Moulding planes was there ever a 'set'?

[t8hants]

Over the years I have acquired about thirty wooden moulding planes which one day soon I hope to have out of their box and start experimenting with. Idly watching one or two go by on e-cove I got to wondering was there ever a recognized 'set' that a young apprentice might have to save up for, or were they always bought as need arose?

Just curious.

Gareth

 

[bugbear]

Over the years I have acquired about thirty wooden moulding planes which one day soon I hope to have out of their box and start experimenting with. Idly watching one or two go by on e-cove I got to wondering was there ever a recognized 'set' that a young apprentice might have to save up for, or were they always bought as need arose?

Just curious.

Gareth

The latter. Moulding planes are used to make whatever moulding the customer wants, so the planes you need depend on fashion and your customers.

BugBear

 

[AndyT]

Like BB said, but hollows and rounds were offered in sets - a full set was 18 pairs, numbered 1 to 18, rising by 1/8" in the smaller sizes, or 1/4" in the larger ones. You could also buy a half set, which was 9 pairs (just the odd or even numbers).

Here's some evidence for this, from an old Melhuish and Co catalogue at Rose Tools (http://www.roseantiquetools.com/id220.html) which I think is around 1900

 

[Alf]

Hollows and rounds, yup, but don't believe there was ever a case of "Moulding planes, ogee, 3/8", one; beads, side, 1/4", 3/8" 1/2"; etc; apprentices, for the use of" which is what I think the OP was wondering?

 

[laird]

I always understood moulding plans were frequently user made, to suit the job. Certainly only one of mine has a manufacturers name on it (Mathieson).

 

[lwilliams]

In 1736 Richard Neve published his Builder's Dictionary and included what was a basic set of planes:

Even by this date professional British plane making was well established and there were a pretty good number of plane makers working in Great Britain. I believe craftsman-made planes were rare by the end of the first quarter of the 18th Century.