This tutorial shows how I made my own solid maple corner-rounding plane. I have a small corner-rounding plane that I use for smaller radii but I needed one to round a corner with a 1/4″ radius.

So I set out to design and build my own corner-rounding plane. Again, I was making this up as I went along, so I kept a positive, open mind : )

This page follows my progress, step-by-step, through the following tasks:

• Building and shaping the body
• Cutting and shaping the iron mortise
• Fitting the iron/blade ad its holding plate
• Testing the plane

So here’s a step by step record of my progress and process. Enjoy!

Making the body

I glued three pieces of hard maple together to form the plane’s body. The body is 2 1/4″w x 2 1/4″ h x 8″ long.

I drilled the mortise out at 45 degrees with a Forstner bit and drill press. I fine-tuned the opening with a jointer’s mallet and a few sharp chisels. The bevel that will hold the blade is 45 degrees.

Next, I shaped the body and cut the grove for the work piece’s corner edge. I also drilled holes for the 3/16 inch metal bar that will hold down the iron and iron lever.

Shaping the iron

I used a 1/8″ x 1/2″ x 4″ M2 high-speed steel blade. I bought a flat piece of blade stock, so I had to grind the angle and sharpen it myself.

This M2 HHS is incredibly hard. I tried filing it and it would barely budge. I had to use my grinding wheel to grind the angle. I kept a large bowl of water close by to cool it every five to ten seconds. I knew if I heated it too much it would lose its temper and ability to hold a razor-sharp edge.

After I ground the angle, I use a cylindrical grinding stone in my rotary tool to grind the 1/2 inch channel. I finished honing it with fine-grit sandpaper wrapped around a 1/2″ dowel. The mirror edge came after I used 320, 800, 1500, and 2000 grit paper.

Cutting the iron assembly

I cut the lever to hold down the iron from 3/4″ weldable steel flat stock. After shaping it, rounding one end, and filing it to look nice, I drilled and threaded it to hold the set screw.

I threaded the hole with 1/4″ 20 threads per inch tap.

Assembly

This plane was a bit simpler than the other two I made. It only has four main pieces.

This shows the two 45 degree cuts made in the base.

Test Cut

The first test cut. I rounded the corners of a 5/8″ piece of red oak. I rocked the plane up a little (away from my body) to make the first few cuts shallower than the final depth. This helped to take a little bit off with each pass. I rocked the plane down (toward my body) a little more with each pass. It worked : ) I was impressed with the sharpness of the iron. The super fine-grit sandpaper really made a difference.

The final corner-rounding plane

I put three coats of wipe-on poly directly on the wood. I sanded between coats with 320 grit sandpaper.

I enjoy making these custom-fit and uniquely tailored hand planes. They fit my hands better than most planes I’ve tried to use. They are also quite larger than most I can buy new or antiques I see in stores or on eBay. They cut nicely too.

Give it a try. It’s a fun project if you have a 2–3 free weekends.