My first infill plane. I love it !

[Togalosh]

Hello Gents,

I have recently been to an Aladdin's cave of old tools & came out with a few box loads & I thought I'd show you this beauty.. any ideas on a possible maker?

It has a 3 names stamped on outside & under the blade.. Lord Fielden (I think) was particularly fond of his stamp. The Blade is WARD.

It's so nice to use but if I was to be picky I'd say that the mouth is very narrow..a bit too narrow perhaps but I do love to use it.

What slippery sloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooope ?

 

[jimi43]

Hi Togs....

Welcome to the very slippery slope that is the infill plane world!

I have seen your one or one very like it just recently...it stands out because of the rear infill and the cut in handle.

I think it started life as a handle-less coffin smoother to which a handle was added and I think the front bun has been replaced at some time...I can't see very clearly from the photos but is the wood different from the rear main infill section (not the handle part)?

Here is a dovetailed (can you just make them out on the sole/side transition?)...coffin smoother before I restored it...

This would be the handle-less shape. The ones made with handles tend to have the side cheeks curved downwards quite thinly around the handle insert....sometimes they are cut from one piece.

The WARD iron is fairly common but beautiful steel as you will find....you can sharpen it to a very keen edge indeed!

Is there a name on the brass lever cap? Does the sole look cast or can you see feint dovetails where the sides join the sole?

I would sharpen the iron up and try it out and see how it cuts.

It is probably user modified rather than user made and by the look of it...a long time ago too!

Great start...now you need a panel plane and jointer to go with it...and maybe a chariot block plane...oh...and a shoulder plane...and maybe a....... :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[Richard T]

I shouldn't worry about the mouth being very tight (I should rejoice in fact) - it's a dedicated smoother and I bet the maker made a considerable effort in leaving it so tight. It's a lot easier to leave a wider mouth.
It is designed to have but the merest whisp of a shaving pass through it and not to do any real planing graft - just finishing; with the lightest of cut.

When you've got it sharp, sharp McSharp, let's see it in action.

 

[Togalosh]

I have sharpened it but not as much as I want (ie all very even & smart as well as sharp)..it'll take some time that..but it works wonderfully as it is ! I could bring it round sometime but I'm sure you've seen it all before.

I had another to choose from that looked like a deepsea divers boot & was as heavy ..that was a beauty too.

I'll take a better set of pics as those 2 are shocking..

Chariot plane?

..I bought a box of planes... a lovely old record SS this & 7 that & some others..& built a wall unit to store them in too..so I think I've most of what I need unless a chariot plane is what I really need !

I've been using them all & I'm very pleased with them & the prices were very reasonable (compared to new but not compared to car boot finds).

 

[Keith 66]

I found an almost identical one on a dump many years ago, still use it occasionally, enjoy it!
I suppose i should say hi all as its my first post!

 

[Togalosh]

I found an almost identical one on a dump many years ago, still use it occasionally, enjoy it!
I suppose i should say hi all as its my first post!

Blimey .. that was a find & a 1/2

Welcome

 

[Graham Orm]

I found an almost identical one on a dump many years ago, still use it occasionally, enjoy it!
I suppose i should say hi all as its my first post!

That was mine, it fell out of the van when I was tipping...can I have it back please :mrgreen:

 

[AndyT]

Hi Togalosh. Nice find - and I noticed the reference to "a few box loads" more! - but where is this 'Aladdin's cave?' Is it somewhere anyone can visit?

 

[Togalosh]

Hi Togalosh. Nice find - and I noticed the reference to "a few box loads" more! - but where is this 'Aladdin's cave?' Is it somewhere anyone can visit?[/quote

Evening Andy, All of the contents are for sale.. at some point at least anyway...but I got the distinct impression that it's by invite only. That sounds wrong .. but I cannot think of how else to say it. :| ..but if it's all for sale then perhaps I'm reading things wrong. Now I think I'm hyping it up too much !!.. I'll bring it up in conversation next time I see him. Sorry for sounding cagey but I must respect his wishes.

Better pics of the plane coming up... no signs of dovetailing in sole or alterations of wooden parts except for a bit of rough digging out for chip breaker screw.. but there is a blanked off rivet (?) for the hinge of the cap (?):

 

[AndyT]

Thanks Togalosh - I was just wondering if there was a new secondhand tool shop that I didn't know about, to bookmark for the next time I'm in the Midlands!

I'm no expert on infills, but I believe that style of plane was available as a casting for the hard-up woodworker to finish off for himself, so it could just be that the original owner drilled a first hole wrong and then needed to correct it.

It's possible too that the rather large front bun was going to be shaped and reduced a bit more, but was just one of those times when the 'temporary' job becomes a permanent one. I'm not knocking it, but it looks like a 'good enough' job by a user to me.

 

[Togalosh]

hhmm.. I like the idea of plane 'kit'. The front feels very natural to hold- as does it all.

I'd love to get the standard where I could make something so wonderfully tactile & great to use...even it it was 1/2 made to start with. Chisel handles would be a start.

