I Love to Plane

Handplane that is. As a follow up to the post from a while ago. I got around to making a handplane. I am totally enthralled with it. It's pretty much all I have been doing over the last month. 3/4 of the times I have gone to the beach, I've not surfed, only to handplane instead. Somedays, I'll surf for a while, then switch and get in some time on the plane. It's amazing that in 25 years of surfing, I never got into this. It is so much fun. Nothing like the feeling of your body sliding down the face of a wave, stalling for the upcoming section, then contorting your body to fit into the barrel. Prior to this, my idea of bodysurfing was catching a wave straight to the beach to retrieve my board. Rarely was I ever able to get on the face of a wave and go down the line. If so, then it was a very short ride. Now, with a plane, I'm catching waves as easily as if I had a board, and riding em just as long. I can't explain the feeling, and I know, eventually, I'll probably get bored, just like in surfing, but, for now, it is all I can think about. So, I've made a few planes now, but I still mainly use the initial prototype that I built. Initially, I built it without a strap or hole. I just palmed it. I really liked it in that phase. Just me and some wood. Plus, it was nice to swim with. I was urged to either put a hole in it, so the fingers went through the board, or attach a strap. I'm not a big fan of the hole, everyone says that is doesn't affect function, but, I just like the thought of water flowing freely along the contours of the bottom. Holes in Handplanes do keep it basic and aesthetically pleasing, and allow some for control. I also don't like the looks of most straps. They just look like they don't belong. The curiosity got the best of me. So, one morning I went in the garage and found an old bodyboarding strap, cut off the leash, and screwed it to the deck. Wow, the newfound control was pretty amazing, but honestly I still like the pure and plain aesthetics of just a peice of wood. I learned alot about what a strap had to do to be functional, which definately needed to be taken into consideration when designing a strap system. The next phase in the process, was to come up with a strap system. I tossed around some ideas with others, my main concern being function, but also something that looks good. I mean, you gotta a beautifully carved piece of wood, with a nice finish if desired, you can't put a piece of dogshit across the top. So, the strap system below is what I came up with. It is adjustable for looseness, and also pivots that way a good strap should. Plus, I think it looks pretty good too. The last thing that I've done recently to my handplane was add two channels (actually did it this morning). They aren't pictured, but run about an inch from the rail, parallel to the center, about halfway up the board. So, I think I've run the course with this first board and plan on making many more just like it in the future.