Show us your handplanes

[RTM]

The Mathieson family made some fine tools which was likely exemplified by their success.

Almost any infill you find will be a fine looking tool, and usually a great worker too. Finding one you can afford is the challenge for me.

 

[txlonghorn1989]

I figure you guys can appreciate this Craigslist find. Arrived on the porch last night.

 

[Half-fast eddie]

What is the printing date?

 

[txlonghorn1989]

It's the 1996 second edition. I don't see a printing date. My bad...3rd printing Feb 1999.

Out of curiosity, why do you ask?

 

[crguy]

It's the 1996 second edition. I don't see a printing date. My bad...3rd printing Feb 1999.

Out of curiosity, why do you ask?

The printing date really makes little difference. John threw away a good career publishing tool books after he published these. They are still a good reference book, except for the prices.

 

[txlonghorn1989]

I've got the first edition also in paperback but the spine is almost toast. If I ever dropped that book I'd be trying to put all the pages back in order. Still hoping that one of these days there will be a third edition. I know he keeps promising.

 

[RTM]

Yeah, that flood really knocked him on his @$$. Lost all his research information, etc. I've got the same edition as TX. Many people I know have talked to him about 3rd edition with the same answer, sometime.

 

[Jim C.]

Interesting. I bought this copy directly from Mr. Walter at a MWTCA meet several years ago. According to Mr. Walter, it was one of the very last copies he had left and it was a survivor of Hurricane Ivan. Anyway, he autographed the book for me and gave me a business card. He also mentioned that it had been his “edit copy.” Scattered throughout the book are notes and edits that he made for future printings.

Jim C.

 

[txlonghorn1989]

That's cool Jim!

 

[RTM]

Some history of that event. You’ll see places on Front street mentioned.

Ivan Was Here - Flooding in 2004

The recent flooding in North Carolina from Hurricane Matthew was an unpleasant reminder of a similar event that devastated our area in 2004...

earlymarietta.blogspot.com

 

[Half-fast eddie]

Out of curiosity, why do you ask?

Just curious, wondered if maybe it was from early 20th century or similar.

 

[RTM]

That handle was owner made by a patternmaker or someone with access to a foundry. Stanley did make some aluminum ones, largely used in trade schools where the planes were more likely to be dropped or abused.

Oops, missed this one originally. I agree with the pattern maker / foundry idea. You could verify by getting the shrink % for brass, and measure yours against an aluminum or wood one, should be that much smaller.

 

[CRSINMICH]

MATHIESON & SON
or something​

I had to reduce the width of a 1/2" thick and 6" wide board by about three quarters of an inch and I chose to plane it down rather than sawing. It was a lot of wood to remove and on a whim I grabbed a razee style wooden try-plane. It hogged off the wood easily because it was not taking wispy shavings. Somehow, the edge stayed square to the face which is hard for me to do. This may be a Frankenplane. There is no manufacturers' name stamped into the wood body but the heavy cap iron is stamped AlexR MATHIESON & SON Glascow. The cutting iron has a stamp that is upside down from the cap iron stamp. The name on the cutting iron stamp is unreadable. It looks like it was overstruck with a different name. I think the original stamp ended ...ORBY. That could be SORBY. Does anyone recognize the Maltese Cross logo?

 

[RTM]

Does anyone recognize the Maltese Cross logo?​

Which Sorby you ask?

One tool manufacturer which appears a lot in the British vintage realm is Sorby. But which Sorby? This post will provide a bit of insight into the different Sorby’s. There are three principle…

workingbyhand.wordpress.com

I don't recall that level of detail, but here it is. Robert & Sons

 

[CRSINMICH]

RTM: Thanks. I was fairly sure the name was Sorby. Why do you think the name was overstruck? I've seen some that look like the original stamp stuttered but the second name on this iron seems to have been done later. I like way Robert and Alexander abbreviated their names.
That site is a great resource. Did you check out the workbenches especially Roubo's Other Bench?

 

[txlonghorn1989]

Which Sorby you ask?

