instead of opening by chisel i split the block of wood in 3 distict parts then i gued it together, the central part i beveled on my miter saw with the right angle ( the front and the rear. then i glued two fine strips with the thinknes of the blade pre-opened. It saves a lot of time using the chisel and the final result is the same. Once we laminate the wood it wont cause to much stress wile insert the blade. It also alows you to determinate the right angle you wish . Kinda tricky but usefull. I made 3 of them about 6 years ago and not even a single crack. the larger one i used in middle Bubinga wood and the side strips white oak. The result was good. :)
Thanks for your reply! I see more and more people experimenting with laminated blocks, especially on the very big planes; probably a combination of the difficulty of getting quality blocks of that size and an attempt to reduce dimensional movement of big pieces of wood. Having seen many glued up planes fail over time I worry about the longevity of the lamination. As well, most glues will creep under pressure (the wedge of the blade), especially PVA glues, so these are things to consider so it may take a decade or more to see how this method works in the long run. Also, all quality Japanese blades are hand-forged so there are slight variations blade-to-blade and within a blade itself; and the bed side of the blade is concave along its length, so the blade must still be pared to a custom fit. The blade is wedge fit to the dai itself so this is also a custom cut. It may come down to how one likes to work; while chiseling the opening for the blade is somewhat physically demanding, all other operations (i.e. the fitting) are the same so you may be saving some time only on this operation. The advantage of chiseling from a solid block for me is, especially on the small planes, is that I can use the plane the same day; with a glued up plane I would want it to set for at least a week to make sure the glue is fully set and the pieces won't creep when the plane is set under pressure.
use marking knife to make grooves for the chisel to snap in, to not to fck up your lines while shaking around with the chisel. can also predrill with a small drillbit from the mouth side, will make it easyer to remove the material and also give you a guide from the top. we are not in 1823, most of the material can be carefully drilled out from the top also, will save you time and breath. and if you dont want to use a vice to keep your workpiece save and in place, why dont you add a strip left and right of it to your plywood, just to stop it from wiggling around like a dogs tail. think about that, it might save you some time on your way to being a shokunin.
Thanks for your input. Generally, the video is as I was shown how to cut the dai 35 years ago by a Japanese apprentice cabinetmaker and his teacher. I'm not exactly clear why my teacher did not use a striking knife or scribe, but when I was being taught and started to layout with a scribe I was roundly chastised for using it and was told to use a pencil. I was there to learn, so I just accepted their several hundred years of practice. Drilling out waste can be an effective way to remove waste, though personally I find it a distraction and often not faster in the long run than wasting it with a chisel, but each to their own on that. It's bad practice to hammer down, especially vigorously, on things held in a vice as it will eventually work the vice loose from its fasteners. Besides, the vice has some bounce, especially when compared to working on the benchtop over a leg. The advantage to not fixing the dai between stops is that when you have to chisel the other ramp you don't have to chisel cross arm or unclamp it and reclamp it repeatedly. My work set-up however, could be improved: I'm working against a narrow bench dog which has some bounce and is too narrow. A solid stop as wide or wider than the dai would pretty much eliminate the wiggling when the chisel strike is out of line with the stop.
Sería genial un video sobre el mango del genno
instead of opening by chisel i split the block of wood in 3 distict parts then i gued it together, the central part i beveled on my miter saw with the right angle ( the front and the rear. then i glued two fine strips with the thinknes of the blade pre-opened. It saves a lot of time using the chisel and the final result is the same. Once we laminate the wood it wont cause to much stress wile insert the blade. It also alows you to determinate the right angle you wish . Kinda tricky but usefull. I made 3 of them about 6 years ago and not even a single crack. the larger one i used in middle Bubinga wood and the side strips white oak. The result was good. :)
Thanks for your reply! I see more and more people experimenting with laminated blocks, especially on the very big planes; probably a combination of the difficulty of getting quality blocks of that size and an attempt to reduce dimensional movement of big pieces of wood. Having seen many glued up planes fail over time I worry about the longevity of the lamination. As well, most glues will creep under pressure (the wedge of the blade), especially PVA glues, so these are things to consider so it may take a decade or more to see how this method works in the long run. Also, all quality Japanese blades are hand-forged so there are slight variations blade-to-blade and within a blade itself; and the bed side of the blade is concave along its length, so the blade must still be pared to a custom fit. The blade is wedge fit to the dai itself so this is also a custom cut. It may come down to how one likes to work; while chiseling the opening for the blade is somewhat physically demanding, all other operations (i.e. the fitting) are the same so you may be saving some time only on this operation. The advantage of chiseling from a solid block for me is, especially on the small planes, is that I can use the plane the same day; with a glued up plane I would want it to set for at least a week to make sure the glue is fully set and the pieces won't creep when the plane is set under pressure.
use marking knife to make grooves for the chisel to snap in, to not to fck up your lines while shaking around with the chisel. can also predrill with a small drillbit from the mouth side, will make it easyer to remove the material and also give you a guide from the top. we are not in 1823, most of the material can be carefully drilled out from the top also, will save you time and breath. and if you dont want to use a vice to keep your workpiece save and in place, why dont you add a strip left and right of it to your plywood, just to stop it from wiggling around like a dogs tail. think about that, it might save you some time on your way to being a shokunin.
Thanks for your input.
Generally, the video is as I was shown how to cut the dai 35 years ago by a Japanese apprentice cabinetmaker and his teacher. I'm not exactly clear why my teacher did not use a striking knife or scribe, but when I was being taught and started to layout with a scribe I was roundly chastised for using it and was told to use a pencil. I was there to learn, so I just accepted their several hundred years of practice. Drilling out waste can be an effective way to remove waste, though personally I find it a distraction and often not faster in the long run than wasting it with a chisel, but each to their own on that. It's bad practice to hammer down, especially vigorously, on things held in a vice as it will eventually work the vice loose from its fasteners. Besides, the vice has some bounce, especially when compared to working on the benchtop over a leg. The advantage to not fixing the dai between stops is that when you have to chisel the other ramp you don't have to chisel cross arm or unclamp it and reclamp it repeatedly. My work set-up however, could be improved: I'm working against a narrow bench dog which has some bounce and is too narrow. A solid stop as wide or wider than the dai would pretty much eliminate the wiggling when the chisel strike is out of line with the stop.