18th Century Wooden Planes
Mike Humphrey

The wooden plane hobby is slowly maturing toward a broad collection of associated sub interests. We still have a long way to go in completing our makers' lists and accompanying biographies, but we do so much more than that now.

There is a growing appreciation of the many hardware dealers who signed planes. In fact, the importance of all aspects of marketing is beginning to be understood with respect to planes. There was a great difference between the production of individual planes for direct retail sale, relatively locally, and their bulk manufacture for the wholesale market. There were exceptions all along, but the plane making industry makes a wonderful study of the advancing industrial revolution.

The American colonies which later became the U.S. and Canada were populated by transplanted Europeans, mostly from Britain in the earlier periods, and that flow of immigrants never ceased. In recent years these interconnected national histories have been documented in several instances through the movement and work of planemakers. Thomas Napier, John Teal, John Dryburgh and Alexander Wallace are all known to have made planes in both Britain and North America. Between James Swetman, and his father Jerome, planes were apparently made in England, the U.S and Canada. Numerous other makers are documented to have moved between the various countries, and much more will no doubt be learned in the future on this subject. Other British makers including John Rogers, I. Cox and Brown & Barnard are thought to have taken a special interest in serving the American market.

In an interesting twist on international movement, an occasional plane shows up in Britain which came from America. A few years ago, a later 18th century plane marked E. CLARK, MIDDLEBORO (Massachusetts) was discovered in London having the dark, heavily oiled appearance of a British plane. That plane may have been carried back by a returning Colonial Loyalist around the time of the American Revolution.

Despite the constant flow of settlers into North America during all periods, there developed in the colonies in the 18th century, distinct, indigenous, regional styles of plane design, particularly in parts of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania. Now it appears too, that some important functional innovations may also have come from those areas at that time. Those styles are fascinating to study in their own right, but even more so within the context of international style evolution. When the unique American styles did finally dissipate in the early 19th century, it was the British style into which they dissolved, and of course, that was the starting point from which they had diverged about a century earlier.

One of the most exciting areas of plane study that is active at this time is the sorting out of the earliest makers to have signed planes, the plane styles of that period (late 17th century - early 18th century) and the styles from which those designs developed. At that point, the Americans had not yet deviated so drastically, and some continental influences were playing an important role.

Appeared 1998 - Toolshop Auctions Catalogue

A Perspective on Metal Planes
Karl Holtey

What are my views on dovetailing in metal planes? A question recently put to me.

Well, what are dovetails in metal planes? I would describe them as an elaborate form or riveting two pieces of metal at right angles together. From my point of view this does not compare with the strength from casting, welding or silver brazing. However there are some advantages to be gained from dovetailing, such as access to the mouth and achieving a better fit for the filling. It can also be cosmetic, such as brass on steel, though when working with steel sides and steel bottom it would seem ironic the time and trouble spent to produce an invisible result.

In a short article by Nigel Lampert on British Metal Planes he leaves two questions open. One of which was "from which trades did the skills used for making dovetailed planes emerge?". Well, I can only guess at the answer. I would say that the first tradesmen were Cabinetmakers. Stewart Spiers was a Cabinetmaker and many of the planes that I have seen appear to be user made. When you come to think about it, all you would require is a metal saw, file, drill and patience.

I don't think there was a problem as far as skill. I feel that most Cabinetmakers have the necessary dexterity. In my days as a Cabinetmaker I can remember homework projects appearing during break periods, so it is easy to imagine these early journeymen producing their little bundles of metal during moments of respite. To them it would also seem logical that any form of jointing combined with riveting would use a dovetailed format. They would have discovered that metal lends itself to dovetails more readily than wood. The principle of dovetailing in wood is that the strength is two dimensional because the third dimension depends on glue. However, in metal we can file a secondary dovetail form on the pins and by allowing excess material on the dovetail this can be peined to fill in the voids created by this filing, hence we have this impossible joint.

I am privileged to know someone who worked for Norris up until the 1940s and he assures me that all dovetailing was done by hand, and it would seem that many commercial companies in the 19th century found fabricating by dovetail convenient. For my part I find dovetailing compatible with my quality and objectives.

