New Hand Planes in Development

- A panel raising plane is a specialized tool used to cut a beveled profile on the edge of a wooden panel, which is a key component in traditional frame and panel construction for doors and cabinets. This design allows the panel to expand and contract with changes in humidity without damaging the frame. - The design of one of the new planes is based on the work of Francis Nicholson (c. 1683-1753), who is considered the first documented plane maker in colonial America. Nicholson worked in Wrentham, Massachusetts, and trained his son and an enslaved artisan, Cesar Chelor, in the craft. - The 'miter shooting' plane is designed to be used with a shooting board, a jig that holds a workpiece at a precise 45 or 90-degree angle. This setup allows the user to shave off very thin layers of wood from the end grain, achieving a perfectly flat and square surface for tight-fitting miter joints. - This type of miter plane features a skewed blade, meaning the cutting edge is set at an angle to the plane's body. This skew provides a slicing action, which results in a cleaner cut on difficult end grain, reducing tear-out. - While these hand planes offer precision and a traditional working method, modern woodworkers often accomplish the same tasks with power tools. Panel raising is commonly done with router bits or on a shaper, while miter and crosscut accuracy is often achieved with a table saw and a crosscut sled or a compound miter saw. - Using a dedicated hand plane for these tasks is often a choice for a quieter, more controlled process that produces shavings instead of fine dust. For one-off pieces or small runs, hand tool use can sometimes be faster than the setup time required for machines.