Everybody's Making Planes! (2023)
Plus: Making a kanna with Scott Wynn and more GIANT planes
"Each new tool we create ends an old relationship with the world and starts a new one. And we're changed by that relationship, inevitably." — Ellen Ullman
Last year's planemaker roundup was one of the most popular issues of the newsletter. Big-name planemakers rightfully get a lot of attention (Steve Voigt's work is always worth drooling over) but I love showcasing lesser-known makers, whether they're master craftsman, up-and-coming planemakers, or people making one-off projects. So this is going to be an annual post. If you make a plane this year, drop me an email or message me on Instagram.
If making a European/American-style plane isn’t your thing, here’s an alternative. Scott Wynn is an architect, furniture maker, and author of what I think is the best book for anyone who wants to learn how to use wooden planes, Traditional Wooden Handplanes: How to Restore, Modify & Use Antique Planes. He also wrote Discovering Japanese Handplanes. He has a very detailed, five-part series on how to make a kanna. Here's Part 4 where he fine-tunes the throat and sole. The entire series is fascinating and can be found on his Youtube channel.
Long-time readers will remember the largest wooden plane in the world. Back in 2007, Woodwell Woodworking Tools/Mujingfang tried for a world record with a 9-feet 2.5-inch long Hong Kong-style jack plane made out of huali rosewood. It weighs 1,880 pounds with a 128 pound iron. It's impressive, but nowhere near the record. This plow, on the other hand, has got to be the largest of its kind. It's 15.75 inches long, made from maple, with 30.5 inch arms. It weighs 19 pounds and has an iron that was described as "larger than any wrecking bar I've seen." A normal plow looks tiny next to it! Plane Talk has a few more details. It's unknown who made it or what a plow of this size would be used for. Any ideas?
—Abraham