Unusual patented plane - any info?

[AndyT]

I noticed an unusual plane on ebay recently:

A cast body with a woodie-style tapered slot to hold the lever cap + iron. Unusually high sides. A closed tote. Possibly an integral frog? - hard to tell from the photos. Either an unusual cap screw or else a replacement.

I don't recall seeing anything like it before and cannot find it illustrated anywhere. It sold for £123 which is more than I was willing to bid, so someone else must know something.

Anyone else have any ideas of who might have made it or when?

 

[toolsntat]

Was keen on this mesen Andy :lol:
My take is along the lines of a crossover SPIERS ?
Nice rosewood wedge that is missing and replaced with that horrible inefficient lever cap.
Would be nice to get a better look 8)
Bet it turns up at next Stanley sale :wink:

Andy

 

[bugbear]

The only maker I know with cast abutments is Knowles. But I'm not an early plane expert.

BugBear

 

[AndyT]

I guess I'll have to mentally file it next to Dangermouse's mystery plane from a couple of years ago as another historical orphan.

There's nothing like it that I can see in Tony Murland's listings of UK and US patented planes. It's not in Volume 1 of "Patented and Transitional Metallic Planes in America" and I can't see anything like it in the DATAMP database.
I think it must be quite early - from what I've read, the thick sides to hold a wedge were hard to cast and were soon abandoned.

Just further proof that the ways to hold a cutting edge at a fixed angle are inexhaustible!

 

[bugbear]

More searching shows that D Kimberley planes also had cast iron abutments, but as an insert in an otherwise wooden body;

http://www.leevalley.com/en/newsletters ... atents.htm

Patent GB190400983

http://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicat ... &KC=A&ND=4

So that's not it.

BugBear