Look what I found!

Re: Look what I found!

Todd Hughes

>The triangle piece in front of the mouth was normaly where a patch was put on the plane to close the mouth up some because the sole got worn in use.In this case I belive the old user glued on a whole new sole because of wear and then maybe put the patch in to make the mouth tighter on his new sole...Guess it could have just wore enough that it had to have a new sole put on and then when it wore over time a patch was put in it. To me the wedge and blade looks a little funny with the blade too long or wedge to short....don't know. Also plane looks to have been "skinned" and refinished probably by the antique dealer any marks were probably removed at the time...Think to make it usable you will have to make the mouth patch and flatten the sole some...

Could be an craftsman made plane but more likely made in a factory in the mid 1800's to 1900 or so. With out a name no way you can tell as it could be one of a thousand,[or more] makers....Hope you didn't pay to much...looks like a $5 -$15 plane to me ....Todd

Re: Look what I found!

Bob Fawcett

>The body is about 2 1/2" from top to sole. The wedge is about 4" from top to point, and the iron is almost 8" from edge to top. Maybe the picture throws off the proportions. The iron tapers from almost 3/16" at the cutting edge to about 1/16" at the top.

Here is a picture of the cutout.

I believe that it has been refinished. I don't think it was "skinned". The body and the sole look the same age and wood type. It is a hard, dense, light colored wood with close grain. Maybe Beech. I am not that good at identifying wood.

Todd if it was glued ...

Bob Fawcett

>How can I get it loose. The ends where it was beat with a hammer appear to be loose. If it was glued with hyde glue won't water or steam make it let loose?

I guess I could saw it off, but I am not sure that is a good idea. I thought about drilling a couple of holes through the sole with a forstner bit, then I could use dowels to line it up when I reassemble. Is this a good idea?

Re: Todd if it was glued ...

Todd Hughes

>Don't really see in your photos where the sole is loose, if it is just in the front and back I think I would just put some wood glue in there and clamp it...Personaly I wouldn't put to much time or trouble into somthing like this but is kind of neat to put an old work horse back to work I guess....Todd

I cut it apart

Bob Fawcett

>Ok I did it.

I sawed the sole off it with my japanese hand saw.

I came real close to cutting only the glue line. The only wood I cut was the added sole. The main body is hardley scratched. I am going to run the sole piece over the jointer and reglue it. Then I can file the bed back in line. I did drill the sole for dowels to help line it all up when I am done jointing the sole piece. I sharpened up the old iron.

This must be a laminated iron, it is noticably harder at the edge than behind it. I will have to make a piece for the cutout. Should it be harder or softer than the rest of the body?

Re: I cut it apart

Todd Hughes

>I don't understand the need for the dowels. I would have glued the piece back on the plane befor flattening it as well I think..The patch in front of the mouth I would think should be about the same hardness as the sole so it wears the same as the rest of the sole I would think ... I am certain the blade of this age and type is laminated , this was done to save on the cost of expensive steel since the blades body could be made out of cheaper wrought iron......Todd

Re: I cut it apart

Bob Fawcett

>I need to flatten the cut side, so that is first. The dowels are just to help me line it all up and to keep it from sliding when glued.

I will also flaten the whole thing after glue up. I think I will end up with a user fore plane. This thing is much larger than any other plane I have.