Thanks to all who have ventured their thoughts and info on this matter.
To me, the logic of the citations John came up with calls to mind the
Stanley "Sure-Form" rasp, or one of those Japanese jobbies that look
like several hacksaw blades toothed on both sides and riveted together
like a grid of diamond-shaped spaces. Or maybe even a wood rasp as we
know it. Arguing against "another name for a smoothing plane" is that
surely whoever put the original list together would know the proper
name, and not invent a new name that none of us can now connect with a
common smoothing plane. FWIW, I never supposed "rubber plane" had
anything to with the *substance* we know as rubber, vulcanized or not. I
have thought along the lines of the action of rubbing. But I still don't
know why a plane would be called a "rubber plane." Would it help if I
mentioned that most of the carpenters on the payroll of Hudson's Bay
Co., which operated Fort Vancouver, were of French Canadian origin?
Could something have been lost in translation between a list provided by
a semi-literate French-speaking carpenter and the English clerk who was
compiling the inventory of the shop? Still a puzzlement. Tom H.

On Aug 10, 2012, at 7:30 AM, Zachary Dillinger
 wrote:
> So, following the logic of the information posted by John, perhaps the
> rubber plane is a smooth plane. The inventory doesn't have one, unless
> 1 hand plane is a smooth plane per Tom's assumption.
> --
> Zachary Dillinger The Eaton County Joinery
> www.theeatoncountyjoinery.com 517-231-3374
>>> On Fri, Aug 10, 2012 at 10:09 AM, John L  wrote:
>> Interestingly, the OED cites a number of potential "rubber" tools for
>> the plasterer, stone mason and metalsmith. Not sure which of the
>> following if any apply to your inventory, but it might give you some
>> leads to pursue. JL
>>>>>> A metal or stone implement used for rubbing, esp. in order to
>>>>>> smooth or
>> flatten a surface. Now chiefly hist.
>>>> 1794 D. Steel Elements Rigging & Seamanship 88 Rubber, a small iron
>> instrument, in a wooden handle, to rub down or flatten the seams.
>> 1835 J. Holman Voy. round World III. xiv. 422 The plaster
>> is..smoothed with a rubber, until it acquires an even surface. 1850
>> C. Holtzapffel Turning & Mech. Manip. III. 1089 The Rubber used by
>> Masons and Statuaries is frequently a slab of grit stone, to which a
>> handle is attached by means of an iron strap. 1875 E. H. Knight
>> Pract. Dict. Mech. 1997/1 In the moldings of stone, an iron rubber
>> mounted on a wooden stock is employed for fillets, beads, and
>> astragals. 1933 S. Casson Technique Early Greek Sculpt. i. i. 36 The
>> hard stones are worked with abrasive rubbers for the general surfaces
>> and outlines. 2008 V. E. Szabo Monstrous Fishes & Mead-dark Sea v.
>> 152 The most common objects found on early sites include..maintenance
>> implements including combs, smoothers, rubbers.
>>>>>> A pad or roll of soft material used for rubbing and polishing,
>>>>>> spec. a
>> piece of wadding wrapped in a cloth and used in the application of
>> French polish.
>>>> 1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 801 The polishing rubbers [for marble] are
>> coarse linen cloths, or bagging, wedged tight into an iron
>> planing tool.
>>>>>>>> A large, coarse file, esp. one used for metalwork. In later use
>>>>>>>> chiefly
>> more fully rubber file.
>>>> 1678 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. i. 14 The Rough or Course
>>>> Tooth'd File
>> (which if it be large is called a Rubber). 1771 Invoice 3 Dec. in G.
>> Washington Papers (1993) VIII. 558, 4 Smiths Rubber Files. 1837 J.
>> Bennett in N. Whittock et al. Compl. Bk. Trades 225 The very heavy
>> files, such as smiths' rubbers, are made of the inferior marks of
>> blistered steel. 1846 C. Holtzapffel Turning & Mech. Manip. II. 825
>> Rubbers..measure from 12 to 18 inches long,..and are made very
>> convex. 1875 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. 1997/2 Rubber-file, a
>> heavy, fish-bellied file, designated by weight, which varies from
>> four to fifteen pounds. 1905 Dental Cosmos 47 1001/1 With a rubber
>> file or any flat rough file, file the solder away outside the pins.
>> 1916 Proc. National Acad. Sci. 2 128 The tools required in
>> metallurgy, as those for..shaping=97hammer, file, rubbers, polishers.
>> 2000 Modelling & Painting Figures 22 (caption) Begin the sanding with
>> a rubber file.

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