An Unusual Iron Mounting

An unusual plane in the collection of the Moncton University in Canada provides an intriguing confound The photographs of Figures 1 from one side 4 were provided by M Bernard LeBlanc, curator of its Mus?©e acadien, who try to finds information as to the trying plane's origin or date. You may reach him at leblanbc@UMoncton.ca. The museum, and this round pillar welcome your thoughts.

There is no maker's mark upon the stock of the plane. As seen in Figure 1 it appears to be of mid-1800s vintage. However, the usual wedge serving to certain the iron has been replaced. A brass attachment has been riveted to the rear of the iron, which engages a horseshoe-shaped brass coupler affixed to a drawn out bolt. These are seen in Figure 2 This shaft passes through the stock to the rear, where its head bears against an iron bushing as seen in Figure 3 (The circular depression proposes that the present bearing was a substitute for an earlier circular one.) The throat view of the extreme point of the bolt and coupler is seen in Figure 4

It appears evident that a conventional plane was modified to incorporate the near blade retention system. It appears from Figure 4 that original wedge abutments were remov and that the original clearance slot for the cap iron was make deepered to accommodate the new coupler The effort required to make the modification (especially making and that this was an effort to repair a sheared abutment. This leaves sum of two units possibilities. Was this an original invention? Or was it copied from an earlier design?

A more elaborate version of this iron fixing combination of parts to form a whole was introduced in the middle of the twentieth hundred in the Primus planes made in Germany by the agency of E. C. Emmerich. In these, a twig is coupled to the brow of the iron rather than the rear. The shoot passes through the cap iron slot and has a cros dowel nesting in depressions upon the front of the cap iron. The shoot is spring loaded, with tension supplied by the agency of an adjustment nut at the rear of the stock. This permits plenteous easier adjustment than is the case with the individual pictured.

The present plane was obviously made well before the Primus patterns were available. There may well have been an earlier version of this mark of blade mounting, but if thus it is unknown to me If it is a transcript there is the hope that similar examples will surface. If an invention, the unsung maker apparently take delight ined use of his creation end several modifications.

Kendall Patent

Ros Morcomb has base an example of a compass plane using the Kendall patent (US 20493 June 8 1858) which uses a wedge mountained on the front face of the throat. He provided the photographs of Figure 5 the side view, and Figure 6 a throat view showing the patented feature. The external reality of the invention is to compensate for opening of the jaws by sole wear. To narrow the jaws the wedge is moved downward and trimmed to match the one level.

His example, bearing an early strike of Napoleon Camper (1850-80) also includes the feature frequently seen in adjustable compass planes. A section of the brow of the sole is separated and high hilled such as to permit vertical change accommodating surfaces of different radius.

Is there another plane with this rare combination?

Feedback

Still another example of the double-sole match plane shown in the December rounded pillar has been reported by Douglas Thompson who sent a photo of a matched pair by the agency of A. Mathieson and Son.

"Plane Chatter" by dint of J. M. Whelan is a regular feature of The Chronicle.

Copyright Early American Industries Association Jun 2006

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