Floats are tools that cut in a similar way as a file in removing wood, but have straight teeth and can be sharpened with a file like a saw. Because the teeth are only on one face of the tool, they will not cut into adjacent surfaces. All float styles come in either a pull cut or push cut version. Our floats are based on designs that had been made by Lie-Nielsen Toolworks, which were in turn based on floats designed by Old Street Tool. Both have been supportive of our efforts to reintroduce these tools.
Floats are often associated with wooden plane making, and while they are an essential tool for that purpose, their uses extend far beyond that. Float excel at trimming work such as sizing tenons (see photo above), trimming dovetail pins, and working inside mortises. (Pull cut recommend for this task as it pulls the shavings out of the mortise.) They also can be used to fair convex surfaces and to shape wood much like a rasp but leaving a smoother finish and cutting faster. They even make a great tool for removing glue squeeze out. The push version can be used as a scraper by lifting the handle slightly and using the first tooth only. Pull cut versions are less aggressive and are better for finer work.
Our floats are similar to the no longer made Lie-Nielsen floats with a couple of differences. First, after initially making them from O-1 tool steel, we have settled on A-2 tool steel instead of S-7 tool steel like the Lie-Nielsen floats. (The reason for the switch to A-2 can be found here.) A-2 is easy to sharpen with a file and leaves a clean cut. The other difference is that the blade on our floats extends the entire length of the handle. This is a more robust design and gives better balance to the tool. Handles are maple held in place with brass rivets.
There are 10 teeth per inch on all floats. Importantly, both the edge floats and side floats taper to a quite narrow tip to ensure they will extent all the way through the mouth of a plane when working from the top of the mortise. The small cheek floats taper to about 3/8″ wide at the tip.
The blades have been hardened professionally to Rc 50-52, giving them good wear resistance while also making them easy to sharpen. While they can be used as is out of the package, we suggest sharpening before use for optimum performance. We recommend a 5 or 6 inch double extra slim taper file, the same type used to sharpen hand saws. These files closely match the shape of the teeth. Sharpening instructions are included with our floats. We also have a blog post showing the sharpening process in detail.
We currently offer these floats:
- 1/8″ edge float. Used to cut the bed and breast surfaces in side escapement planes, and to work abutments and open the mouths of bench planes. Can also be employed in mortise work, primarily on the end grain surfaces. Also works well in narrow slots or for undercutting.
- Side Float. Used to flatten and smooth the sides of plane mortises. This float narrows from 7/8″ wide down to about 1/16″ wide at the tip.
- Small cheek float. Used for sizing wedge mortises when fitting wedges. Also very useful for opening the wear surface and setting the mouth opening of planes. They can find many uses such as fitting tenons and dovetail joints or opening up mortises. The cheek float tapers from about 9/16″ wide down to 5/16″ wide at the tip.
- Large Cheek Float. Used to work the bed and breast of large side escapement planes. Also very handy to open up mortise walls. Tapers from 1″ wide down to about 7/8″ wide at the tip.
- Bed/Tenon Float. Used for flattening the bed and breast surfaces of bench planes. Also excels at sizing tenons and dovetail pins for a perfect fit. Works well smoothing convex curves and rounding over edges. 1″ wide.
All float types come in both push and pull cutting configurations. Push floats can be used more aggressively by tilting the float upward slightly and using the first tooth as a scraper. Pull floats tend to give better control when removing small amounts of wood. Both styles can be helpful to ensure the stock can be approached to cut with the grain. Even with cross grain work, there is a grain direction and one version or the other will cut better.
In the future, we hope to add thicker versions of the edge and bed/tenon floats.
Note: All of our floats are now A-2 tool steel. Some photos show early versions that were made of O-1 steel. The A-2 tends to have a much brighter appearance than the O-1, although it can vary some. We currently have a batch of large cheek and bed/tenon floats that looks more black because the heat treater did not use an atmospheric furnace as specified. This is a cosmetic issue only, and you can be assured that all floats are the correct hardness
