Wooden Scrub Plane From Scrap

What woodworker doesn't have room for a scrub plane? Fantastic for quickly hogging off wood, whether flattening a wonky board, thicknessing some stock, or starting deep chamfers.

Well, here's how I made mine, along with a video and my SketchUp plans that I worked from.

You'll need:

• An iron. About 1" (25mm) wide, and 1/8" (3mm) thick. These can be bought ready from Hock Tools and other blade suppliers, or you could repurpose something as I did (see later).
• Steel rod. About 1/4" (6mm) diameter, and 2" (50mm) long. This is for the bridge pin.
• Optional Brass half round. About 1" (25mm) diameter, and 1 1/2" (38mm) long. For a flying bridge.
• Tough Hardwood. Beech or similar are fine. About 1' (300mm) of 2" x 4" (50mm x 100mm) for the plane body, and 5" (125mm) of 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" (38mm x 38mm) for the wedge.
• Optional Tough Hardwood for a dovetailed sole. 1' (300mm) of 2" x 1/2" (50mm x 13mm)
• Tools:
  • Saw(s)
  • Drill, with a bit to match steel rod
  • Chisel(s)
  • Hand plane
  • Rasps and files or sandpaper
  • Optional Metal turning lathe, to safely make the flying bridge
  • Optional Forge or strong heat source (e.g. oxy-acetylene torch) for heat treating diy iron

The main body is made as a three layer lamination, comprising two sides and the central section. The central section consists of two pieces, the toe and the heel of the plane.

The heel also provides the bed for the iron, and this should be cut at about 45°.

If you're starting with one solid piece of wood, rip the sides from the middle, plane the sawn faces flat and smooth ready for gluing, and then cut the middle into the toe and heel sections.

Glue the pieces together, leaving space for the iron and shavings. Mock it up before gluing with the iron, and leave at least 3/16" (4mm) for shaving clearance.

Note: I've included a separate sole for the plane shown here, but you don't need to. The four piece, three layer lamination above is perfectly adequate.

Mark dovetails on one edge of the sole, and then draw diagonals from them across the top of the sole. These should taper slightly, to make assembly easier. Then mark in the dovetails on the opposite edge of the sole, from the lines on the top. This defines the material to remove to make the dovetail slots.

Saw the sides of all the slots, and then chop/pare out the waste.

Use the prepared sole to help mark in the matching dovetails on the base of the plane body, and remove the waste.

The sole and plane body should now slide together. Make any adjustments until this is the case.

Apply some glue and assemble.

Flush off the main body and sole with a plane.

Although the throat of the plane was made in the laminated body, the fitted sole will need the throat to be continued through to produce a mouth. It is simply chopped and pared through carefully from both sides.

Cut a wedge of about 7° to 8°, with an ample head on it, and about 1/8" (3mm) thick at the narrow end.

A contrasting wood can look good, but don't worry too much about that as it's easy to change in the future.

Bore a hole through both sides of the body to hold the bridge pin, which should be trimmed to the width of the glued-up body.

Optional: To make a flying bridge, bore the brass half round to fit onto the bridge pin, and trim it's length to fit between the plane sides. For safety and accuracy, I strongly suggest this is done in a metal lathe.

Optional: To hide the bridge pin on the outside, cut it slightly shorter and fit wooden plugs into the body, as I've done. (The photo shows me flush cutting the plugs after the glue has dried.)

Fit the bridge pin, with flying bridge if used, and secure with a drop of super-glue from the outside of the plane.

If you chose to make your own iron, then you'll need to harden it so it remains sharp longer.

I made my iron from an old tyre iron, giving it a radiused cutting edge with a bevel angle of about 33°.

My heat treatment was aimed just at the last inch (25mm), and to the side opposite the bevel. The thought being that that is the only bit that cuts and I'm unlikely to wear though an inch in my lifetime. The added advantage being that I could leave that surface very hard, knowing that the softer remainder of the blade would prevent it cracking.

So, I heated the back of the iron towards the edge until it no longer attracted a magnet, and quenched it in oil for a few minutes before leaving to cool completely.

Having shaped it before hardening, it took very little time to hone and strop the edge.

At this point the plane is full of sharp corners and edges, and not comfortable to use.

Using rasps, files, and/or sandpaper, all the sharp edges and corners are eased, and I created comfy hand holds that fit my hands precisely. I kept trying the plane and adjusting the shape until it was just right for me.

For protection, the plane is finished with a few coats of boiled linseed oil.

Thanks for reading my Instructable, I hope I've inspired you to make one.