One tool manufacturer which appears a lot in the British vintage realm is Sorby. But which Sorby? This post will provide a bit of insight into the different Sorby’s. There are three principle…

workingbyhand.wordpress.com

I don't recall that level of detail, but here it is. Robert & Sons

Very interesting RTM! Thanks for sharing.

 

[RTM]

Here's a plane that others have shown before, but i had it out and apart to take pix, so thought I'd add a few extra pix, and do a quick typing to determine age.

This is a #113 circular plane, Type 4 or 5, approx 1910 based on features. It came with a Q trademark on the iron, and markings on the adjuster gears, and minimal on the knob. Shown below at flat cut, max ID cut, and max OD cut.









I took it apart as someone was having trouble with their frog not lining up correctly to the mouth opening. As you can see from the back of the frog, it has a machined surface which mates to the edge of the mouth. The mouth doesn't seem terribly machined to mate. The step between the machined and unmachined faces is only 0.014" so not much space to work. The other owner was given advice to file things down to fit, which is terrifying. As you can see, the frog being behind the step could be fixed with a shim. IF forward, you may want to thin down the machined surface on the back of the frog.

We speculated that each plane may have been custom fit, and someone played Frankenplane with his, or filed things to make them work "better", but still waiting for a final input from him.





Hope this helps someone. Sometime I will get pic of the other circular plane hiding in the garage. Now to clean up all the sawdust before the meeting ends.

 

[Joe Huld]

Here is this weekend's catch; not perfect or complete but the only gun metal (bronze) Millers Patent plow plane I've ever seen in person. I think it is a type 4 made about 1876. I don't suppose anyone has a gun metal wraparound fillister fence, fillister bed or a set of cutters lying around?

 

[RTM]

Here is this weekend's catch; not perfect or complete but the only gun metal (bronze) Millers Patent plow plane I've ever seen in person. I think it is a type 4 made about 1876.

Gonna show my ignorance here. What is the "normal" metal for those? Was that a pattern makers recast if bronze?

 

[Joe Huld]

Gonna show my ignorance here. What is the "normal" metal for those? Was that a pattern makers recast if bronze?

Most of the Millers patent plows were nickel plated cast iron. This is an original, Stanley offered them in gunmetal from 1870 to about 1891. I have seen many foundry made copies of other Stanley planes, most often router planes because they are very easy to mold in sand and require little machining. When you use an existing item as a pattern the casting will end up being a little under sized because the metal will shrink as it cools. In addition there will be some loss of detail especially with an ornate casting like this. BTW the bronze alloys were called "gunmetal" because they were used for casting cannons in preference to the brittle cast iron of the day.

 

[crguy]

Most of the Millers patent plows were nickel plated cast iron. This is an original, Stanley offered them in gunmetal from 1870 to about 1891. I have seen many foundry made copies of other Stanley planes, most often router planes because they are very easy to mold in sand and require little machining. When you use an existing item as a pattern the casting will end up being a little under sized because the metal will shrink as it cools. In addition there will be some loss of detail especially with an ornate casting like this. BTW the bronze alloys were called "gunmetal" because they were used for casting cannons in preference to the brittle cast iron of the day.

The nickel plated Millers Patent planes didn't start until 1892. The previous #s 41 and 43 were black japanned. The #s 42 and 44 were gunmetal.

 

[crguy]

Double post

 

[Joe Huld]

This J Popping shoulder plane was for sale by the same vendor as the Millers Patent I posted about yesterday but he wanted more than I was willing to pay. After a couple of days to reflect upon it the vendor came down to a price that I was willing to pay. Joseph Popping was a Prussian immigrant who operated a machine shop in NYC specializing in infill type planes for piano makers. He produced most of his planes between 1885 and 1895

 

[RTM]

are these local purchases? I grew up in Monrovia, so used to know the area well.


Nice get, love that style of infill.

 

[Joe Huld]

are these local purchases? I grew up in Monrovia, so used to know the area well.


Nice get, love that style of infill.

