Registration marks on moulding plane

[Eric The Viking]

I'm not collecting, but I do look at moulding planes when they pop up, mainly because I appreciate how hard they were to make!

I saw this one (below). It seems to be for fairly ordinary(!), Victorian, ogee-form architrave, but I've never seen the registration marks on the nose before. It looks to be a simple but very sensible idea to keep it aligned.

Was this commonly done, and if so by the maker or the user?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110961457372

E.

PS: I know they'd 'hog out' most of the waste before using the plane - did the makers suggest how to aproach this or was it an exercise for the user?

 

[Argus]

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It was very common. It is called "springing".

You could accommodate a wider blade into a narrower width stock by using it on the diagonal, i.e. 'sprung' so the manufacturer laid in springing lines to show the correct angle in use.

 

[Eric The Viking]

Thanks.

Sorry to be so ignorant, but it's the first example I've noticed, obviously.

E.

 

[Argus]

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No problem.

Is Bristol Design still going?

It was run by a guy called (I think) Charles Stirling and he had a shop full of second-hand planes and tools opposite the Red Lodge in Park Row, Perry Road? just up the road from the BRI.
Worth a look if you have an interest in these things.
Good pub across the road, which I forget the name of..................... Somebody remind me (Not the mermaid)

They made some excellent chisels under their own brand

But..... it may be gone by now.............. it's many a year since I was in that part of the world.

.

 

[Anima]

I think it's gone. I drove past a couple of months ago and don't remember seeing it. You're right, it was a right old man cave of tools and planes.

 

[Anima]

Saying that I just did a quick google and their site is still up.
http://www.bristol-design.co.uk/

 

[Plumberpete]

Yes, Bristol Design is still there (at least it was yesterday ). The pub across the road you speak of is either the Smiles Brewery Tap (now closed and re-named Colston Yard), Zero Degrees or The Ship Inn.

 

[Argus]

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It was the Ship.
It was just at the top end of the steep little road going down to Colston (?) Hill.
It's been a long time since I lived down there.

Whaat about the Porters Store in Cotham Brow? Bet that's gone.....

.

 

[Eric The Viking]

Cotham Hill?

If it's the one I'm thinking of, it's there but been renamed and is now a sports bar, IIRC.

Bristol Design is still functional. I don't go in there much (can't afford to!) but the last few ims, Charles hasn't been in the shop. I don't know if he's still there - I remember him from the 1980s - Canadian, I think.

BD sell Crown Tools at good prices. I've bought a burnisher and flush-cutting pull saw from them, and, I think a cabinet scraper.

E.

 

[AndyT]

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It was the Ship.
It was just at the top end of the steep little road going down to Colston (?) Hill.
It's been a long time since I lived down there.

Whaat about the Porters Store in Cotham Brow? Bet that's gone.....

.

Bristol Design is still going strong and is well worth a visit. Many items cost less than they would on eBay with the added advantage of having a good look at them first. (Some will cost more, but I think his prices are fair.) Charles Stirling is still around though not often in the shop, which is often rather quiet.

So is the Ship (though very much aimed at students) and the Cotham Porter Stores, which is easily missed:

http://goo.gl/maps/9e7Uy

The pub nearby that has vanished is the Seahorse - it was actually part of, and owned by the Bristol Royal Infirmary but the space has now been re-used inside the hospital.

For wood-related inspiration I can also recommend the Red Lodge across the road. It looks nothing much from the outside, being up against a multi-storey carpark, but the interior is a rare survival from the 17th century - with carved oak panelling and furniture - here are a few snaps to inspire you:

And yes, those spring lines on that US plane are unusually boldly marked.
Having the cutting edge at an angle has several advantages - a better cut; a narrower iron and plane; easier working with automatic side pressure - but French moulding planes don't have it at all. There's a good note about spring here: http://homepages.sover.net/~nichael/nlc-wood/chapters/spring.html

 

[Argus]

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Thanks, Andy. It was my memory that was playing tricks.
Earlier I said the Mermaid, but I meant the Seahorse. It was a very good pub ................. I won't say how long ago, but it was before we got discontent in our winters.
There's a clue for you.
I agree about the Red Lodge. A little bit of Bristol that evaded Goering's boys and the b.u.ggers that 'improved' things later.

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[Eric The Viking]

Thanks from me too, Andy.

That link is especially useful (he said, now onto the article about Skew, too).

E.