OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

267907 Kirk Eppler <eppler.kirk@g...> 2019‑02‑18 Odd wooden mitre plane issue
Hey gang

Grabbed this mitre plane off FB, intrigued by the low angle, but puzzled by
the hole. Do you think this was a knot that someone opened the mouth to get
rid of ( have my doubts), or an attempted modification that failed?  The
bottom looks fairly vintage, and has a chamfer around it's perimeter, so I
don't think it's that worn.  There is a shim to help close the mouth up for
the (non-existent) blade. There are glue marks on the shim that match the
hole in the body.  Was someone mounting a gouge in there at some point?

https://kirkhmb.smugmug.com/Woodworking/Woodworking-Tools/i-RDgDtD2

https://kirkhmb.smugmug.com/Woodworking/Woodworking-Tools/i-4gDh6WM

I'm tempted to replace the shim w something a bit beefier, the current one
seems to be vintage light-weight pine or something similar.

Only mark is M. S. Ward on both ends, guessing the owner. There is a stain
on the back of the wedge that looks like a keyhole slotted iron was in it.
Have to poke around for a 1-3/4" blade in the stash.

Any input on ideas welcome.
267912 Paul Gardner <yoyopg@g...> 2019‑02‑18 Re: Odd wooden mitre plane issue
Now there’s a project for you!  Good for at least a few weeks of
procrastination from a more pressing project.  My opinion is that it is
unlikely a plane maker capable enough of making a low angle wooden miter
plane would make the mistake of miscalculating the placement of a natural
defect so close to the mouth.  Whatever it was seems to be responsible for
that  huge furrow as well.  How big is the mouth when everything is
assembled?

Paul, getting ready to head down to the shop in a sip or two.
267924 "Adam R. Maxwell via OldTools" <oldtools@s...> 2019‑02‑19 Re: Odd wooden mitre plane issue
> On Feb 18, 2019, at 07:55 , Kirk Eppler  wrote:
> 
> Grabbed this mitre plane off FB, intrigued by the low angle, but puzzled by
> the hole. Do you think this was a knot that someone opened the mouth to get
> rid of ( have my doubts), or an attempted modification that failed?

Could the maker have miscalculated when boring a hole
for the bed? That's my first thought. I guess you could
hold another tool in there, but that seems odd.

-- adam
267929 Kirk Eppler <eppler.kirk@g...> 2019‑02‑19 Re: Odd wooden mitre plane issue
On Mon, Feb 18, 2019 at 9:52 PM Adam R. Maxwell  wrote:

> On Feb 18, 2019, at 07:55 , Kirk Eppler  wrote:
>
> Grabbed this mitre plane off FB, intrigued by the low angle, but puzzled by
> the hole. Do you think this was a knot that someone opened the mouth to get
> rid of ( have my doubts), or an attempted modification that failed?
>
>
> Could the maker have miscalculated when boring a hole
> for the bed? That's my first thought. I guess you could
> hold another tool in there, but that seems odd.
>
>
Adam

Good thought, and that's not one which crossed my mind.  It seems the angle
is a bit off, with the slot getting less deep as it progresses up the body,
and stops before exiting the top of the plane.  Will do some measuring and
report back in a day or two.

Thanks

Kirk in HMB, CA, where it was a chilly (by SF standards only) 36°F this
morning
267930 Don Schwartz <dks@t...> 2019‑02‑19 Re: Odd wooden mitre plane issue
On 2019-02-19 9:30 a.m., Kirk Eppler wrote:
>> Could the maker have miscalculated when boring a hole
>> for the bed? That's my first thought. I guess you could
>> hold another tool in there, but that seems odd.
>>
>>
> Adam
>
> Good thought, and that's not one which crossed my mind.  It seems the angle
> is a bit off, with the slot getting less deep as it progresses up the body,
> and stops before exiting the top of the plane.  Will do some measuring and
> report back in a day or two.


It seems to me that if the maker actually messed up that badly, the 
blank would have ended up in the workshop heater.

Don

-- 
A thermometer is not liberal or conservative. - Katharine Hayhoe

A good row does wonders for raising interest, and to be 'good' a row must have
something to be said on both sides,
  and a proper issue in the middle." - Rosemary Hill, 'Writing About the
Crafts', in The Culture of Craft, Peter Dormer, ed.

