What a journey it was. What a learning curve it was. What a great skill building exercise it was. The tremendous amount of research that went into it was mind-boggling with its findings, but I left nothing out in the third issue.
I’ve learned many things along the way and I believe the learning curve is far from over. My moulding plane journey is not yet complete as I have some dedicated planes I want to make.
As for costs not including labour it cost only a quarter of what’s being charged for a full set. If I were to be making these for sale, then I too would charge the same price like everybody else. Because it’s time consuming work and somewhat frustrating, but the biggest culprit is the time consumption. You couldn’t make a living out of these if you weren’t able to finish a set within two weeks.
I hope you make yourselves some. You don’t need an entire set and you need not copy the 18th century style either. If you’re working professionally and time is of the essence, then my recommendation would be to purchase what you need from a toolmaker of your choice. It’s well worth the investment, and it’s what journeymen did since the 18th century.