Boat shaped Iron Infill plane

[Keith 66]

Here is one of my collection, I found this on a landfill site about 35 years ago, always been curious about it!
It is an iron bodied boat shaped infill plane with no identifying marks, Infills appear to be rosewood or dark mahogany & the scroll topped wedge is mahogany. It has an
I Sorby iron in it, It has sustained some damage in the past where its rear has been hit with a hammer & there is a chunk of the casting missing.
Though i have Tig welding gear, repair would mean making a new section & preheating the body before welding, obviously this would destroy its patina so i have decided its best to leave it as is!
Any ideas on who made it or its age, rarity & possible value welcomed.

 

[toolsntat]

Interesting, has the look of early European Instrument makers planes.
Construction can often be of wrought iron with soldered/braised joints.
In some cases the sole is Dovetailed on.
You sound pretty sure it is cast and it figures with the "chipped off" bit but could it be a wrap around fabrication and joined at the heel ?
It certainly is an attractive plane and in my opinion, leaving as is (unpolished etc),is the right option.
Would be nice to see it in the flesh.
Cheers Andy

 

[Keith 66]

I should have mentioned it is 6" long overall & at its widest point 2 1/2", definately a one piece casting.

 

[D_W]

Never seen anything like it, but it's interesting. Either a hardware store casting, or very old.

 

[Bedrock]

I also have a "boat shaped" which was passed on to me by my late Father-in-law. Where he had it from, I have no idea, as he was no sort of woodworker. It is in a parlous state, and only surfaced again when I moved house. I will try to get my head around photographing, if anyone is interested. It is definitely a casting, with the same damage around the screw in the back end, but differs from Keith's in that the sides are lower.

It is around 7" long and took a 2 1/2" blade, and is very heavy for it's size. I can't imagine anyone spending a couple of hours using this, not without developing some heroic muscles.
Given that, I had assumed that it was for final finishing, but given the abuse, the mouth may have been opened up. The front infill is split, and probably beyond repair. Could be rosewood, but years of grime. The blade, such as it is, is a much abused Matheison, which is all used up.
The infills seem to have been bedded in a white material, assisted by side screws. The blade is held in position by a wedge, condition as above, with a neat, brass casting held in place by side screws.
It looks professionally made, but clearly has suffered from years of mis-use.
It needs a replacement blade, a new front infill and a new wedge, but I have too many other projects to want to invest time in it. It needs a lot of TLC from someone who has the interest and skills, and will use it.
Hopefully, our regular historians will have some idea as to it's possible provenance.
Mike


Mike