Bought on a whim - Plough Plane

[MickCheese]

Saw this on eBay and thought, "Why not".

Cost me £21 with postage.

Griffiths Of Norwich. Just one blade, would it have been supplied with more?

Arrived this morning and now off to work so no chance to try it yet. Any tips on getting the best from it would be good. Needs sharpening but looks in really good condition. Company went out of business in the 1950s and had been trading from the mid 1800s my research seems to indicate.

I just like it.

Mick

 

[bugbear]

Griffiths made very nice planes; they used I Sorby blades (marked as such, too) for a lot of their output.

To answer your question, a plough plane would be sold with 8 blades, to handle the various size grooves needed.

Like this:

http://www.oldtools.co.uk/tools/Hildick ... n_Set.html

BugBear

 

[MickCheese]

Griffiths made very nice planes; they used I Sorby blades (marked as such, too) for a lot of their output.

To answer your question, a plough plane would be sold with 8 blades, to handle the various size grooves needed.

Like this:

http://www.oldtools.co.uk/tools/Hildick ... n_Set.html

BugBear

Thought so and thanks for the info.

I had better keep an eye out for 7 more then.

Mick

 

[Richard T]

Looks very good Mick.

What is the size of blade that you have with it? I see them occasionally for sale at boot/steam fairs but it is a long time until next season.

 

[marcus]

Perhaps these would fit?

http://www.oldtools.co.uk/tools/6_Wm._Marples_Plough_Irons.html

 

[AndyT]

In my experience, old plough plane irons are generally interchangeable. However, there are no guarantees! If your new irons are significantly thicker or thinner, or have a different taper, you might need to make yourself a second wedge to use instead of the one that came with the plane.

You will enjoy the solidity of those big old chunky irons.

One practical point - on some ploughs I have noticed that the fence has shrunk radially so that the face which should be vertical is leaning over a few degrees. This is a problem which gets worse if you want to make anything other than a very shallow groove. Two solutions spring to mind. Either plane that face so it is vertical again, or fix a slim extra piece of wood on, planed at the correct angle.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

It's also worth checking that the two skate sections are level and in line. A little shimming with thin card, or careful paring, can bring them in line (did with mine, anyway), and if they aren't level, file carefully until they are.

The iron sizes are (nominally) 1 - 1/8", 2 - 3/16", 3 - 1/4", 4 - 5/16", 5 - 3/8", 6 - 7/16", 7 - 1/2" and 8 - 9/16". Those sizes are definitely nominal, and can vary by a good few thous. Have a search on Ebay for 'plough plane irons' - sometimes there are sets, but there are usually plenty of individual sizes, though the 1/4" ones seem scarce. I suspect that's because it's such a well used size that most planes had it fitted, and the other sizes kicked around loose. Individually, they're not that expensive - about £3 to £4 each plus postage. Expect to pay about £20 - £30 for a set, more for a matched set.

 

[arnoldmason8]

Hi Mike If you are going to use it for cutting grooves for plywood etc you will need to buy a few extra irons and grind them to the correct metric sizes that you need.

Nice plane BTW----------Cheers---Arnold

 

[MickCheese]

Thanks for all the replies.

The iron that came with it is 5/16" . I will give this a try after sharpening and see how I get on.

The only mark on it is the number 4. Quite a hefty thing heavily tapered.

Mick

 

[DTR]

I have a very similar Sorby plough. I ended up with an extra iron for it, a no7 or 8 I think. You're welcome to it if you want it.

 

[Carl P]

I also have a couple of spare irons, PM me with your address and sizes you need and I'll post them to you,

Cheerio,

Carl

 

[MickCheese]

That's very kind of you both.

PM's in electronic heaven

Mick

 

[bugbear]

It's quite common to find ploughs with the blade set missing, and a single blade fitted.

This is almost always around the 1/4" size. This is because ploughs were also used
as rather extreme marking gauges, to set out custom mouldings, or when making large rebates.

A modern worker would likely use a table saw for similar purposes.

The requirement is that the blade be narrow enough not to be hard work, but wide enough to be robust and easy to sharpen.

Even when all the blades are present, the 1/4" one is often by far the most used up.

BugBear

 

[MickCheese]

Well I sharpened the blade and gave it a go on some scrap.

Works surprisingly well, I can see me using this in place of my router for small jobs, it's a lot quieter!

Mick

 

[bugbear]

Well I sharpened the blade and gave it a go on some scrap.

Works surprisingly well, I can see me using this in place of my router for small jobs, it's a lot quieter!

Mick

Why "surprisingly"? It was a core part of a cabinet makers arsenal for centuries!

BugBear

 

[MickCheese]

Well I sharpened the blade and gave it a go on some scrap.

Works surprisingly well, I can see me using this in place of my router for small jobs, it's a lot quieter!

Mick

Why "surprisingly"? It was a core part of a cabinet makers arsenal for centuries!

BugBear

I suppose having been brought up on noisy spiny things and using hand tools relatively recently is surprises me when I achieve something that I often thought was beyond my skill level.

I was always of the belief that machines were accurate and took less skill to use. In fact what I seem to have found out is they just screw up wood faster.

Mick

 

[MickCheese]

I also have a couple of spare irons, PM me with your address and sizes you need and I'll post them to you,

Cheerio,

Carl

Carl

The irons arrived safely.

Thanks so much.

Regards

Mick