Thread: Some wooden plane help please ?

Ken, I have no answers to your questions, but I have been doing the same as you have: when some old wooden plane cropped up I purchased it. Now I have a dozen (total cost$145). I have tried initially to ask questions here about identification and restoration like you are doing.

What I have gathered so far is that there is a lot of them around and they are all worthless in antique/ collection terms. The lucky find might be possible, but my strategy is to pay less than $20 for a tool still useable and in good condition (which seems to be what you did also) and only one of each type. The risk of missing out on a windfall or worse to ruin a rare piece is so small that I have decided to ignore it.

Of course, you might enjoy the research in itself, and for that Google still is the easiest way. Good luck!

Hi Ken, it looks like a nice find and I hope you enjoy it.

As Frank said, I doubt they have much value as antiques, but they can make great users and are really nice to use.

The best source of information on British planes is Goodman's "British Planemakers from 1700". I have the second edition, but understand that the third edition has a much more extensive list of planemakers. You may also try the UK forum. They may have better answers.

According to Goodman, Alex Mathieson operated in the first half of the 20th century. The "I.SORBY" stamp was used by many planemakers from the early 19th century till mid 20th century. The device used in the shield probably identifies the maker, but I am not an expert on these, and cannot help. Both David Malloch and Thomas Ibbotson operated in the 19th century. I do not know whether Malloch used Ibbotson irons. It may be original.

The practice of plane shodding was fairly common, and I would assume that the brass plate is a later addition.

Well Ken, you have a set of planes that you can put back into use if you want to.
You have a Jack plane - 17 inch, a jointer - 22 inch, and the little smoother.
Robert Howard did a tutorial on restoring a wooden plane in the Australian Wood Review Volume 61. It was rather good. Your local library would likely have a copy.
As for the smoother, its mouth looks a little on the large side to me, so the base has possibly been jointed to re-flatten it. This does widen the mouth. The Brass shoe was probably added to attempt to close it up again. It is this smoother that should have a tight mouth to produce the fine shavings that you need from a smoothing plane. Not as necessary on a jointer and less so on a jack plane. It is necessary to keep clearing the throat of these planes after each swipe, or they can have a tendency to choke on shavings, but they are fun to use.
If you ever get a chance to use one of Terry Gordon's wooden planes you will be forever hooked on them. The throats of his planes are not so deep, and they clear the shavings easily. They are also made to very close tolerances and are worth every penny that they cost.
In the meantime have some fun with these. They will need some work to get them going, but that article in AWR will guide you nicely.
Happy shavings
SG

Morning Ken,

This mob might help:
Handplane Central - Hand planes, Stanley planes, infill planes & planemaking

or this:
Traditional Woodworking Tools Internet Magazine - wkFineTools.com

and try Garett Hack's "Handplane Book" https://www.woodworkforums.com/f152/f...e-book-108546/

You could even have a chat to The Traditional Tools Group: The Traditional Tools Group (Inc.)

Hope that helps.

Cheers,
Virg.

PS Nice planes btw.

Guys, thanks for the links to chase up. While I agree that they're not going to make me a fortune as an antique dealer, I really wanted them to use them and I figure knowing a little about their history just adds to the enjoyment.

SG Do you know where I can get my hands on a copy of the tutorial you mentioned. These are definitely going to be users, so as you say, there's a bit of work to be done and I'd rather gather as much information as possible before starting.

Mind you the jointer has a sole that is really flat, the back of the iron has a mirror finish, and I reckon with a few minutes on the waterstones I'll be shaving with it. Someone used to take care of it and I don't reckon it was the same guy who belted it with a ball peen hammer.

While I'd love one of Terry's I reckon I'll have fun with these for a bit and perhaps learn a few things in the process.

Originally Posted by Itsa_What?

SG Do you know where I can get my hands on a copy of the tutorial you mentioned. These are definitely going to be users, so as you say, there's a bit of work to be done and I'd rather gather as much information as possible before starting.

The article by Robert Howard is well written and illustrated. He actually restores and fettles an old wooden jack plane to working condition, and it is in poor condition to start with.
This article is not online. You will have to source volume 61 of the Australian Wood Review. Most local libraries subscribe to the magazine and will lend it out.
Alternatively AWR has back copies for sale and these are available from their website.
Happy researching
Cheers
SG

Thanks SG. Found the website and ordered issue 61 so just have to sit back and wait until it arrives.

And you were spot on about the smoother too. Had a very close look at it today and it has a very fine crack in the nose. Looks like the brass was an attempt to make sure the crack went no further and to close up the mouth some.