WoodSkills Wooden Hand Plane

A few wood hand planes I use in my day to day woodworking. Although possessing a full set of quality metal-bodied hand planes, I am drawn to these wood-bodied planes for certain work. These particular shop-made planes were made several years ago by following a process described in one of James Krenov early books. The body is laminated together and the iron and cap iron were purchased through Hock Tools. The iron assembly is specifically for use in wooden hand planes such as these. Photos consist of a jack plane and two smoothers. Wood used was straight-grained European Beech with a sole of tropical wood (Goncavo Alves). The first photo shows a more sculpted smoother to introduce ergonomics into the design. Also shown is a tropical wood insert placed ahead of the cutting iron. This is where the sole wears the most and a tight mouth opening is critical.