Appeared 1997 - Toolshop Auctions Catalogue

The Use of Intermittent Boxing in Wood Planes
Bill Rigler

Intermittent boxing is the use of 2, 3 or 4 short pieces of Lignum Vitae, instead of solid strip boxing, to reduce wear on various wood planes. In the United States, in general, very few collectors were knowledgeable about 18th and 19th century plane makers of Philadelphia Penn who used short pieces of Lignum Vitae for making intermittent boxing.

In 1993 Jane and Mark Rees, rewriters of the British Plane Makers from 1700, had an innocent looking paragraph under Birmingham Plane Makers, chapter 4, page 28, that stated the 18th century makers of Birmingham used scrap Lignum Vitae to make intermittent boxing. It is assumed that they used scraps from other trades.

There are now sufficient examples from both countries to indicate that intermittent boxing was not a one-off or specially-made. However, logic says that there was more work, therefore cost, to make and install intermittent boxing, even if the Lignum scraps were free. I have come to the conclusion that it was a marketing gimmick that did not extend beyond the two tool making communities.

In conclusion, intermittent boxed planes being produced in England and the United States during the same time frame brings up a whole group of questions that will hopefully be answered sometime in the future.

Appeared 1996 - Toolshop Auctions Catalogue

British Metal Planes
Nigel Lampert

Collectors and users have been passionate about British metal planes for many years. Their very high quality and elegance is valued by collectors, whilst users respect the fine cabinetwork capabilities of these unique planes. Individual planes can almost have a personality in many instances as, unlike the American cast iron planes, they were always hand-made, and individual orders were actively encouraged.

In its time, the British metal plane was expensive and elegant yet without any mass sales charisma. Today this historic lack of market appeal is rapidly becoming an advantage as we revalue the products of the hand production era. Ironically as a result, the British metal plane is now prized far above its successful American competitor for the very characteristics which originally made it unsuccessful: its stubborn but skilled hand manufacture, fine materials, elegance and restricted application.

No other country developed such planes, despite some very limited copying in the United States and even the Australian colonies. Unfortunately, the development of these exceptional planes was not well-catalogued or patented, and scarcely 200 years since the first British metal plane emerged, there is conjecture rather than fact available about their makers, inventors and users. Numerous questions thus remain such as the following:

• From which trades did the skills used for making dovetailed planes emerge?
• Why were some planes then known not produced in the British metal plane range?
• Why were there such distinctive design differences between commercially manufactured metal planes and those made by tradesmen?
• What were the sources of inspiration for the quite unique British metal plane designs?
• Why were Scottish planes so distinctive?
• How did Stewart Spiers manage to establish such a highly specialised industry in such a small country town?

Unravelling the development of these planes is a marvelous challenge made more interesting by the existence of numerous quite individual planes, these resulting from the unique capacity of hand production to respond to individual requests. Catalogue information, and details of dated, double-marked, early and unusual British metal planes is most eagerly sought. Interested readers should contact Nigel Lampert, F 0. Box 658, Pascoe Vale, Victoria 3044. Australia.

Appeared 1996 - Toolshop Auctions Catalogue

A Brief History of Granford

THOMAS GRANFORD is considered to be the earliest recorded commercial planemaker in England. Dating from 1654, there were three generations of GRANFORD, all named Thomas. Unlike most moulders, the maker stamp is embossed on the side of the plane near the toe. It is in the form of an elipse, about 9/16" by 5/8", within which is the rather crudely embossed inscription "THIS IS GRAN FURDEVS MAKE", with the letter N back to front. There has been much speculation over the origins of these words, but the most likely is thought to be a literal translation from Latin, meaning "This is of GRANFORD'S make".

Most of the evidence available suggests that the planes so far found, were manufactured and marketed by the second generation of GRANFORDS (1687-1716) although some of the original stocks may have come unmarked from the first generation, and later stamped and sold. In 1692, the GRANFORDS took NAT GAMBLE as an apprentice. To our knowledge only one example of his work has ever been found. A better known apprentice was taken on in 1699, by the name of ROBERT WOODING, who in 1713 took over the business.

Appeared 1995 - Toolshop Auctions Catalogue