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  1. #1
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    Jun 2010
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    Default McConnell bench planes. Why so special?

    Every now and again I come across a McConnell bench plane and have to avoid looking at the price tag simply due to my brain failing to comprehend the way such numbers are put to an object which to be frank I could knock up in my shed; only better looking.

    There is very little info online about them so I was wondering if someone could tell me a bit about their history? All I have been told so far is that they were made to a specific pattern during WW2 and they were made in that way due to wartime shortages of materials such as cast iron. Wouldn't a Wooden bodied plane have been quicker and cheaper to mass produce and use less resources? And work better....

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  3. #2
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    Apr 2012
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    Default

    Well after checking out a few photos here: http://www.htpaa.org.au/mcconnell.php
    With the right tooling these could be made from stamped parts and riveted together in a few minutes by relatively unskilled workers. Much less than a wooden plane.
    Assuming most of the skilled workers were elsewhere at the time, I can see the potential advantage.
    However, I'd assume that the value of the planes comes from their collectability rather than their usability!

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
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    Default

    Historic value.
    Hugh

    Enough is enough, more than enough is too much.

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