Plane identification (plus special bonus item).

[joshvegas]

Purely out of interest, I'm not into collecting tools.

But this plane was in a job lot in a local auction*. 30quid including a record router plane and some nice big Sheffield chisels and a bunch of Moore and right measuring callipers. Does anyone know what it is? It's an interesting sole arrangement when you tap the back with a happer to unseat the blade (ibbotson btw) and the whole lot shoots off?

Like I say, I'm not a collector and it certainly doesn't owe me anything, I might sell it as is or restore (fashion a new wedge and sharpen it) Certain I have seen one before though.

*Not telling you where because I seem to be the only bidder on plenty of stuff.

As for the bonus item what would the polish pointy thing be for? It looks like a ground rat tail and while polished it's undulating to it certainly feels like a ground down rat tail. But the user has gone to some lengths to keep it nice and make it comfortable by covering the tang. The estate it came from covered woodwork and engineering and mechanicing in the various lots so it could be from any such activity. Or it's an excessive knitting needle!

 

[joshvegas]

Ah yes the heavily nibbled wood was a sorby cleaver handle. And the swirly shaving are from a spill plane. It was a good box!

 

[Inspector]

I've seen pictures of that kind of plane before where there were a number of soles, hollows and rounds I think, with matching blades. Can't remember where or when I saw the pictures.

Pete

 

[Adam W.]

It's a pattern makers plane.

 

[joshvegas]

See I wondered that Adam I had kinda assumed they were smaller for some reason this is ño5 ish

 

[toolsntat]

It's a pattern makers plane.

As Adam says this has all the hallmarks of a pattern makers plane but there is an anomaly in so far as the set up presented here is with a straight ground double iron as opposed to multiple radiussed single irons and matching soles.
I would be surprised if the rest of the irons were double as you'd need matching chip breakers for at least some of them.
Maybe it has been adapted to a double iron just for the purpose of doing standard flat work and another wedge was used for the radiussed single irons.?
This size isn't unheard of and I have a jack plane sized (all wood body) one in my collection.
Cheers, Andy

 

[joshvegas]

Maybe it has been adapted to a double iron just for the purpose of doing standard flat work and another wedge was used for the radiussed single irons.?

Well it would explain the shonky wedge!

Andy would the blades have been tapered and what would have been used for the sole? beech?

And the key question @toolsntat.

Useful tool or useless tat?!

 

[toolsntat]

Most definitely a useful tool...

Most of the examples I own and have seen are with parallel irons.
Beech is often the material of choice.

I had the most amazing luck to find a very nice example which has since been confirmed as not the only one.
Thread 'Pattern makers radius plane, professionally made?' Pattern makers radius plane, professionally made?

I've just remembered that I have an adapted double iron version but owing to the depth of sole does away with the need to have the chip breaker next to the cutting edge. The big bonus is that the adjustment mechanism is still usable.

Cheers, Andy