Fales' Patent Variable Bench Plane.

**Repliconics** · 17th September 2014, 06:20 PM

I got some new planes from the States recently.
One of them is a Fales' Patent Variable Bench Plane.
I've been after one for a long time.

The plane was patented in 1882 by Amos Fales he lived at the time in Denver.
He produced four patents covering his plane the last in 1886.
By which time he'd moved to Rockfall, Connecticut.

The plane was manufactured by Otis Smith a gun maker also in Rockfall.
A lot of people think that Otis was the Smith of Smith & Wesson fame.
But that Gentleman was Horace Smith.

It came with many parts gaining a reputation as being one of the most complicated planes ever made.
I'm not sure exactly of the number some say around 160 others as many as 240.
I was lucky enough to get quite a few of the forms 74 in all.
From that 33 are matching pairs so I did pretty well.
Most of the time Fales plane are only found with one or two of the forms if that.

I only have one blade the large in the middle of the picture.
The two in the plane itself are incorrect ones.
Still I think it's better to have more of the forms, blades can be made a lot more easily.

I don't think for one minute I'll ever be able to get all of the parts.
But it will be great fun trying.

Cheers
Trev.

**NCArcher** · 17th September 2014, 07:51 PM

Wow. A great looking plane.
Good luck finding more bits.

**Pac man** · 17th September 2014, 09:34 PM

http://guitarluthier.blogspot.com.au...tent-1884.html

Here is another

**Pagie** · 17th September 2014, 10:12 PM

Ok how dose it work?

**Repliconics** · 18th September 2014, 06:13 AM

Originally Posted by Pagie

Ok how dose it work?

It would be fair to say that the Fales is not dissimilar to the Stanley 45 in it's function.
Although the main frame cutter is set askew like the 46.
The formers of the Fales are for making hollows, rounds, half rounds and other moulding profiles.
Again not unlike the Stanley the difference being in the shear number of them.

The big difference with the Fales comes with the addition of an auxiliary cutter attached to the fence.
It works as a plough and is positioned forward of the cutter on the main frame.
It allows for complex forms to be cut both sides at once.

Here's a couple for drawings from one of Fales patents showing the operation of the cutters as seen from the front.

The image below shows a profile being formed with the use of a complex moulding cutter.

The closest thing to a manual for the Fales that I know of is the patents.
They show the way in which the plane works quite well.

254542
295916
348198
D18381

The last one being a design for a blade.

I'm no a learning curve here as well.
I don't think you can know to much about a plane until you use it.
So hopefully I'll be able to come up with some blades and fire it up.

Cheers mate
Trev.

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