In this online course, learn how to create a matched pair of Hollow & Round Molding Planes using a combination of power tools and hand tools. 10 hours of comprehensive video instruction includes plans. You are guided through the build process from a board to the final matched set of Hollow & Round planes. I share techniques and processes to create both the plane bodies and irons. Learn to precisely fit the iron and wedge in a mortise and escapement area. Wood selection and preparation are also discussed in video lessons. Discover how to make your own sticking board used to create the molding planes and molding profiles afterwards.
Create a Matched Set of Traditional Wooden Planes That Actually Work
There’s something deeply satisfying about shaping wood with a tool you made yourself.
A real working set of hollow & round molding planes, built with precision, tuned for performance, and capable of producing clean, elegant profiles in your own furniture work.
This course shows you exactly how to make them.
Watch how I lay out a board and cut the sequence for multiple molding plane blanks for optimal grain orientation. Discover how to easily create hollow & round molding planes using a system I developed. The build, plans and course are based on skills developed in a functioning furniture making studio. With this instruction, processes, tips and techniques, you can continue to create molding planes as future projects.
Includes detailed, printable CAD drawings with measurements
Over 10 hours of video instruction in 14 modules and 52 videos
Before routers, molding planes were the foundation of architectural and furniture detail work.
With just a matched pair of hollows and rounds, a craftsperson can create:
Ovolos
Coves
Complex moldings
Furniture detail profiles
Architectural trim
Custom molding profiles impossible to find commercially
And unlike modern routers, these tools leave behind a surface with warmth, character, and refinement.
But making molding planes correctly is difficult.
Most attempts fail because:
The escapement geometry is misunderstood
The sole profile is inaccurate
The wedge fit is inconsistent
The bed angle is poorly executed
The matching relationship between hollow and round is incorrect
This course solves these problems with clear step-by-step video instruction..
Whether you’re a hand tool woodworker, furniture maker, or traditional craftsman, you’ll learn the complete process of creating accurate, repeatable hollow & round planes using a proven system developed from practical use.
Learn from Norman Pirollo, an expert in woodworking. Norman Pirollo, woodworker for 3+ decades, has been published in magazines and books and launched woodworking businesses. Norman authored From Hi-Tech to Lo-Tech: A Woodworker's Journey, a book chronicling his exciting journey into woodworking. His latest books, Woodworking: From Design To Making and Quiet Woodworking: In An Unquiet World.
Detailed, colored, printable CAD diagrams of all components with precise measurements
Over 10 hours of detailed, comprehensive video instruction. Follow the plan and diagrams to build your own matched set of Hollow & Round Molding Planes.
Includes Start Woodworking (eBook)
How to select and prepare wood
The system behind accurate Hollow & Rounds
How to shape the sole correctly
Escapement Layout & Geometry
Tips & Techniques to create Hollows & Rounds
Bed Angles & Wear
Wedge Fitting
Blade Preparation (making irons & profiling cutting edges)
Tuning & Troubleshooting
Using Hollow & Rounds
How to use a sticking board to make Hollows & Rounds
How to make & use an improved sticking board
This course is ideal for:
Hand tool woodworkers
Furniture makers
Traditional craftspeople
Plane makers
Restoration woodworkers
Tool collectors wanting practical knowledge
Woodworkers seeking independence from modern routers
Whether you’ve never made a plane before or already build traditional tools, the methods taught here are designed to improve your accuracy and consistency.
By the end of the course, you’ll have:
A matched hollow & round pair
Properly fitted wedges
Tuned & profiled irons
A working understanding of molding plane geometry
The ability to build additional planes in the future
Most importantly, you’ll possess the knowledge to continue the craft independently.
Clear step-by-step demonstrations filmed in detail so you can follow every stage of the process.
See the critical geometry and shaping methods clearly.
No shortcuts, gimmicks, or unnecessary machinery.
Learn at your own pace and revisit the lessons whenever needed.
Instead of searching endlessly for vintage molding planes…
Instead of relying on expensive router bits…
Instead of struggling to reproduce historical profiles…
You walk into your workshop, select a plane you made yourself, and begin producing crisp moldings by hand with confidence.
That’s what this course is about.
Not just building tools.
Building capability.
Traditional molding planes are one of woodworking’s great forgotten systems.
Once understood, they open an entirely new level of freedom and craftsmanship.
This course was developed to make this knowledge accessible again in a clear, practical format.
Find out how hollow & round planes work and how to build them yourself with this course
$15 eBook included with purchase of this course, Discover the tools and skills you need to start woodworking.
MEET THE INSTRUCTOR
Norman Pirollo began his furniture-making career by following a Cabinetmaking program at a local college. This education led to the launch of a successful small business creating high end jewelry boxes. Later, Norman sought a greater challenge and pursued his ambition of becoming a furniture maker. Norman then attended a furniture making school based on James Krenov philosophy and teachings. This education led to designing and creating furniture through Refined Edge Design. A woodworking educator role then followed. Today, Norman enjoys designing and making furniture as well as teaching woodworking techniques and skills.
Norman has written several books on the woodworking and furniture making topic as well as writing articles for magazines such as Fine Woodworking. His book, WOODWORKING: FROM DESIGN TO MAKING describes the unique furniture design and making process applied in his furniture studio. A recent book, Quiet Woodworking: In An Unquiet World, delves into Norman's embrace of hand tools in his woodworking and furniture making.
Norman has written several books and has been featured in publications over the years
The Furniture Society (Art of Balance, Apr 2024)
Carleton Univ. Industrial Design (Guest Lecturer)
Quiet Woodworking (New Art Press)
Hand Tool Woodworking (New Art Press)
Start Woodworking (New Art Press)
Craftisian Interview (Norman Pirollo)
HackSpace Mag. - Make With Wood April 2020
Woodworking: From Design To Making (New Art Press)
Woodworking With Hand Tools 2018 (Fine Woodworking)
The Wood Artist: Creating Art Through Wood (New Art Press)
From Hi-Tech to Lo-Tech: A Woodworker's Journey (NAP)
Start Your Own Woodworking Business (NAP)
Rooted: Contemporary Studio Furniture (Schiffer Publishing)
Canadian Woodworking Mag. Jan. 2015
Our Homes magazine Fall 2014
NICHE Magazine Winter 2013
FWW Magazine - 4 Bench Jigs for Handplanes
FWW Magazine - Essential Shopmade Jigs
Woodwork magazine (2008)
Wood Art Today 2 (Schiffer Books)
500 Cabinets ( Lark Books)
Studio Furniture: Today's Leading Woodworkers
Canadian Interiors Design Source Guide
Ottawa Life magazine (Profile,work) 2012
Panoram Italia magazine
Our Homes magazine (2011)
Craft Journal (2009)
Woodworker's Journal (2006)
