Making Brass Planes
with Ken Altman
Sat. March 3rd, 9am – 4pm
Level: All Levels
Cost: $150
Materials: $TBD
You don’t need a machine shop to create beautiful and functional brass hand planes! Basic skills are all that is required for building one of these gems. Using simple hand tools, a propane torch, and a drill press, make planes like the ones used in the musical instrument trade. These scraping planes work and look great. You can also design planes fitted to your own special requirements in the shop.
Learn how to lay out your pattern and saw the brass stock. You’ll clean up the brass before soldering with careful sanding and shaping of the plane bed and side walls. Get practice soldering brass to create a strong plane body. You’ll also learn the basics of hardening and tempering tool steel as you make the steel blade for your plane. By the end of class, each student should have at least one finished plane to take home. But you’ll leave with the knowledge for building many more.