Being offended doesn't make you right.
267935 Spike Cornelius <spikethebike@c...> 2019‑02‑19 Re: Odd wooden mitre plane issue
Looks like a seat for a gouge, to make grooves with. 

Sent from my iPhone
267987 Kirk Eppler <eppler.kirk@g...> 2019‑02‑21 Re: Odd wooden mitre plane issue
On Mon, Feb 18, 2019 at 9:52 PM Adam R. Maxwell  wrote:

Could the maker have miscalculated when boring a hole for the bed? That's
my first thought. I guess you could hold another tool in there, but that
seems odd.

>
>
Hey gang

Had a few minutes in the shop last night, took a few more pics, and did
some measuring.

Answering a few of the questions, in no particular order.

The "slot" tapers over its length, getting shallower near the top of the
plane. It is very straight, as seen in this picture, and I don't thing a
bug would have been eating that straight.  You can barely see a bit of a
line on the left cheek where the mouth was cut deeper (forgot to measure
this removal).  This implies that maybe the original creator misdrilled the
hole, both in location and in angle.  Or someone thought about changing it
from miter pitch to  closer to regular pitch, and then changed their mind
and stopped.

https://kirkhmb.smugmug.com/Woodworking/Woodworking-Tools/i-4gDh6WM

The included shim tapers over its length, from about 5/32 at the bottom to
about 5/64 at the top. I wonder if this was an attempt to allow the use of
a non tapered iron, after the cutting?

I put a Hock 3/32" thick iron in it, and it left a 3/16" mouth opening, but
the wedge didn't really tighten down satisfactorily with a normal tap.
Since it was beyond the normal wear marks on the wedge, I was concerned.
So I grabbed a 1/16" Stanley iron, and with both of them, the wedge sat in
a more comfortable spot, and locked down on the irons.

https://kirkhmb.smugmug.com/Woodworking/Woodworking-Tools/i-FXmCX3K
https://kirkhmb.smugmug.com/Woodworking/Woodworking-Tools/i-RfMgrh5
https://kirkhmb.smugmug.com/Woodworking/Woodworking-Tools/i-LvJ94p8

This tells me I need to find a honking thick iron, or tapered iron, or
really remake the shim before I glue it in again.  I forgot to measure the
radius of the slot, but am thinking of gluing a dowel in place, then
shaving it down with a chisel and float.

I never got around to testing my gouge theory, it was a bit chilly to be in
the shop without socks, by my wimpy SF standards.

Since the Hock iron looks a bit out of place, I will dig around in the
stash to see if I have any other 1-3/4" irons before I take my next steps.
So far I have found a stack of 2" and bigger irons, and some 1-1/2" and
smaller, but only the two 1-3/4" ones shown.

Appreciate the input so far, always listening for more.


-- 
Kirk Eppler, dealing with a few iron problems today in HMB, CA
268004 Claudio DeLorenzi <admin@d...> 2019‑02‑22 Re: Odd wooden mitre plane issue
With these finds, is it possible that the manufacturer had 'factory
seconds' ?  Usually the trademark is removed from any second quality
products though.
Claudio
268005 Kirk Eppler <eppler.kirk@g...> 2019‑02‑22 Re: Odd wooden mitre plane issue
The only mark I have found is M.S. Ward, stamped on both ends, so assuming
he was the owner.

No blade to check.



On Fri, Feb 22, 2019 at 10:35 AM Claudio DeLorenzi 
wrote:

