3″ Miniature Brass and Hardwood plane set –
A 3″ Miniature Brass and Hardwood plane set looked ‘cute’ on a well known auction site. For less than £15 (Jan 2021) the set, they could also be bit of fun.
In practice they have become a firm favourite of mine for ‘real’ wood work projects as well. During my research there were reviews ranging from 1 star to 5 stars from various purchasers. I suspect the reason for such a difference in ratings was whether they were sharpened correctly.
As supplied the planes were not very good. They could not be described as sharp.
By simply sharpening the blades on whetstones (if you make an Amazon purchase I do get a very small commission which goes to help run the website)they were transformed. Trying them out by chamfering the edges of both soft and hardwood was a revelation. So much so it was hard to put them down. Resulting in what can only be described as a triangle of wood 🙂
Mike Freeman is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme. Which is an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to examples on Amazon.co.uk
Considering their size I was most impressed. So much so they are now my preferred tool over other mainstream planes.
The Three types of planes.
Each plane in the set is well made and has nice brass sides, sandwiching a hardwood body. The blade is removed by a novel screwed clamp, standard for all three. The clamp allows the tool steel blades removal for sharpening .
The set consists of a 3″long bull nose plane, a scraper plane and a block plane. Their size is great for small model making but also for small cleanup jobs in tight spots. Another plus is the ability to be used one handed.
Of course they are not any good for ‘proper jobs’ of planing larger work pieces but I simply love them for chamfering. But be careful that you are enjoying it too much and have to cut a new piece of wood!
Where to buy?
I need to make you aware that any link to Amazon you follow may lead to a very small commission if you make a purchase.
Having purchased the planes and looking for examples for this blog I have found that there are a lot of examples based upon small planes with brass sides sandwiching a hardwood center. But it is in the pricing where I found the biggest surprise. The range is very wide indeed! Ranging from my £14.99 purchase for a set of 3, through to even £60/70.
If you do want to see an example then have a look at the options I found on Amazon. They can be bought separately if you so wish. Other sources are auction sites and the tool suppliers.
