For you wooden plane enthusiasts...

[kirkpoore1]

On another thread, I got a little razzing for wanting to put my wooden planes on display in the house instead of to work in the shop. Since y'all are so concerned, I figured I'd give you a look at most of them. I'm not an expert in this area, and have done zero research. So I'll let you plane nerds enlighten me on them.

First up, is a matched set of tongue and grove planes, given to me by a friend:

End view:

The back side:

I have no idea on the wood. It's pretty light, and has flecks or rays like oak, but it's not oak. There are several stamps:
"JM Campbell", which is overstruck with "CFC". Maybe JM's son inherited the planes?
Also, very faint, is "J Kellog", with "Amherst MS" (i.e. Massachusetts) below it.
Also present are the numbers 62 and 8.
Nice condition. I haven't measured, but they look set for wood about 1" wide. The groove iron is about 1/4" wide.

Next are my great-great-grandfather's planes. George Parsons was born in England in about 1830, and came to the United States in 1859. I don't know if these planes came with him. He died in 1913, so that places a end limit on their date.

First, a rabbet plane. I'm pretty sure I have the iron for this, though it's not in the plane:

Pretty elaborate, with a brass depth stop, nicking blade, and fence.

The fence on the underside:

Very nice brass fittings in the fence.
There are several stamps on this one. The plane maker seems to be:
"NELSON"
"15_ Edgewater Road"
(The character after the "15" is illegible.)

Next is "E INGERSENT". This is overstamped with "G PARSONS".
Again, no idea on the wood. I suppose it could be beech. Little visible grain.

George Parsons' second plane is a plow. I have several irons for this one.

The fence is held by wedges.

Steel rail on the underside. Brass tip on the leading edge of the fence. This may be later addition, since the wood looks a little damaged behind it. There is also brass on the ends of the fence arms. Not the fanciest plow plane in the world, but also not the cheapest, I'd say. The visible stamps are:
"JOHN GREEN"
"BRIDGES"
"G PARSONS"

Finally, the spokeshave. I actually use this fairly frequently. I've made a few spokeshaves using Hock blades, but they don't have a high angle blade like this one. The sole is pretty worn on this.

And the underside:

The wood is an extremely fine grain wood. Stamps are:"G PARSONS"
and
"T. Walterace"
"Sheffield"
This one is a great user, and I'm proud to both keep it in the family and put it to use.

I hope you enjoyed the show.

Kirk

 

[mtr1]

Nice planes, I like the t&g set the most, very cool. They all look to be made from beech, except the shave which looks like boxwood.

 

[AndyT]

Nice!

The match planes are of course US made - apparently J. Kellogg made planes from 1835 to 1867 - and are probably beech. Made in pairs to suit standard thicknesses of timber, so good that you have both. For more info you'd need to look in the standard reference book "A Guide to the Makers of American Wooden Planes" by Pollak - I don't have a copy - but there's a bit more info here http://www.davistownmuseum.org/bioJKellogg.html

Your moving fillister plane is English - Richard P Nelson was making planes at 122 Edgware Road, London, between 1835 and 1852. Beech again. Useful for rebates with and across the grain.

Your plough is a bit battered but probably perfectly usable; it is simple enough to make new wedges if needed, though a bit of care on the part of the person adjusting the plane makes them last longer!

There were several planemakers called John Green, in London and in York, at the end of the 18th century and start of the 19th, so this could be quite early - maybe your great-grandad bought it second hand! If you want to post a picture of the mark, someone else with the right reference book might be able to pin down which John Green made yours. Again, it's almost certainly usable, though it looks to have a problem common on wooden ploughs - the fence distorts as it shrinks, so the side is no longer parallel to the iron. The effect is that as you plough a deeper groove, the fence binds tight against the work.

The spokeshave is boxwood, so it would have started out as a premium quality item, better than common beech. I agree with you on how nice they are to use!

If you want to make these historically interesting planes look a bit tidier on display, I suggest a gentle wiping with a turpentine-dipped rag (to get the dirt off) followed by a touch of boiled linseed oil (wipe on, wait, wipe off). That's the sort of maintenance they would have had when they were in use. But don't use power tools, abrasives, or brass polish.

 

[Blister]

Kirk

Why not do both :mrgreen:

Put them on a shelf at home to look at 8)

then take them into the workshop to use when needed

Easy , sorted :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[kirkpoore1]

Andy, thanks for the info. For some reason, it just didn't strike me how old these could be. You're right that my g-g-gf bought the plow and rabbet second hand, since they both have the name stamps of other owners. He must have gotten the spokeshave new, though.

I will clean them up. Good idea not to use brass cleaner on the brass, but I am going to use some steel wool on the steel parts and irons--I don't care for the "rust" look. If the fence on the plow is indeed distorted, do you recommend straightening it for use with a little bit of planing?

Kirk

 

[AndyT]

I will clean them up. Good idea not to use brass cleaner on the brass, but I am going to use some steel wool on the steel parts and irons--I don't care for the "rust" look. If the fence on the plow is indeed distorted, do you recommend straightening it for use with a little bit of planing?

Kirk

I agree about rust and would also clean the steel parts with fine steel wool if they were mine.

With the fence distortion, it's up to you and (being careful not to open up a huge topic) there's a wide spectrum of approaches. What is right for a common tool that you want to use might not be right for a rare, historic tool. Where's this one on the spectrum? Dunno. It depends on how old and rare it is, plus the condition it's in, (not good at present!) its market value now and in the foreseeable future, the sentimental value to you and your confidence in your own skills. Ultimately it's your property, and you decide.

Try it as it is before you change anything, and favour reversible changes.

Btw what names are on the irons? These might be equally old, or later replacements - plough irons are an unusual example of widespread standardisation and can generally be swapped around at will.

 

[kirkpoore1]

Btw what names are on the irons? These might be equally old, or later replacements - plough irons are an unusual example of widespread standardisation and can generally be swapped around at will.

I'll check on the irons. I didn't think to look at them for marks. Might as well take inventory anyway.

I also have one very nice gouge, and several chisels in various stages of decreptitude (bad or missing handles, chipped edges) that I need to break out. One long thin chisel has no handle, so somebody was beating on the socket with a hammer. I swear, somebody in my family was a barbarian--that's going to take some time on the grinder and with a dremel to get it where it can take a handle again. But the chisel blade is in excellent shape.

Kirk