> With these finds, is it possible that the manufacturer had 'factory
> seconds' ?  Usually the trademark is removed from any second quality
> products though.
>
> On Thu, Feb 21, 2019, 4:06 PM Kirk Eppler  wrote:
>
>> On Mon, Feb 18, 2019 at 9:52 PM Adam R. Maxwell  wrote:
>>
>> Could the maker have miscalculated when boring a hole for the bed? That's
>> my first thought. I guess you could hold another tool in there, but that
>> seems odd.
>>
>>
>> The "slot" tapers over its length, getting shallower near the top of the
>> plane. It is very straight, as seen in this picture, and I don't thing a
>> bug would have been eating that straight.  You can barely see a bit of a
>> line on the left cheek where the mouth was cut deeper (forgot to measure
>> this removal).  This implies that maybe the original creator misdrilled
>> the
>> hole, both in location and in angle.  Or someone thought about changing it
>> from miter pitch to  closer to regular pitch, and then changed their mind
>> and stopped.
>>
>> https://kirkhmb.smugmug.com/Woodworking/Woodworking-Tools/i-4gDh6WM
>>
>
-- 
Kirk Eppler in HMB, CA who found a stash of interesting irons online
yesterday, adding to my stash of options (tm CD?)
268006 "Adam R. Maxwell via OldTools" <oldtools@s...> 2019‑02‑22 Re: Odd wooden mitre plane issue
I'm not sure how many bona fide manufacturers made wooden mitre planes, since
the low angles don't work that well in wood. I have an oddball one with a single
iron, and a huge inclusion/knot on it; I suspect it's birch, but it's certainly
not beech. I tell myself it's maybe a rare and valuable 18th c. yellow birch
plane, but more likely just something a guy made out of the firewood pile. It
doesn't work very well, but it's a really neat oddity, and I'll be holding on to
it.


-- adam

On Feb 22, 2019, at 10:34 AM, Claudio DeLorenzi  wrote:


With these finds, is it possible that the manufacturer had 'factory seconds' ?
Usually the trademark is removed from any second quality products though.
Claudio


On Thu, Feb 21, 2019, 4:06 PM Kirk Eppler  wrote:

On Mon, Feb 18, 2019 at 9:52 PM Adam R. Maxwell  wrote:

Could the maker have miscalculated when boring a hole for the bed? That's
my first thought. I guess you could hold another tool in there, but that
seems odd.

>
>
Hey gang

Had a few minutes in the shop last night, took a few more pics, and did
some measuring.

Answering a few of the questions, in no particular order.

The "slot" tapers over its length, getting shallower near the top of the
plane. It is very straight, as seen in this picture, and I don't thing a
bug would have been eating that straight.  You can barely see a bit of a
line on the left cheek where the mouth was cut deeper (forgot to measure
this removal).  This implies that maybe the original creator misdrilled the
hole, both in location and in angle.  Or someone thought about changing it
from miter pitch to  closer to regular pitch, and then changed their mind
and stopped.

https://kirkhmb.smugmug.com/Woodworking/Woodworking-Tools/i-4gDh6WM

The included shim tapers over its length, from about 5/32 at the bottom to
about 5/64 at the top. I wonder if this was an attempt to allow the use of
a non tapered iron, after the cutting?

I put a Hock 3/32" thick iron in it, and it left a 3/16" mouth opening, but
the wedge didn't really tighten down satisfactorily with a normal tap.
Since it was beyond the normal wear marks on the wedge, I was concerned.
So I grabbed a 1/16" Stanley iron, and with both of them, the wedge sat in
a more comfortable spot, and locked down on the irons.

https://kirkhmb.smugmug.com/Woodworking/Woodworking-Tools/i-FXmCX3K
https://kirkhmb.smugmug.com/Woodworking/Woodworking-Tools/i-RfMgrh5
https://kirkhmb.smugmug.com/Woodworking/Woodworking-Tools/i-LvJ94p8

This tells me I need to find a honking thick iron, or tapered iron, or
really remake the shim before I glue it in again.  I forgot to measure the
radius of the slot, but am thinking of gluing a dowel in place, then
shaving it down with a chisel and float.

I never got around to testing my gouge theory, it was a bit chilly to be in
the shop without socks, by my wimpy SF standards.

Since the Hock iron looks a bit out of place, I will dig around in the
stash to see if I have any other 1-3/4" irons before I take my next steps.
So far I have found a stack of 2" and bigger irons, and some 1-1/2" and
smaller, but only the two 1-3/4" ones shown.

Appreciate the input so far, always listening for more.


--
Kirk Eppler, dealing with a few iron problems today in HMB, CA
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OldTools is a mailing list catering to the interests of hand tool
aficionados, both collectors and users, to discuss the history, usage,
value, location, availability, collectibility, and restoration of
traditional handtools, especially woodworking tools.

To change your subscription options:
https://oldtools.swingleydev.com/mailman/listinfo/oldtools

To read the FAQ:
https://swingleydev.com/archive/faq.html

OldTools archive: https://swingleydev.com/ot/

OldTools@s...

Recent Bios FAQ