RE: 1/2a speed pan
Steve,
When I was wee lad of about 13 back in the mid 60's I did just that, make one from wood. I found a nice piece of rock hard maple and used that after much hard work. In the end the plane didn't fly very well, barely made it around once, but then again I was only 13 but all in all it was a minor success which spurned me on to other things
As you have stated, many old designs where in fact made entirely of wood, some even had wheels in the 30's and 40's. So it is not entirely out of the question yet. In fact I have even considered making a wood pattern from which to make a sand mold and have a try at casting my own.
cheers, Graham