On Mon, 21 Mar 2005 20:42:12 -0600, Australopithecus scobis
wrote:

On Mon, 21 Mar 2005 20:14:52 -0500, Steve wrote:

Would the brass and Rock Maple have enough friction between the
two to create enough tension to hold the irons? By Using brass rod,
your only machining one surface that must be perfectly flat.

My planes so far haven't used pins; I've been cutting out the mortises.
That said, I've been thinking about a pin-style. Wouldn't brass be too
soft? I've had brass rod bend when I used it in a cam clamp. Even mild
steel would be stiffer. (True, brass would be prettier.)

The Krenov style plane plans I've seen have the triangular cross piece
mounted loosely. Sure, you have to make the face perfectly flat, but it's
supposed to pivot on its round tenons to fit the wedge.

My first plane used the triangular cross pin mounted using a tenon in
each cheek. It looks nice, but getting full pressure across the pin
and wede can be a more of a trial and error deal when making the
wedge. You can see where the pressure comes from when making the
wedge. I still have trouble with the irons wanting to move (very small
amount, only noticable when planing for some time) and feel that there
might be a better way around this.

As far as the brass bending. I'm thinking 5/16" solid brass between
the cheeks (2" span) ... it'll take quite a load to bend.

Thanks for the response.

Steve