Kelly Harris, Tapering Plane (WORLD 2024)

Photos:

Catherine Hunsburger

Country:

United States of America

This Tapering Plane works as a tenon cutter, but with a smoothing plane finish and has a few very important added features. This Tapering Plane is ideal for making Windsor chairs and any staked furniture. Cutting a 6° tapered tenon that is ⅝ of an inch at the smallest (exit) diameter, and 15/16’’ at the widest, entrance diameter, the HSS Blade cuts over the course of 2 ⅞ ’’ which creates a tapered tenon that is long enough to go through a 2’’ thick seat with extra length to accommodate for rake and splay. The blade is slightly tapered at the entrance to ensure a smooth tapered shoulder of up to 1’' diameter, bringing the overall length of cut to 3 ⅛”. It is also slightly angled at the exit, in order to use the tool to create a straight 5/8'' tenon for stretcher joinery. This tapering plane comes with a setting key, for easy resetting of the blade at the exact needed approach, after removal for blade sharpening. There is also a depth of cut set, so that you can adjust the cut depth according to what is appropriate for different species of wood. The setting key is housed in the body of the tool for convenient storage. US patent pending.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.