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 I had a couple of
requests to do a how-to write-up on float making after posting a
picture of one I had made to GIC. I was a little hesitant to do so
at the time, as my total experience amounted to a few hours, which
effort resulted in a grand total of exactly one edge float. Now that
I’ve doubled my qualifications, I suppose I can go ahead.
The first and most
important bit of information I can offer is that I learned
everything I know (not much) from watching Todd Herrli’s informative
video on making hollows and rounds. I heartily recommend this video
as a much better source of information than whatever I am likely to
provide here. You can buy it
here.
So, to get started,
you’ll need some O1 tool steel in the appropriate dimension. Todd
demonstrates making floats from O1 dimensioned 3/16” by 1” in cross
section. Lie-Nielsen sells some that are 3/16” thick in their
catalog, but more often seems to use 1/8” stock. The reason for the
narrower thickness is evident when watching Larry Williams’s
approach to plane making in the video available from L-N. It becomes
pretty obvious as Larry works that the thinner floats provide better
access in tight places.
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