The story of an old, long-used, infill plane...

UKworkshop.co.uk

Help Support UKworkshop.co.uk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

BentonTool

UK Tool Junkie...
UKW Supporter
Joined
15 Mar 2024
Messages
233
Reaction score
322
Location
Benton, Pennsylvania, USA
Hello Brothers,
This is an old infill plane from my collection. It is rather small. The sole is only 7 1/4 by 2 1/2 inches. I think it has been prior restored on several occasions.
I don't remember where where I obtained it, but it was quite rusty when I got it. The horn was broken off the tote, the front bun was beat-up, and the iron was severely mushroomed.
I do not have pictures of it in the initial stages (I often forget to take them! :confused:), but I have a few from later in the restoration process.
The picture below is after sanding the rust and some of the pitting off the casting. Also after working on the plane iron; cleaning it & removing the bad mushrooming.
The iron is Mawhood, and the cap iron is Ibbotson.
I wonder if anyone has ideas as to its origin? Is it Scottish?


I would like to make a few comments on what I discovered in the process of restoration.
01 INFILL PLANE RESTORE 01 dsc04025.jpg


As you can see in the above photo, the lever cap was initially mounted higher and more forward. At some point in its life, it was relocated to the present position, lower and closer to the blade.
Furthermore, the bun and body infill is made of a dark rosewood, but the tote is of walnut, stained to resemble darkened rosewood, which I later discovered. This leads me to conclude that it was most likely a replacement tote.
I had already prepared the horn replacement from a piece of rosewood, and in the end used it instead of walnut. I also inserted an inlay of ivory veneer from old piano keys to fill/cover a deeper bruise on the bun. I did not want to continue sanding deeper on the bun.
01 INFILL PLANE RESTORE 02 dsc04649.jpg


01 INFILL PLANE RESTORE 03 dsc04658.jpg


01 INFILL PLANE RESTORE 04 dsc04690.jpg


Here is a picture of my "American Bully" shop buddy, "Macho", a rescue from the local dog pound. He is a Pit Bull, but a real sweetheart.

01 INFILL PLANE RESTORE 05 dsc04657.jpg


And here is the final product, after staining and a coat of linseed oil:
01 INFILL PLANE RESTORE 06 dsc04700.jpg


01 INFILL PLANE RESTORE 07 dsc04705.jpg


P.S. I have many rasps, but recently purchased a fine "KUTZALL" rasp. It works extremely well. It cuts aggressively but controllably in all directions, with and against the grain. I highly recommend them.
 
Last edited:
Nicely restored. Looks like it had an interesting life and someone has tried another pivot location for the brass cap at some stage. Has a good solid look to it and should be ready for another couple of lifetimes work.
Regards
John
 
Looks like it started out as a early (pre ww1) Norris A15 smoother, no lateral adjuster and Turks head cap iron screw.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top