3/8 plough plane iron.

[undergroundhunter]

Afternoon all,

I know this should probably be in the wanted section but i think I will have a better chance of finding one here.

I'm trying to find a good 3/8 plough plane iron to fit a wooden plough. I have found a number on ebay that say aprox 3/8" this worries me as I bought one from the same seller and it was a fat 16th under 3/8", has anyone got a spare they would be willing to part with? I'm not fussy on maker so long as its of useable length.

thanks

Matt

 

[John15]

Would an old 3/8 chisel blade do the job?

John

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Irons for wooden ploughs used to be numbered 1 to 8. Number 1 was 1/8" (nominally), and they then increased by 1/16" increments to 9/16" at number 8. Thus, 3/8" would be a number 5.

The 'nominal' is important, though - they were finished by hand grinding, so they did vary a little in exact size. As it was normal practice to plough the groove and then plane the panel to fit, this didn't really matter. The later irons for metal ploughs tend to much nearer quoted size - I suspect most of these were finish ground on machines.

One approach that might bear fruit is to ring round the secondhand dealers, many of whom keep bits and bats they don't list on their websites. It could well be that someone like Bristol Design has a boxful of orphan plough irons, and could rummage through and find one very close to 3/8". It's also worth keeping an eye on Ebay for matched sets or even harlequin sets - they do come up regularly, if not frequently.

 

[Corneel]

There is quite a variation in the amount of taper and the thickness of the irons among the various manufacturers. Of course this influences the fit of the wedge. So it might be better to head over to one of the second hand dealers and compare what they have with the taper of your other plow plane irons.

 

[undergroundhunter]

Thanks for your suggestions guys, I may have to fire off some emails to dealers and see what I can drum up. Just in case anyone is interested here is the plane and the irons I currently have.

Matt

 

[Alvan]

I have the iron you want. It is marked as no. 5 and measures exactly at 3/8ths on my Vervier Chesterman.

Call me on 01254 202539, if you wish.

Æ

 

[undergroundhunter]

Just wanted to say thank you to Alvan for sending me a perfect 3/8" plough iron. Fits my plough like a glove.

Thanks

Matt

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Result!

I take it you now have a full set of eight from 1/8" to 9/16", and, like the rest of us, a few duplicates left over!

 

[undergroundhunter]

I have all to one's I need for now. I seem to be doing quite a bit of 3/8 panels at the moment (chest lids) and I'm not keen on any of my metal ploughs.

Matt

 

[heimlaga]

I shouldn't be too difficult to make plough plane irons from worn out hoof rasps.