We are pleased to now offer tapered plane irons to those who wish to build a wooden bench plane. Input for these iron designs came from two contemporary plane makers: Steve Voigt of Voigt Planes, and Darryl Gent, who is on Instagram. These two makers shared their experience and insights about irons, and, in particular, double iron plane making.
These irons are made of O-1 tool steel, and have the same 1/2° taper as the molding plane irons we use in molding planes. We start with 3/16″ thick stock for all sizes of these irons, with the finished thickness at the cutting edge slightly less than that. The tang end is approximately 1/8″ thick, depending on which size, as they all have different lengths.
There is the option of a cap iron slot for those wishing to make a double ironed plane. Slots are all 7/16″ with with a hole at the tang end that is 3/4″ in diameter for the cap screw head to slip through. Overall slot length is 3 1/4″.
Cap irons are available for these irons here.
These irons have been heat treated to a hardness of 60-62 Rc, and given a cryogenic treatment (-300° F). The cryogenic treatment is meant to reduce internal stresses and improve the wear resistance of the cutting edge.
Currently we are offering three sizes as follows:
- Smoothing plane, 1 3/4″ wide by 7″ long.
- Jack plane, 2″ wide by 7 1/4″ long.
- Jointer Plane, 2 1/2″ wide by 8 1/8″ long.
These irons have not been flattened or sharpened. They do have a 30° bevel, and the heat treat process was professionally done by a vendor who specializes in blades.
Warping has been in our experience minimal. The cost of the material and the manufacturing processes of these irons is fairly high, and in an effort to offer them as reasonably priced as possible, we chose to not do any final sharpening. Also, the customer may want a camber or a radius on their iron, so it makes sense to leave them in this state.
Prices range from $64 for a smoothing iron with no slot to $79 for the jointer iron with a slot.
9 Responses
hi im looking for a 21/8″ iron for a norris plane would you have such an animal thanks john
Please contact us via email. We have the ability to make custom plane irons.
Are these irons compatible with the Bailey cap irons?
These irons are tapered and are designed for use in wooden hand planes. For Bailey planes I recommend sourcing irons from Hock Tools (now part of Lee Valley) or Lake Erie Toolworks.
Do these blades and associated cap irons work with wood bodied planes? I recently purchased a wooden plane with a 2 1/2 inch mouth but it’s missing the blade and cap irons.
These irons are designed to work in wood bodied planes. However, due to differences in other manufacturers blades, adjustments to the wedge may be necessary for a proper fit.
Daniel,
What is the thickness of the iron at the top and near the cutting edge?
In other words, How much taper?
THX
Irons are 3/16″ at the cutting edge and about 1/8″ at the tang end. Taper is 1/2 of a degree.
How cool is this! Finally someone offering tapered irons with a cap iron slot. I’ve been wanting to make a traditional beech wooden hand plane but have always been intimidated of making and heat treating a blade! And I’ve not really been interested in a single iron plane. Thank you!