The Blum Tool Co

The Blum Bench Plane

http://youtu.be/6BTw8GCpOQY

Blum Tool Co manufactures a growing range of high quality, handmade woodworking tools. All are produced in our shop in Walnut, Iowa. Quality and innovation are the driving forces behind every tool we design and build. Our tools reflect the great traditions of the past, but incorporate many unique ideas for increased performance, ease of use, and ease of sharpening.
Our Sharpening Box™ and Bench Horse™ are both now patented. The bench planes remain 'patent pending'. 

We have many other new products and improvements, such as the new brass knobs and medallions on the planes, the redesigned frog to eliminate any backlash, our new holdfasts which are hand forged, and a beautiful new mallet. 

Blum planes are a radical departure from standard wood and metal planes. They combine the ease of adjustment of metal planes with the lightweight and tactile feel of wooden planes. And they solve the problem that both wood and metal planes share--the need to grind an oftentimes thick iron and while doing so grind it straight (or slightly cambered ), square, at the proper angle and all the while making sure not to burn the iron. The following is a list of the Advantages and Novel Features : • Each plane comes with its' own sharpening jig. • The thin blades never need grinding. • Plane is fully adjustable- no tools required • No separate chipbreaker. The chipbreaker is integrated on the frog. • No separate lateral adjuster required. • No widening of the mouth as the sole is worn down from truing. • Full handgrip without interference on the smooth planes. • A scraper frog is available. • Can be ordered with a cambered frog installed in the plane.

Each plane now comes with its' own easy to use sharpening jig. The blade is held in the slot by two rare earth magnets and blade projection is controlled by two jacking screws. The rear adjustable shoe is marked with 1° lines, so moving it down to do a secondary or microbevel is easy and fast. When the jig is parallel to the stone, as shown in the picture, that is your 30° setting. All the plane blades come with a 30° primary bevel and 32° secondary bevel.

How does it work?

At first glance, you may wonder, where is the blade? That is a legitimate question, because it is not constructed like any prior plane. Look at the pictures below to see the construction details and the frog.


The thin blade is sandwiched between a massive frog which is 3/4" thick at the bottom and a back-up iron which is 5/32" thick. The leading edge of the frog thus becomes the chipbreaker and guides the shavings up and into the throat. The reverse angle of the frog matches the angle at the front of the throat, so the old problem of the throat widening as the sole is worn down from truing is no longer an issue. In fact, you can take 3/8" off the sole and the opening will still be the same! The frog is adjusted for blade depth and lateral projection with the two adjusting nuts at the top of the plane. By being situated at the outer sides of the frog, adjusting depth also controls lateral adjustment so no separate lateral adjuster is required. There is no backlash in these adjusting screws whatsoever, so this is a very fast and precise process.

The large brass knob tightens the frog lock bolt which is captured in a T-slot in the back of the frog. This knob should be loosened slightly before adjustments are made and then re-tightened afterwards.

The mouth opening is adjustable without tools by turning the two knurled thumbscrews which bare against the back of the frog. This is done in concert with loosening and retightening the large brass lock knob. The blade is removed for sharpening by lowering the blade slightly below the sole and loosening the 3 screws in the back-up iron. The blade is then able to be slid out because it is slotted for the screws.