Mystery specialised moulding plane

Dr W · 16 Dec 2021

Can anyone offer a suggestion what this plane might have been designed for? It was made by James Panton of Aberdeen (so c.1882-1908, according to BPM) and has a movable fence on the bottom, similar to a sliding fillister. But unlike a normal fillister/rabbet plane, this one cuts a fixed sized slot with a square face on the side away from the fence, a square base, and a 45 degree chamfered side nearest the fence - as per the first photo. It clearly ain't decorative in function, so must have been for some specific purpose. The fence allows you to adjust the distance from the slot to the edge of the workpiece - anywhere from around 3/8" to 1" - but obviously the width and depth of the slot are fixed.

it came as an 'extra', alongside some more useful planes, so it was a kinda 'freebie'. Very unlikely I'll ever need to use it, but I would love to know what it was for!

AdrianUK · 16 Dec 2021

I’ve seen so something very similar for cutting the profile in a block used to make moulding/beading plane wedges.

JobandKnock · 16 Dec 2021

It's a sash meeting rail plane. Part of a journeyman joiner's kit at one time along with his sash moulders, sash fillister, etc,

Edit: I realised that I should have qualified that - these were predominently used on storm-proof sashes, so really found more in Scotland, Northern England and Northern Ireland than in the Midlands and South

Dr W · 17 Dec 2021

JobandKnock said:
It's a sash meeting rail plane. Part of a journeyman joiner's kit at one time along with his sash moulders, sash fillister, etc,

Edit: I realised that I shoiuld have qualified that - these were predominently used on storm-proof sashes, so really found more in Scotland, Northern England and Northern Ireland than in the Midlands and South

Bingo! I think we have the answer.

While I was tempted by Adrian's wedge-cutting idea, I think those would have a slight radius between the edges, whereas with this it's a sharp transition. Also, the dimensions of the finial are pretty much fixed, so a movable fence wouldn't make much sense...

But in storm-lashed Scotland, weatherproof windows sound like a winner.
Not something one sees much down here in the tranquil south of England, but just did a search for "storm-proof sash meeting rail" and funnily enough this pic showed up on an Aberdeen (where the plane was made) Council page of guidance on replacing historic sash windows:

The angle illustrated matches the iron perfectly.
I also did a little digging for the name on the owner's stamp, based on when the plane would have been made. In the 1901 Aberdeenshire census there are a great many "A. Thomson"s but only one employed in a woodwork related trade; an "Alexander Thomson", of Esslemont Avenue (less than a mile from Panton's Bridge St works), who's listed as a "Joiner". Nice to think that some of the sash windows still in use in that part of Aberdeen would have been cut with this plane.

So - still not a tool I'm likely to use on a regular basis but at least now it has its story.

Thanks guys!