What was the original purpose of the mitre plane?

[AndyT]

Just in case anyone here doesn't already read the excellent blog written by Joel Moskowitz, old tool enthusiast and proprietor of New York tool vendor "Tools for working wood," have a look at his latest post here.
https://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/sto ... +1760-1780

He's proposed a suggestion that what we call a mitre plane was developed for planing marquetry panels - an assortment of exotic woods which would be a real challenge. His latest post includes significant evidence that he's right.

Excellent research and reasoning.

 

[D_W]

Planecraft sort of says the same thing in the beginning (before it goes on a tear with 200 pages of record plane recommendations). If they were just used for end grain or striking "normal" stuff, the mouths wouldn't have been made so tight, because that tightness is a real pain with the T&G joint on the sole of a metal plane, and necessitates the front stuffing on a wooden strike plane.

 

[AndyT]

Really?

I've just checked my copy. Page 18 of the 1959 printing has a picture of an "iron plated plane of date about 1800" and a reference in the text to the new need to plane "new and strange woods" but no mention of marquetry.
It's the link to that specific branch of woodworking that Joel has established.

(The updated version by Sainsbury has the same text, p17.)

 

[StraightOffTheArk]

Thanks for posting that link - very interesting, especially with the extra historical detail, if I remember rightly there was quite a lot of Dutch input into Britain at that time, was this explained by the more relaxed British laws or were there other historical factors involved?

Cheers,

Carl

 

[custard]

Great link. In it he asks,

"Another interesting question is why two Swedish marquetry journeyman were in England in the first place."

I've met craftsmen who trained at the Carl Malmsten workshops in Sweden, they said marquetry was still a major component of their training. It's the same story at the Ecole Boulle workshops in Paris. AFAIK these are the only cabinet making workshops that still teach marquetry to a high level, and it seems they both retain the link from a much earlier local craft tradition.

 

[D_W]

Really?

I've just checked my copy. Page 18 of the 1959 printing has a picture of an "iron plated plane of date about 1800" and a reference in the text to the new need to plane "new and strange woods" but no mention of marquetry.
It's the link to that specific branch of woodworking that Joel has established.

(The updated version by Sainsbury has the same text, p17.)

You're right. I extrapolated difficult wood to marquetry.

 

[Dovetaildave]

I think I could take a guess why they are here.....because they we not respecting their tools and got kicked out of their apprenticeships and guilds.......shocking look at them...teetering on the edge, just waiting to join the rest of the tools on the floor...shocking :shock:

The Dutch were fantastic marketeers, would there be a huge amount of planes (and text) knocking around there ?

I restored a Linnell sofa table once, wonder if these guys created it.

Regards,
Dave