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In his archtop construction videos Benedetto heavily relies on an old homemade plane. Upon browsing through Irving Sloane's, "Steel String Guitar Construction" I saw a DIY plane that looks very similar to the one Bene uses. The Sloane one is attractive because it is quite compact and has a nice convex sole. I want to build it but he is really obscure when it comes to the blade part of the construction. He pretty much has the wedge functioning as the blade! I've never seen this before.

Can anyone give me some help on how to build this plane using a legit blade and separate wedge? Or is it somehow possible to have the blade and wedge as one unit? I know there are thousands of "build your own plane" plans out there, but I happen to really like the look and function of the Sloane.

Hi Archtop, not sure what you mean by "...the wedge functioning as the blade!"? Below is an old picture, the little wooden plane in the middle (not too visible, I'm afraid, but it was the only picture I found at the moment) was made according pretty much to Sloane. The wedge is a separate unit.

BTW, in a normal full size wedge type bench plane the iron would have been tapered (thicker towards the edge) which helps to keep it stay put even better, but in these little ones the parallel thickness irons seem work OK. I cut irons for these planes from old bench plane irons.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Hi Arnt,
Thanks for the info. What I was trying to say is that he really doesn't make any mention of the blade and from what I gathered from the text the wedge is sharpened somehow on the bottom. So in essence the wedge is the blade! I know it sounds weird but the text doesn't say much more about it. So what do you suggest I do? Should I just follow his plan + shapes and then fit my own iron?

Sharpened at the bottom? The wedge tapers to nothing where it meets the iron, if that's what you mean. It is important that the wedge is shaped so the savings don't catch on it's front edge or anything else, so in that sense the wedge needs to be "sharpened", or slightly rounded in towards the iron. The fit against the iron needs to be nice and tight.

Yes, follow the plan and you should be fine.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin