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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Victoria, Australia
    Posts
    137

    Default Opinions needed on old Jack plane (with special interest)

    Hello everyone,


    I'm writing to get some opinions from you good people with experience in antique tools, on what could be either a very fortunate twist of fate, or just a mere coincidence.


    Many moons ago I bought a bunch of old wooden hand planes at a clearance auction that was held in Orbost in Eastern Victoria. These included large Shooting planes, Moulding planes and Jack planes. All the planes sat in a box in my workshop gathering dust until recently when I decided to clean them up and get them working again. Among those planes was an old wooden jack plane in need of repair and when I started cleaning it I found the word "WAVERLEY" deeply stamped into one cheek of the plane body in large capital letters.


    Now, here's the rub. In my family history there is positive proof that my ancestors emigrated from Scotland and arrived in Australia on the 20th December, 1848 on the Barque WAVERLEY, a sailing vessel of 436 tons, Master: Capt.James Morgan. (I have a copy of the passenger list).


    Probably a coincidence I know, but could it be at all feasible that this old jack plane originally belonged to the ship's carpenter on the Waverley? Maybe am I just wishful thinking, but I sure like to find out one way or the other.


    The plane iron, though rusted, is made of excellent quality steel and is almost 200mm long. It's also tapered steel and at it's thickest end near the cutting edge it's 5mm thick and tapers to 2mm at the top end. On the face of the iron there is a kind of grid pattern that looks as it's been stamped by hand with a punch that had a diamond shaped tip. Under the 'grid' is the words "Cast Steel".


    The cap iron is amazing. It has been beautifully chamfered at the top edge and corners, and has a round brass nut to hold the round steel screw and the nut is set into a square hole in the iron. The steel screw is interesting because it has no knurling around it's edge like later planes have, There are no brand names on the iron or the heel of the plane body. I know this is a long shot but could this plane be dated by those markings on the plane iron?


    These observations make me think that this jack plane is of an earlier date than those that were mass produced in Sheffield and other places in the late 1800's. The finish of it, and the quality of it, while still having a kind of roughness about it, makes me wonder if this plane was from the 1840's or earlier.


    The barque Waverley was a privately owned immigrant ship and made several voyages. It wasn't a government vessel or a ship of the Royal Navy so you would not expect to see it's name as "HMS Waverley". This fact kind of raises my hopes that the plane belonged to that barque "WAVERLEY".


    I have included a bunch of photos and would be grateful to read your thoughts on this topic.


    Thankyou.

    IS5ELtm.jpglVfzxeT.jpgcT7WUpk.jpgu8XvsmS.jpgbwdx2Pn.jpg

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2001
    Location
    Perth
    Posts
    10,810

    Default

    Unlikely, I'm afraid. That looks like an owner's mark. This is a maker's mark ...



    The owner's mark is impressed into the wood (as you have) ...



    Regards from Perth

    Derek
    Visit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    Sutherland Shire, Sydney
    Age
    71
    Posts
    1,301

    Default Useless information

    Although having nothing to do with planes, I have won a few trivia discussions over the years regarding the word 'Waverley'
    On the old paper $5 notes there is a sailing ship which most people would say is the Endeavour. If one were to get a magnifying glass and look at the pennant/ flag on that ship, you would find the word "WAVERLEY".

    Having added some useless information to your brain, I will get back to some woodwork in the shed.

    Alan...Screen Shot 2019-08-26 at 8.16.53 am.jpg
    Last edited by Uncle Al; 26th August 2019 at 09:41 AM. Reason: Added image

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Victoria, Australia
    Posts
    137

    Default

    Hi Uncle Al,

    Yes, I remember that $5 note. There was a big discussion in the newspapers back then that the Mint had used the wrong picture when they printed the note. It was indeed supposed to be the three masted barque "Waverley" but the pic they used was of a two masted brig! A brig is a much smaller vessel and they just tacked the Waverley name onto it.

    Thanks for the reply.

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    Sutherland Shire, Sydney
    Age
    71
    Posts
    1,301

    Default Who is responsible?

    Looks like the mint is still having problems with accuracy, having the wrong spelling of 'responsibility' on the latest $50 note.
    News Australia: The $2.3b spelling mistake on millions of new $50 notes

    I think I have hijacked redx's thread enough, time to go back into the shed.

    Alan...

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Victoria, Australia
    Posts
    137

    Default

    Hi Derek,

    Thanks for the info and pics. I did know what a makers mark looked like but I can't find any on the plane anywhere.

    I was thinking last night about about ships and ship carpenters and came to the conclusion that a ship carpenter would probably have had to provide his own tools and if so would have his own mark on them and not the name of the ship. If he did supply his own tools they'd go with him each time he got a billet on a different ship so it would be most unlikely that he'd stamp a ship's name on them. I guess after all, that the word Waverley could be the name of an early farm or squatter's run out in eastern Victoria. Trying to link my old plane with the barque Waverley was I admit, a bit of a pie in the sky.

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