Woodworking Tools

The right kind of woodworking tools will make all the difference to your enjoyment of the hobby of making wooden toys and other small woodworking projects.

You can make wooden toys with just a few hand tools. 

Making a Wooden Smoothing Plane

For a long time, I have been thinking about making a wooden smoothing plane. A little while ago, I received the ultimate incentive when my trusty Stanley smoothing plane was knocked off it’s perch and broke on the concrete floor.

A visit to my local hardware store to discover a new one would cost more than $200.00, more than I can afford right now.  So I decided to make a new wooden smoothing plane based on these plans.

Also had a look for woodworking hand planes on eBay.

Wood Hand Plane

So I decided to make a new wooden smoothing plane based on these plans. Not entirely sure who they belong to, but there is a link to hocktools.com if you need to buy the plane iron.

In the illustration, there are 3 types of wood plane:

1. Block Plane
2. Smooth Plane
3. Jointer Plane

I decided on the smooth plane because that is the one I am replacing.

One day, I would like to make the jointer plane as well.

Cross Pin & Wedge Detail

This is another way of making the wedge and cross pin.

To make the cross pin, I would need a plug cutter, something I don't have, so I made one using a 19mm diameter dowel with a hole drilled through for a 9mm dowel, and shaved off a flat area to create the "bread loaf" shape.

This is a photo of the cross pin I made.

How to drill a hole through the long end of a dowel.

Wood Smoothing Plane Click to Enlarge

This is a photo of the wooden smoothing plane I made. Maybe it's not that pretty, but it does work.

Made from bits and pieces.

It was quite a shock when I dropped my Stanley No. 4 hand plane. Small comfort to know that I was not the only one to do this.

Read about how BossyRangs made a new wood body for his.

Workbench

The most important tool in your workshop does not even look like one because it is fact your workbench. If you think about it, it form the very foundation that all your projects are built on.

That is one reason why the right woodworking workbench is so important that many books have been written about them.

My first workbench, if you can call it that, was in fact the Black & Decker Workmate. Still have it today, although don't always use it as a proper workbench, more of a support for things like my home built router support.

When I realised that I really did need a proper workbench, I could not find any plans that were suitable for any number of reasons, so I decided to design my own woodworking workbench. You can download the free plans here.

Shop for Tools on ebay

Sponsored links

Even with the workbench that I made, I still find my Black & Decker Workmate a useful tool. I use it as a workbench, a vice, sometimes a sawhorse. With the orange workbench dogs at different setting, it allows me to hold awkward shapes for routing and sawing.

It's compact design when folded flat allows for compact storage and easy transport.

Power Tools

I recommend the Makita brand of power tools for service and durability. 

Makita Router

This is my old D-handle Makita router circa 1970. May not have all the bells and whistles of the modern tools, but it still powers along, and will do for many years to come.

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