18th century shipwrights ? rebate plane

[richarnold]

Hi folks.
my Christmas present to myself turned up in the post yesterday, and I have to say I'm well chuffed with it
Having done a bit of research, I am beginning to think it is a shipwrights rebate plane, which I have to say is something I have not come across before.
The maker, Samuel Tomkinson is one of my personal favorites. British plane makers has him down as a possible Birmingham maker due to the style of the stamp, but having found more info on the web, I now know he was a London maker who was working as early as 1763 and died in 1789.
The size of the plane took me by surprise. Its quite a beast at 16 1/2 " long. I cannot recall ever seeing a British made plane looking anything like this, and I did wonder if it was perhaps made for the continental market. Have any of you chaps from across the channel ever seen anything like it?
The other great feature about it is that it has the earliest looking double iron that I have ever seen to date. The iron itself has no makers mark, but the back iron is marked curiously enough on it's inside face by a John Butterworth. I had not come across this maker before, but having searched on the net I have found an edge tool maker in Sheffield listed in the 1787 trade directory with that name.
The iron itself has a simple rectangular slot. This means you have to remove the nut completely to dismantle the back iron. The face of the back iron is slightly beveled of at the edges.
The cut out hand grip at the rear of the stock reminds me of the Roman Silchester plane, and again I cannot recall ever seeing a British plane with this form of grip before.
All in all a fascinating example of 18th century plane making, and defiantly in the top ten of my collection

 

[G S Haydon]

Very interesting Richard! Thanks for the images and write up!

 

[AndyT]

Thanks from me too. I've never seen anything like it, so it's good to learn.

 

[Corneel]

That's a pretty bizare shape indeed! Nothing like that in Holland where the planing building trade was long since established at that time with their own standard designs.

 

[Corneel]

Finally Photobucket works again! Now I can see the pictures in full detail. Indeed bizarre!

Double iron rabbet planes are still current in Germany. But they look like a normal rabbet plane.

 

[Billy Flitch]

Richard I cant really add anything to what you have already said about the plane. It looks outstanding I can almost feel the history in it just looking at it.
I hope you will not mind when I say something that you may think of every time you use it. When the English originally went to America they took a lot of our words for different things with them because they where English of the time.
When you build a boat and fit it out there are a lot of rebates in that boat but if you talk to any Shipwright about the rabbet he knows exactly where the joint is on a boat there is just one rabbet.
Every plank that runs from fward to aft is known as a strake the first strake is called the garboard strake and it fits in the joint between the keel and the kelson and runs from aft to fward through the forfoot and up the stem, that is the rabbet.
Strange when someone keeps a name but we change it and then look at them askens our American cousins.

 

[richarnold]

Hi folks.
Thank you for the comments.
I am still a bit puzzled by this plane. I came up with the idea that it may be a shipwrights plane after looking at examples in the wooden plane by John Whelan. These all seem to be later 19th century American planes, but taking in the size, and the fact it has a double iron, I am still inclined to think its a ship building tool.
Has anyone got any thoughts as to why it needs a double iron? Is it just a matter of the heavy work it was designed for and helped stiffen up the iron to stop chattering? 18th century irons do tend to be a bit on the thin side so this may be a good reason.
I couldn't resist giving the plane a quick sharpen today and trying it out at the bench.
It certainly is a strange beast to wield, but is very effective. Even though the iron is not skewed, it produces lovely curled shavings. I did wonder if the back iron was responsible for this. It probably helps to stop the mouth clogging up with compressed shavings.
As to whether it's a rabbet, or rebate plane, I'm happy ether way

 

[Trafalgar]

The craftsmanship on that plane is breathtaking. A real lovely she is.

 

[AndyT]

Looking again at the pictures, I can't help but admire how it looks so much as if it has extra side pieces glued onto a flat planed body. But they are not glued on; the 'background' has been carved back below the surface. But it looks so perfect, even in the awkward corners!
And I really like the way the moulding round the ends of those wider pieces blends round the curved top of the plane...

Richard, if you want to post some more pictures, please don't hold back!

 

[richarnold]

Looking again at the pictures, I can't help but admire how it looks so much as if it has extra side pieces glued onto a flat planed body. But they are not glued on; the 'background' has been carved back below the surface. But it looks so perfect, even in the awkward corners!
And I really like the way the moulding round the ends of those wider pieces blends round the curved top of the plane...

Richard, if you want to post some more pictures, please don't hold back!

Hi Andy.
here are a few more shots.
I took one next to a standard moulding plane by the same maker to show the scale of this beast (Kate has named it Samson :lol
It must have been quite wasteful to make The maker would have needed a blank measuring about 2 1/2 x 4 1/2" to start with.
The moulded detail has been superbly executed. Areal work of art he must have been pleased with this one



Cheers, Richard

 

[rileytoolworks]

That is certainly a handsome plane Richard.
Glad it's in your care and not in the back of someone's shed.

All the best.
Adam.

 

[JGP]

Dear Richard,
This is indeed not a typical English rebate plane. I have seen two others in the past, as at least two have been through David Stanley's auctions. If I recall one was by the same maker. If you have all their past catalogues its worth looking through to find them.
The rear handle is more typical of French planes from the same period.

Regards
Jonathan

 

[richarnold]

Dear Richard,
This is indeed not a typical English rebate plane. I have seen two others in the past, as at least two have been through David Stanley's auctions. If I recall one was by the same maker. If you have all their past catalogues its worth looking through to find them.
The rear handle is more typical of French planes from the same period.

Regards
Jonathan

Thank you for the info Jonathan.
I had found the one in 48th international auction which was by Tomkinson (lot no 1025), but I haven't found the other one.
It would be interesting if it was by another maker.
Cheers, Richard.

 

[JGP]

In the 44th International sale catalogue is the other, lot 155, near identical form, unfortunately not named though.

Regards,
Jonathan