Riddle

[Dan Barr]

Riddle for woodworkers

could the plane have preceded the mortice?

lol

:D

cheers,

dan

[James Schulist]

Hmmm. I believe any flint napped tool may be considered a plane of sorts. So which came first, the flint napped 'plane' or the stone hammer being, in a fashion, mortised to it's handle?

[Jeff Willard]

Since a plane is essentially a jigged chisel, and a chisel requires no mortise, I say yes.

[Dan Barr]

ahh

but isnt the "jigged chisel" set in a mortice?

dan

[Graham Hughes (CA)]

Taking this far too seriously: stonehenge is done in mortise & tenon joinery. Tribes whose woodworking tool is a crooked knife and maybe axes do mortise and tenon joinery. I suspect mortises are first by any shot.

[Jeff Willard]

ahh

but isnt the "jigged chisel" set in a mortice?

dan

Yes, the "jigged chisel" is. But who is to say that the chisel must be jigged. A chisel could be used as a plane, granted, with great difficulty, but it could be done. And I believe that (or some similar scenario) started the evolution of the handplane.

Brings this to mind.