- 1). Choose a block of beech, rock maple, or other hard, knot-free, stable wood. For a small plane with a 2-inch iron, saw it 2 1/2 inches wide, 3 inches thick and 10 inches long.
- 2). Draw a line around the block where you want the blade to go, about one-third of the way back from the toe (front) of the plane. Use a small square to mark the lines accurately. Draw a line on each side of the plane at a 45-degree angle, with the bottom starting at the line you first drew and slanting up toward the heel (back) of the plane. Draw another line parallel to it on each side, spaced toward the back of the plane by the thickness of your iron. Draw two lines across the top of the plane, connecting the tops of the two slanted lines. Draw a line across the bottom of the plane, connecting the bottom of the second slanted line.
- 3). Draw a line on each side of the plane, starting 1/8 inch up from the bottom of the vertical line and slanting toward the toe of the plane at a 65-degree angle. Connect the tops of these lines. You should now have a roughly V-shaped mark on each side of the plane, plus a vertical line and a second line at the back of the V. There will be four parallel lines across the top of the plane and two on the bottom.
- 4). Mark the top and bottom of the plane with lines 2 1/16 inches apart and centered on the wood. On the bottom, these lines form a narrow rectangle that marks the opening of the mouth where the iron will protrude, and on the top, they form a larger rectangle that marks the opening of the throat. On the top of the plane, put a mark 1/4 inch toward the center, on each back corner of the throat. Draw two lines that start at the front corners of the throat and end at these marks. These lines show the wood that needs to be left in place to hold the wedge.
- 5). Place the block upside down in a drill press and drill a series of side-by-side holes at a 45-degree angle to remove the wood between the two narrow lines where the iron will go.
- 6). Turn the block over and chisel out the throat, carefully staying inside the marked lines. Leave all the wood that's outside the last two lines you drew.
- 7). Cut out the space for the wedge and iron by using a small saw to make two cuts from the throat toward the edges on each side. Chisel out the remaining waste.
- 8). Test the fit of the iron and make sure the opening holds it squarely by placing the plane on a flat surface and using a square. Shave the opening to adjust the iron if necessary and smooth the inside of the throat and mouth with a small knife. Sand the outside, making sure the bottom is especially smooth.
- 9). Cut the wedge out of softer wood. Make it just wide enough to fit in its slot and thick enough by trial and error to hold the iron snugly in place when you tap it gently into its slot. Carve a U-shaped area out of the bottom of the wedge to create "legs" that fit into the slot on either side while the center area is free to let shavings come up through the mouth.
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