the ends don't split.

   In one way, this is all rather irritating, because now I am going to have to make my own plane.

     Brett

p.s this series on setting up a jointer illustrates the issue:
http://woodworkerszone.com/wiki/index.php?title=Setting_jointer_outfeed_table

[Mark Scarborough]

  After further study (during my ~18-hour total travel time red-eye flight to visit my parents...), there's another flaw solved by Kihara san's plane is present in almost all of the classic wood planes big and small. It's so obvious I can't believe it hadn't occurred to me before. The base of the plane shouldn't be one flat surface with the blade sticking out. The base of the front half of the plane should move with respect to the blade, and the rear half of the plane should be exactly even with the cutting edge. In the very nice plane from Mr. Kihara, the cutting edge is flush with the back half, and the depth of cut is set by adjusting the front plexiglas part (presumable with shims, although that is not obvious). The other flaw is, once you realize the bit about the front and back half, it means the front/leading base should be *much* longer than the back half. In fact it almost doesn't matter if there even *is* a rear half, aside from the fact that the blade has to be supported somehow.

   It's all obvious because that's how rotary planers are set up. You adjust the cut depth with the in-feed table, moving it up or down as necessary. The out-feed table is set to be even with the top of the cutting blades. The Master Airscrew plane has only a very short "in-feed table" and that and most full size hand planes have the blade nearer the front than the back.

     It is also clear that when making the cut you should put almost all the pressure on the leading base. With a completely flat-bottom hand plane, it almost has to cut a slightly concave curve. Balsa flexes enough that for the most part you probably can't tell the difference. But with hand planes, that's generally what happens. That's actually a bonus in many cases. If you want to glue two boards edge-to-edge, you want it to touch at each end and have a small gap in the middle, so when you go to clamp it, you can pull it together with the clamps and pre-stress it so the ends don't split.

   In one way, this is all rather irritating, because now I am going to have to make my own plane.

     Brett

Hey Brett, while you are all tooled up building yours,, I will even take the prototype 

[Steve Thompson]

I have the Master Airscrew plane and have “modified” it as follows:

I like that it is small and light as that gives better feel to the delicate cut and material being removed (versus a bigger and heavier cast iron plane).  Being light weight, I hold it light handed and have added a piece of adhesive backed sandpaper (about a ¼ inch strip) on the fingertip side.  Good for getting a grip.

I keep the blade clamp screw snug but not tight.  This allows fine adjusting the blade depth and angle with the two screws.  Mine might be an older one, but I had to relieve the plastic blade clamp a little bit under the two blade depth screws.  The screws would come up against the plastic before the blade was down far enough.

I also use a strip of masking tape across the bottom just in front of the blade to fine tune the depth for a quick lighter cut.  Adding tape is the same as raising the blade.

Tape across one side of the front of the plane and blade is good when following  trailing edge sheeting and cutting only the trailing edge cap strip.  Use a light touch and push down on the front of the plane only with an index finger.

I like using the plane for roughing as well as fine scraping of high spots; way less dust than sanding.  I don’t worry much about the bottom of the plane not being flat and true due to tape, etc.  I don’t think a three inch long plane is good for establishing perfect straightness.  A long sanding bar works great for that.

If I were to build a custom plane, I would consider starting with an aluminum sanding bar.  They are readily available, have a good grip that feels familiar and they are lightweight, long, straight, and true.
 
 Just some ideas to consider.

[Brett Buck]

If I were to build a custom plane, I would consider starting with an aluminum sanding bar.  They are readily available, have a good grip that feels familiar and they are lightweight, long, straight, and true.

   That's what most people use to get things straight, although you need to have good technique with that, too. I use the plane mostly for bulk material removal, and for that it doesn't really need to be fixed along the lines I suggested. But, it bothers me that it is designed incorrectly and I can see a way to fix it. In some case, the fact that the cutting tends to curl up thin material right behind the blade leads to the random-depth cuts in wide-area planing (like the rear half of HLF airfoils).

     Brett

[Steve Thompson]

"But, it bothers me that it is designed incorrectly and I can see a way to fix it."

One of the key tenets of engineering!

You might be an engineer if...

Makes me smile.

[Phil Krankowski]

   That's what most people use to get things straight, although you need to have good technique with that, too. I use the plane mostly for bulk material removal, and for that it doesn't really need to be fixed along the lines I suggested. But, it bothers me that it is designed incorrectly and I can see a way to fix it. In some case, the fact that the cutting tends to curl up thin material right behind the blade leads to the random-depth cuts in wide-area planing (like the rear half of HLF airfoils).

     Brett

No it is not "designed incorrectly".  It is designed exactly in the same manner of planes large and small for centuries!  The design is fine. I have 4 antique Stanley and Baily planes, the largest is a jointer about 18 inches long, and it is made of lapped cast iron for a base - dead flat, exactly like the other 3.

OK, there might be room for improvement but added complexity causes more potential difficulty in setup and operation. 

It seems to me that a blade forward designs with a large base and a small infeed plate would offer the best features if the infeed is adjustable (and removable).  The infeed prevents too thick of a cut from being possible.  The large base supports the plane on the already cut material.  Relieving the front and back into a radius will help the plane rest solid on less than regular surfaces. 

For a manual plane 1/16 inch is a rather heavy cut.  For a power plane that same cut is pretty light.  This means having adjustment between infeed and outfeed is much more important.

Maybe have a looksee at rabbet planes, some have the blade all the way forward on them.

Phil

edit:  look at a Stanley #75 which I think has the features I described...  I currently don't have one to be sure of this.

[Brett Buck]

No it is not "designed incorrectly".  It is designed exactly in the same manner of planes large and small for centuries!  The design is fine. I have 4 antique Stanley and Baily planes, the largest is a jointer about 18 inches long, and it is made of lapped cast iron for a base - dead flat, exactly like the other 3.

    I am very well aware of that, but, even with the longest (the jointer) you still end up carving a concave line instead of a straight line as desired. The longer the base and the shallower the cut, the less it does it.

     It's a minor defect, but it starts to matter more on these small planes.

     Brett

[James Holford]

Finally got that wretched plane dialed in to make long beautiful curls and after 2.5 hours of using the plane and sanding... finally got my LE shaped reasonably correct LOL.



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[James Holford]

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[James Holford]

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[Phil Krankowski]

Brett
My Stanley #75 showed up from the 'bay.  The mouth adjusts but the front and back were obviously lapped together, and there is no height adjustment.  I would not hesitate to slip a metal shim in between to raise the front of the plane as an experiment.  The size of the tool is reasonable for model work.  I suspect the iron (blade) can be reversed to hold a razor blade with good results.  I am not in a build currently but will try this when I get to the LE.

Phil

[Howard Rush]

Oo.  A Christmas present from my sister came today.  It's from Lee Valley, so it could be the tiny plane I mentioned to her last year.  I'm not allowed to open it until Sunday.   

[Dan McEntee]

   I've been kind of possessed by this subject since the thread came up! It comes up every now and then, but this time I was in the process of cleaning up my basement and shop and putting tools away so I decided to round up ALL of my small planes. I have the small Stanley like I mentioned before, and a couple of the Harbor Freight look-a-likes that are also quite nice for the money. I found a couple of the Wilco (?) units that take the double edge razor blades. They work pretty good but I have a large supply of the old fashioned blue steel blades to use in them. Through this thread I found out this other wooden unit I have is a Jim Jones and it belonged to an old flying buddy friend who has passed away and I got it out of the estate of his son, who also unfortunately has passed on. I messed around with it a bit and it takes single edge blades with the aluminum back cut off. While was rooting around in my tool box in the garage looking for something else, I ran across a cutting tool I got from somewhere that looks like an industrial letter opener. I think it's for cutting plastic banding material. There were packages of replacement blades with it that had "Solingen, Germany" on them and were double edged. I got to wondering if these were the same blades as the Solingen planers that have been talked about in this thread. They were a bit too wide for the Jones plane but a little work with a Dremel and a cut off wheel took care of that. I installed it in the Jones plane and it works quite nicely. I also ran across a Master Airscrew plane and never really looked at it. I have a spare package of blades for this one also, but tested the Solingen blade in it just for grins, and it fit but couldn't be adjusted. It had a center hole in the right place for the clamping screw but it needed to be elongated to adjust properly. A little work with the Dremel tool again here solved that problem, and with the two adjusting screws that this unit has, you can dial in the cut you want exactly. And you can have the advantage of using the standard or the Solingen blades. But the stock blades are on single edge. I haven't tried single edge razor blades in that one yet. And today the mail man brought a vintage one called The Select Planer, "As Seen On TV!" I remember seeing the commercials for this on TV as a kid. It came with a neat clamping vise that you can mount to a bench or a board that hold a piece while you plane it. It has three uses. One as a regular razor plane, one that can do inside curves, and can have a blade mounted on the end to use it as a scraper also. Made of nice aluminum, it also take double edge blades. And to round it all out, I found two Exacto planes. They wouldn't be too bad but they have such a narrow blade for as wide as the body is. But if that's the only one you got it would do in a pinch. So, I think I have run the range of available mini planes except for a Solingen model if I can find one. That would be just to see if the other blades I have are made for that tool. If so, you guys that have that model can look for blades for another whole different cutting tool. I have been spending some time while I'm waiting to go back to work cleaning up my basement and building room, and finally found my work bench top! I have been wanting to build a Mike Gretz memorial Twister in box top colors and in stock configuration. I got a start on the fuselage and the tail feathers, but had no room to start the wing. Now I can get to it and have a large selection of tools to carve the leading edge and fuselage to proper shape!
   MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!
     Dan McEntee
 PS: HEY Bob Hunt! I owe you a phone call and will get to it some evening last week. I will email you to arrange a time that's good for you.

[Ara Dedekian]

http://www.hippocketaeronautics.com/hpa_forum/index.php?topic=15860.0

Reply #3 has a picture that will solve the problem.

Dan

     Thanks for digging up that old topic on Hippocket. There's some pictures on Reply #38 of my attempt to make a razor plane out of lite-ply scavenged from Clementine orange crates. It was a seat-of-my-pants, failed effort, made not knowing any of the info shown in the Hippocket reply #3. Never got back to fixing it and stayed with my Wil-Kro. Since Brett's analysis of Kihara san's plane, I tried modifying the Wl-Kro with shims and tape to make the in-feed adjustable but just got the shavings jamming under the blade. Gave me a good sense of the angles and spacing necessary if I want to try again.

     All of my start to finish, front row attempt builds are free flight rubber scale so my reliance on razor planers is for shaving 3/16 leading and trailing edges. The old Will-Kro does a great job of that and it seems phil c's surfboard shaping plane is a pretty close replacement. The 'blue blade' type steel blades work the best, as mentioned already, with my supply coming from a bathroom renovation. The manufacturer of my 1950's era medicine cabinet thoughtfully put a slot at the base for disposal of the blades. I now have a motherload of Gillette/Blue Blades too dull for shaving but sharp enough for planing balsa.

Ara