A most unusual plane iron

[george wilson]

I just recalled a rather crazy plane iron incident from the 70's in Williamsburg.

The Cabinet Shop,which my shop was connected to,had a real nice jointer plane. It was in very nice condition,and had a very pretty handle,though 19th.C.. I don't recall,but the cabinet maker must have asked me to do something about the temper in its iron.

I took it to a forge,and was holding the iron over the fire,when 3/4" of the cutting end just FELL OFF! It had been SOFT SOLDERED on by someone before my time. Since the blade was dark all over,and this strange repair was most unexpected,I was surprised to say the least. Before I came to the museum,maybe in the 50's and 60's,there was a jack of all trades(and master of none) cabinet maker,who must have made this silly attempt to add some steel to the plane's iron. He had fitted the new steel on very nicely,grinding it to fit the bevel of the iron's cutting edge so closely that I didn't see it.

What amazed me was that this plane had been used for years in the cabinet shop and the iron had not fallen apart!

[Mike Henderson]

Interesting story, George. Inquiring minds want to know how you fixed it.

Or did you just make a new iron?

Mike

[philip marcou]

"What amazed me was that this plane had been used for years in the cabinet shop and the iron had not fallen apart!"
Why should it fall apart? Ordinary solder is strong enough to hold an added piece until you came along and heated it to 400 degrees plus (;).
I recently had a Norris 4 which had a length of hss steel silver soldered to return it to length and no doubt improve the edge holding . But this was nicely done as you can see in the picture.The added piece was a section of planer blade which itself was a two piece item.

[george wilson]

The key word is silver soldered!! Plus,HSS could stand the heat without losing its temper.

Mike,I think I found another old iron for the plane. There are always quite a few floating around in the museum.

Edit: I just recalled that it was a Sorby plane and iron,from back when Sorby meant something,so I hated to change the iron,but there was no steel left on it.

[george wilson]

Philip,another thing to remember was that this piece of steel was only 3/4" long,and was in a wooden plane with a wooden wedge,not in a more advanced blade clamping system like a Norris. I was surprised that the tip of the wedge had enough purchase on the short blade addition to hold it from cracking,under the pressure of planing hardwood.

[Eric Brown]

George, sign me up for a copy or two of your book when you write it.
I just love hearing you (and Harry) describe things from a historical perspective. Maybe you can talk to Roy Underhill and make a special for PBS or something. That would be great. And keep commenting. Sometimes I may not agree with you but then I'm fairly new to this and maybe someday what you say will click and I'll understand.

Thanks.

Sincerely, Eric Brown