On Mon, 24 Apr 2006 08:01:47 -0400, alexy wrote:

AS far as I know, both old and new infills are made from steel plate,
with sides (usually of thinner plate) dovetailed to the base.

I've got cast iron, ductile iron, cast bronze, steel plate and a mixture
of steel and brass plate. If you buy a new kit for one, most are cast
bronze. Most of the low-volume bijou makers today are dovetailing. For
thumb planes, chariots and the like, then cast bronze has always been
the common method.

For narrow shoulder planes, corian makes a nice infill (but a poor
wedge, as it's inelastic)

If you make your own by dovetailing, go for the steel and brass route.
It's easier to dovetail, easier to file the dovetail gap flush, and you
can still see the join afterwards. It must be really galing to go to the
trouble of dovetailing steel into steel, working hard to get an invisble
join, then having something where only a plane duffer can appreciate the
quality!