Mystery: Made in Sheffield no.4 plane

[Mr_P]

Bought this thinking it might be a cheap Sorby but turned out to be nothing at all.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251602919699? ... 1497.l2649

Thought the key hole lever cap rather than the modern kidney shape would be hiding a solid frog but also wrong. Maybe its a replacement and the only clue to the manufacturer has been lost.

Was going to wait until I had cleaned it up a bit before posting and photograph it but RogerP's chisel id thread has me thinking it might not even be English.

On the body it states No 4 on the front and at the back Made in Sheffield, the iron also lacks a maker "Made in Sheffield, Finest Crucible Cast, Vanadium".

Don't understand why any Sheffield maker wouldn't have stamped their name with pride.

Any ideas ?

 

[lanemaux]

May just be my old eyes , but the lateral adjuster looks to be a stamped and folded piece. Yet the depth adjusting yoke seems to be cast. Is it possibly a Frankenplane of some description? To my mind the most important thing would be does it fettle well and work for you mi amigo , as a Sheffield casting and blade seem promising. Should provide good fun finding out , yes?

 

[RogerP]

From what I've recently learnt "Made in Sheffield" cast into something probably refers to a Sheffield other than the one in England.

All the English Stanley blades I have here (6) are printed Stanley Made England and planes likewise. No mention of Sheffield - "Made In" or otherwise anywhere.

 

[wizard]

look at this one he is selling, its not as it should be
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-S...lectable_ToolsHasdware_RL&hash=item3a954f7d52

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Remarkable. 5 1/2 at the back, 4 1/2 at the front. I ve heard of "cut and shut job" cars, but never a plane before !

 

[Vann]

Don't understand why any Sheffield maker wouldn't have stamped their name with pride.

I picked up a Record SP4 (cheap version of their 04 - made 1992-95) a while back. There's nothing stamped on the iron at all !! I think they were still being made in Sheffield (England) at the time.

Maybe the workers knew they were poor quality by then, and had no pride left

Cheers, Vann.

 

[AndyT]

I think the simple explanation is that there were second quality lines made for quite a long time. When offered for sale, their USP would have been that they were a shilling or so cheaper than a branded plane, so likely to appeal to the less discerning diy sort of customer.

I've got one that is probably similar - mostly like a Stanley but lacking the frog adjustment screw and a bit lighter on the casting.

 

[Mr_P]

Thanks for all the replies,

Mike,
Think its your eyes playing tricks on you. Frog not very inspiring so won't be wasting much time fettling it.

Roger,
My two Sorby's both have Sheffield on them and Marples also put Sheffield on the casting.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Marples-No-M- ... 7675.l2557

Marples owned Sorby so possibly both made at the same place.

Sheffield Tony,

Think that's just a case of mixing up pictures of two different planes.

AndyT,

If you are going to the trouble of making another casting why not add a firm, even if you have to make one up ?

Marples used different trade marks / company names for 2nd quality / 3rd quality.

1938 Marples catalogue mentions that here
http://toolemera.com/Trade%20Catalogs/t ... gs193.html

 

[RogerP]

.........
Roger,
My two Sorby's both have Sheffield on them and Marples also put Sheffield on the casting.
................

But but not "Made in Sheffield" surely?

 

[Mr_P]

.........
Roger,
My two Sorby's both have Sheffield on them and Marples also put Sheffield on the casting.
................

But but not "Made in Sheffield" surely?

Just "Sheffield" and "England" similar to the Marples I linked to above.

 

[lanemaux]

Could be just a shadow in the last picture I suppose, silly me.