 

[jimi43]

hhmm.. I like the idea of plane 'kit'. The front feels very natural to hold- as does it all.

I'd love to get the standard where I could make something so wonderfully tactile & great to use...even it it was 1/2 made to start with. Chisel handles would be a start.

Go for it mate! You're on the black run slope now! :mrgreen:

Cheers

Jim

 

[Jack in Nepean]

As a recent victim of the infill owners and purveyors cabal , I would strongly suggest that you never look at any post by jimi or now Konrad, unless you have recently come into significant sums. The fact that they fall into your hand willingly and work ever so well should be discounted.

Cheers

Jack in Nepean (now Ottawa)

 

[lanemaux]

Now Jack , no cold water amigo. If togs has a "source" for the finds and gets them without a mortgage , more power to him. I fear I shall never get the chance to scratch that particular itch myself , so I wish to enjoy these gems vicariously at least! Togalosh , you devil , I love it amigo . Looks a fine working plane . Posh by my standards of course , but most stuff is. Afraid I can't help much in it's identity or lineage , just like the thing a lot.

 

[jimi43]

Don't listen to these here colonials!!! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :wink:

We live in the old country where infills planes pave the streets of London and boot fairs of Kent with abundance!! 8)

Hey...guess what...Lord Fielden was actually his first name I believe...of Todmorden...indeed the Fielden family are still in the business....

Let Your Fingers Do the Walking (boy that dates me!!)

Jim

 

[Togalosh]

The gent I bought it off said the name was not a title .. someone had a sense of humour. I ish I had more time to research him/them.

Jack, I don't quite follow what your saying.. have you been ganged up upon & forced to buy a plane you are not happy with for some extortionate price & are warding me off ??

l'anemaux, bonjour... how come you can never scratch this itch ?? is it because you do not have opposing thumbs (as your name suggests).. or do not wish to outlay on the postage? I am far from flush with cash & found this cheaper than a new plastic handled plane effort.

Now that I realise(after being told here) that this one is for fine finishing I'm now going to look for one that's for ..dimensioning (?). Now if I was to win the lottery I'd be knocking on RichardT's door for one of his beauties..ye..& spend a life time stressing over doing it justice/

 

[jimi43]

And as I say TG...he was right I believe...that supports the idea that his first name was LORD....which might have been an affectation by his parents...pretty cool thing to do....let people assume you are aristocracy! And it helps us a lot later on because it is such a rare name. If it were stamped all over with John Smith we might not be able to do so much research! :mrgreen:

I do think that Jack's comments were in jest by the way! :wink:

Enjoy your plane and get another iron for it...put a curve on the iron and that will immediately turn it into one of the best planes for dimensioning...a scrub plane.

Anything in between will give you many planes in one...with the possible exception of a small jointer which you need a panel plane and jointer plane in addition.

You should be able to pick up a panel plane for around £70 with no name on it and a bit of work. A Scottish one would do you proud and the two together are a fair arsenal!

Jimi

 

[lanemaux]

Hi Togs , thumbs ,yes . Problem is that "not flush" is so far off my radar as to be dreamland. In the world of poor , I am just a shout away from third world poor. Someday I aspire towards being destitute. It would be a step up amigo. I were just funning you on the mortgage line amigo mio. And I do really love the look of your smoother, honest tool is my impression. Jimi , howdy to you as well mate. Following your infill projects as well sir . And might I say nice stuff amigo, just stunning , that goes for the rest of the cast as well. If I could find a boot sale or yard sale guys , one with an infill in it , bet I could talk 'em down to my price point .But it is tough to negotiate on E-bay.
Yours in abject poverty ,Mike

 

[Jack in Nepean]

As jimi noted, my comments were in jest. Hand planes in general are a slippery slope, lubricated heavily by the denizens of this forum. Infills are the luge/bobsled run version of the slope, in that they are beautiful to look and hold, and generally work better than most old planes. They can become something of an addiction. I, of course, have the will to resist, the will to resist, the will to resist ....... well, maybe not.

Follow this forum and you will find a great depth and breadth of knowledge with respect to hand tools and you will learn a lot about not only purchasing tools but how to use them effectively. At least that has been my experience. Beware though, the slopes are near. But pay me no attention, just a colonial boy you know.

Cheers

Jack in Nepean

 

[Richard T]

"Now that I realise(after being told here) that this one is for fine finishing I'm now going to look for one that's for ..dimensioning (?). Now if I was to win the lottery I'd be knocking on RichardT's door for one of his beauties..ye..& spend a life time stressing over doing it justice/
"

Spot on. As soon as you put a camber on an iron and open the mouth up it gets a lot easier for the plane to do what is expected of it, ie; be a fore plane. This is why there are no infill fore planes - there is no need and they would be too heavy for the usual, acrobatic fore plane work - out.

A #5 or a woody jack are perfectly good for the task.

(The fact that I made a start on an infill fore plane a couple of years ago should be ignored - or at least put down to youth and high spirits . I'll never forget what Bill C said when I told him of the plan; he said "yer not are yer?")