Thread: Help with info on these old Planes? Golden Lane?

Hi Lane,

Lovely!

Have you tried using them to cut some profile samples?

Many of these rounds & hollows were craftsmen made in their own shops for their own use, so many don't have "manufacturer's" marks.

Nice things to have - I've got about a dozen or so, and, to date, have just been playing with them. I have in mind a small project to run up a few lengths of mouldings.

Thanks... I havent' tried using them - maybe I will. As I say, I have a set of about 15 of them - am hoping to learn more about their ID and value - I may sell them, but I want to know about them first... heres a close up of the one thats incribed... pretty neat, I think...

The planemaker is Booth Brothers and the address is (32) Golden Lane, Dublin. At some stage its possible that the street numbers were changed from 32 to 35, or vice versa. They did that a lot in those days!

Its also possible that they could've moved premises, but all the references I have say 32 Golden Lane (rather than 35) and 63 Upper Stephen Street.

They were listed as being in operation from 1875 to 1900, as planemakers, in various directories of the time.

Not hugely common planes but not that rare either (unfortunately for you). That particular plane is made from beech (the most common timber for manufactured wooden planes).

Nice find.

The top plane looks like its made from oak, as you can see the med rays on the sole, which would likely make it a user-made plane (as in made by a woodworker rather than a planemaking business).

Looks like you've got a sash plane pictured there. Which I think were used to profile the edges of windows. So generally its a common profile. But, IMO, its a nice one.

Don't be dishartened at first using it. Must get the sharpening pretty spot on. Uncomprimising things. But, when you finally get them very sharp and set they are very good tools. They leave pleasing results that can be quite quickly obtained with a coarse cut.

I started a couple of threads on it a while back on using and sharpening them. I'm not an expert, and my sharpening technique has changed a little since, but if interested these are the old posts..... The plane I used in my examples was a sash plane similar to the one you've got pictured.
http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...iders+profiles
http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...oulding+planes

So, what other planes have you got in that box ?

Lane

A lot of the markings on your planes are the owners name or initials. Some planes may have had several owners and hence several marks. The names usually appear to have been punched into the timber. Some of the guys had their own stamp made up.

I know this cos I have just restored a whole swag of the things which a mate found in a shed. I did notice that despite the neglect, the steel was still in good shape, and took a beautiful edge once sharpened - a challenge on some of the iron's profiles. Still got cuts to prove it.