Make Hand Planes for Guitar Making

Make Hand Planes - An Instructional DVD I learned how to make hand planes at the College of the Redwoods Fine Woodworking Program under the tutelage of James Krenov. That experience consequently changed my life. The first thing required of every student was to make a hand plane. Since then I have made many hand planes for many different purposes.

In this video you will learn to make hand planes that can be used for your guitar building projects. It is not a difficult project. Be warned however, once you learn to make a hand plane you may never buy one again..

As a result of learning to make a bench plane and a curved bottom plane you will be able to make any type of plane for just about any purpose. All planes are built the same way. Only the blade size, shape,  plane dimensions are different. For example, a medium length  joiner plane for plate joining  is made exactly the same way a bench plane is made. It just needs to be a bit longer. A joiner plane would be from 3 to 6 inches longer than the bench plane.

Curved bottom planes use a curved blade. The bottom of the plane is curved to match the curve of the blade. The bottom is typically curved from side to side, however the compass plane demonstrated in the video is curved from side to side and from front to back. This plane is used to dish out the work boards used in guitar building,

Making a hand plane is an easy project regardless of your skill level. This is a great introductory project if you have no little or no woodworking experience which will reu. You can make both planes in a weekend.

Making Hand Planes - Video Preview

Learn to Make a Bench Plane and a Compass Plane

In this video viewers will learn to make a general purpose bench plane and a curved bottom plane known as a compass plane. The bench plane can be used for just about everything you need a general purpose hand plane for in guitar building. The bench plane excels at thicknessing, joinery and surface preparation. The compass plane is used to create the dished work boards used to make guitars. These planes can be used to create any work boards all types of acoustic guitars.

A Minimum Amount of Equipment Required

Aband saw, a drill press, a router and a few hand tools are all that is needed . This is an easy project and can be completed in a weekend.

Plans Included on the Disc

Full sized plans for both planes are included on the disc as PDF files. View the plans on your computer or print then out full size on 11″ x 17″ paper with an appropriate size printer.

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