Official Luthiers Forum!

Happy New Year everyone. I just posted a little video on how I make my mini-planes. It provides a pretty good idea on how to make one for yourself if you like. Enjoy!

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http://www.booneguitars.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stephen-Boone-guitar-builder/488208541257210

Thanks for the video Stephen. My brother gave me one of your planes for Christmas and it is just a wonderful tool. I should be ready to put it to use by the end of the week.

It is really cool to see how you go about making them. I’ll send him a link to this video so he can see what he sprung for. Usually no one has any idea what I’m really asking for with the guitar tools.

Thanks,

John

Nice video! Thanks for making it and posting it.

Charlton

These are great little tools. I have used mine for more things than I ever thought I would. Thanks for doing these for us.

Mark

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Wisdom is justified by her children

Very cool! Mine is one of my favorite tools. Worth far more than its price tag. And batch producing them like that is a great efficiency compared to each of us making our own, so many thanks for being the one to do it

Nice presentation!

For anyone newbie to heat treating, it is generally frowned on to quench steel in oil that is within a plastic container. In this case the metal pieces are very small. With larger pieces the oil regularly catches on file which can melt the contained, and napalm your surroundings.

Thank you for all the nice replies everyone. I agree about the plastic bucket and would use something else if I were doing larger items. The fire issue is a non factor with my process and the small size of my blade blanks.

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http://www.booneguitars.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stephen-Boone-guitar-builder/488208541257210

Cool video. Thanks for taking the time to make it. Love your planes. The two I have are some of my most used tools.

Mike

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Mike Lindstrom

Got one last year. WELL worth the price.

Hey Stephen,

Today the plane you sent arrived. Thanks a lot. That is a small piece of art!
And your great video will make me give it a try next weekend. A japanese blade 12mm wide is already on its way to my doorstep.

Thanks again everyone!

Christoph, You post gave me the idea of selling just the blades for folks who want to make their own mini-plane. I will add a paypal button to the website soon. Have fun making your plane and if you have any questions please ask away.

_________________
http://www.booneguitars.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stephen-Boone-guitar-builder/488208541257210

Stephen,
It is a great idea to just sell the blades. I bought that japanese blade from THE most renowned supplier of fine tools in Germany. It was Euro 25.00 or USD 32.50. So the blade wasn't cheap. But what I got was crooked and needed 2 hours of attention.
Your blades on the other hand are highest quality, very well sharpened and a joy to work with. The blades alone are worth the price of your planes!

Way to go!

Nice video and a great looking plane. Only problem is now it has me thinking about getting a forge

I purchased the forge on ebay for a couple hundred bucks. If you are thinking of making your own edge tools it is a bargain. It is up to temperature in about five minutes and takes much less propane to operate than I thought it would. The construction is quite simple and you could make your own forge but you will have to source the insulation and the special brick inside to have it like mine. I make a lot of plane irons, knives, and chisels with mine. O1 tool steel is pretty cheap and easy to work with.

_________________
http://www.booneguitars.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stephen-Boone-guitar-builder/488208541257210

Thank you so much for showing us your process! I now have no excuse to buy an Ibex. I'll back up the suggestion to sell your irons as well.

Thank you very much Ian.

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http://www.booneguitars.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stephen-Boone-guitar-builder/488208541257210

Hey Brother, could you re-up the vid or post the link of where I can check it out? I'm just getting a big black box on your post... I'd love to check out your vid!

Thanks,

Aaron

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"Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never--in nothing, great or small, large or petty--never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy." - Winston Churchill

Nevermind, got it! My son turned off all the embedded video options...

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"Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never--in nothing, great or small, large or petty--never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy." - Winston Churchill

great vid. i want to find some 01 tool steel now. ..
so i was wondering, is the forge absolutely necessary for the hardening and tempering? could a blowtorch work? if not, would you be willing to sell any rough blades that have only been tempered...? i have a nice water cooled grinder, and to me making the blade would be the fun part !

Making the blade is indeed the fun part but it is a lot of grinding for sure. Yes, any heat source capable of reaching 1450-1500 degrees and holding that temp for a few minutes of soak is fine. I made my first few with oxy-acetylene. It was more expensive to use and it is easy to make the steel too hot but with slow heat application it is no problem. I like to quench when the color of the steel is just starting to turn from red to orange.

Good Luck!

_________________
http://www.booneguitars.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stephen-Boone-guitar-builder/488208541257210

And your website is?

Hello Pete,

www.booneguitars.com

_________________
http://www.booneguitars.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stephen-Boone-guitar-builder/488208541257210

Nice video! What kind of tool steel (AMS ?) do you use for your blades? Also, how many days does it take to make a batch of planes from start to finish?

I still love both my Boone planes. The two bevels are good additions. I may have to upgrade!

Mike

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Mike Lindstrom

Thank you Mike!

Dean,

I use o-1 tool steel for my blades. It takes a couple of days to make a batch.

_________________
http://www.booneguitars.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stephen-Boone-guitar-builder/488208541257210