Yes, same vendor two different swap meets. When he couldn't get his price in Long Beach he decided to sell cheaper at a local swap.

 

[crguy]

Here is this weekend's catch; not perfect or complete but the only gun metal (bronze) Millers Patent plow plane I've ever seen in person. I think it is a type 4 made about 1876. I don't suppose anyone has a gun metal wraparound fillister fence, fillister bed or a set of cutters lying around?

If you find a fence for that it's
worth more than the main body. Filletster beds are available (they are all cast iron).

 

[Joe Huld]

If you find a fence for that it's
worth more than the main body. Filletster beds are available (they are all cast iron).

Yeah, I know but I think the fence, fillister bed, and cutters from this one went missing a long time ago. I bought the shoulder plane I posted about today from the same vendor and went through the chest he got it in as well all of the tools in it and did not find so much as a screw for the Millers patent. I think I have found 3 or 4 Millers Patent fillister beds and one set plus a few loose cutters in the last 20 years so the odds are against me, I have never found a loose wrap around fence in either iron or gun metal.

 

[crguy]

Yeah, I know but I think the fence, fillister bed, and cutters from this one went missing a long time ago. I bought the shoulder plane I posted about today from the same vendor and went through the chest he got it in as well all of the tools in it and did not find so much as a screw for the Millers patent. I think I have found 3 or 4 Millers Patent fillister beds and one set plus a few loose cutters in the last 20 years so the odds are against me, I have never found a loose wrap around fence in either iron or gun metal.

Any of the combination planes are hard to find complete. I collected Millers Patent planes for years and bought many partial ones to make complete ones. I did recently get a small tool box with some decent planes in it including a 41 with both fences & the filletster bed. First one I've found in a while.

 

[CRSINMICH]

Does anyone recognize this router plane?
​

I thought it was a spokeshave when I first saw it. There are no marks anywhere. The sole has a slight radius. It doesn't look shop made.

 

[RTM]

I'd guess coachmakers or patternmakers router plane. Searching through ITCL did not get anything under the patternmaker search, ran out of boring meeting to search the coachmakers.

 

[paulsomlo]

Anyone have a good Stanley 113 compass plane they want to sell? Not a collector, just need a user.

 

[Jim C.]

Have you considered a Stanley #20 or a Record #020? Both will do great job and in my opinion are more comfortable to use.

Jim C.

 

[paulsomlo]

Have you considered a Stanley #20 or a Record #020? Both will do great job and in my opinion are more comfortable to use.

Jim C.

I haven't, as I was under the impression that the 113 was a better choice, but maybe I should reconsider?

 

[RTM]

Leach agrees with Jim C.

The Superior Works - Patrick's Blood & Gore: Planes #12 - #20 1/2

 

[paulsomlo]

Leach agrees with Jim C.

The Superior Works - Patrick's Blood & Gore: Planes #12 - #20 1/2

That was an exhausting read, but I'm convinced - I'll widen my search.

 

[Jim C.]

I wrote about the Record #020 here:

Hand Planes

Hand Planes

www.papawswrench.com

Go to page 32, Reply 474

Jim C.

 

[paulsomlo]

I wrote about the Record #020 here:

Hand Planes

Hand Planes

www.papawswrench.com

Go to page 32, Reply 474

Jim C.

Got it, thanks!

 

[CRSINMICH]

It seems like I should know who made this spokeshave, but I don't. Anyone recognize it?

 

[CRSINMICH]

paulsomlo: I found this in a 1901 catalogue from Montreal while I was looking for information about the spokeshave above. You can make a side by side comparison and it's worth noting that the #20 was priced 50% higher than the #113.

 

[RTM]

It seems like I should know who made this spokeshave, but I don't. Anyone recognize it?

This was made by a few people. Goodell Pratt made one, think theirs was earliest. Stamped in little tiny letters on the knob. Pattern makers #36.

Goodell Pratt Company : Pocket Catalog Number 11 : 1913 : Goodell-Pratt Co. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

348 p., illus., 13.7 cm, trade catalog

archive.org

Will pull up the patent and more info later.