# Another combination plane blade box hack



## rwyoung (Aug 3, 2008)

Well, I have added a #45 combination plane to my #044C plough plane. So now I have another bunch of cutters that need a storage box. They came in their original cardboard & pine box but at some point it looks like the cardboard lid got wet. This has caused some damage to the cutters, pitting and such. Not a big deal, just time at the water stones to clean them up.

But I decided not to store them in the original box. Instead I'll make a wooden box. Dug through the scrap pile and came up with a bunch of left-over poplar from my Shaker step-back cupboard build. It was all different colors and kinda ratty looking. So I decided to make a small box with a press fit lid but then veneer it with something else. Turned a simple project into a more complicated project but one where I get to practice some new techniques. 

The poplar I ripped, resawed and planed to about 1/4". The box itself is joined at the corners with 1/8" finger joints. Pretty darn strong. The top and bottom are just simple glue joints. Plenty of long grain to glue to. The box was assembled whole, then cut apart. I fitted more 1/4" poplar inside for the lip. Didn't bother with mitering the corners, just wedged the pieces in with a drop of glue on their face. The center of the box was then filled up with a block having two very wide dados. This forms slots to drop in the blades, similar to the original.

Before cutting the box apart, I cleaned up the surface and veneered it. The veneer is white oak and let me tell you, I don't recommend you learn using that stuff! Chippy and stringy. But it was part of a grab-bag of veneer I got to play with. 

Oh, and I decided to go all out on the veneering and used hot hide glue and hammered the veneer. Kinda worked for me but I did have to spend some time afterward popping bubbles and re-seating the veneer with a clothes iron. Again, more learning.  The finished box is about 8" x 5" x 2-1/4"

Lots of fun! Next I need to make a larger storage box to hold the plane, all its accessories and the blade box.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Rob

Nice box 

I would suggest you tune in on the Roy Underhill show on the PBS network he had a show last night that was great ,how to use the 45 and the 55 to make glass type doors, mutt and the mulligan was a great how to with the old tools..  real tricky..

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rwyoung said:


> Well, I have added a #45 combination plane to my #044C plough plane. So now I have another bunch of cutters that need a storage box. They came in their original cardboard & pine box but at some point it looks like the cardboard lid got wet. This has caused some damage to the cutters, pitting and such. Not a big deal, just time at the water stones to clean them up.
> 
> But I decided not to store them in the original box. Instead I'll make a wooden box. Dug through the scrap pile and came up with a bunch of left-over poplar from my Shaker step-back cupboard build. It was all different colors and kinda ratty looking. So I decided to make a small box with a press fit lid but then veneer it with something else. Turned a simple project into a more complicated project but one where I get to practice some new techniques.
> 
> ...


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## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

Nice looking box great way to syore them.


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## CanuckGal (Nov 26, 2008)

Nice!


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## Dr.Zook (Sep 10, 2004)

Thanks for sharing Rob. One nice looking way to store your cutters.


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## kolias (Dec 26, 2008)

Great idea / work to store the blades


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## rwyoung (Aug 3, 2008)

*Why you shouldn't store blades in a cardboard box*

I didn't take before pictures of all the blades but just for reference, here is a representative "before" shot showing the corrosion and pitting on pretty much all the blades. This is a blade meant to create a tongue on the edge of a board. There will be a matching width straight blade. The nature of the close-up mode on my camera is causing the pincushion effect, the blades really are square and straight in their length. 
















That black junk near the edge is corrosion. And you can see how jagged the cutting edge (and I'm being generous calling it a cutting edge) has become.

And here are two of the straight cutters after grinding back maybe 3/64, re-grinding the bevel and running through the stones. 









These type of blades are typically sharpened at a 30 or 35 degree bevel. Not because it cuts any better but because the higher angle is a "tougher" edge. The factory edge on a combination plane blade is 35 degrees. I did about 33 degrees on the grinder and then a wide secondary bevel of 35 on the stones. Should be plenty tough.

In the above picture, the secondary bevel isn't 100% straight across, it dips a bit in the middle on both. I believe this is because when I was grinding the blades I crowned the blade just a little bit as I was hand holding the blade on the rest. But on the stones, I had them locked square in a jig and so the center of the blade got more time on the stone than the outer edges, hence the secondary bevel "grew" more in the center. After a few more sharpenings it will even out across the edge.

When I get to the beading blades, I'll just do a single bevel on them but I need to build a jig to help me with the inside contours so I don't end up with multiple facets.


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## AP3D (Aug 24, 2010)

Nice looking box. 
Do you think Red Oak would pose the same concerns as the White Oak?

Arnold


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## rwyoung (Aug 3, 2008)

AP3D said:


> Nice looking box.
> Do you think Red Oak would pose the same concerns as the White Oak?
> 
> Arnold


Any open grain wood (red oak, white oak, ash, etc) veneer will have the same problems of splitting and "chippyness".


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