molding plane questions (and maybe gloat?)

[Brander Roullett]

I live out on the Pacific Northwest, and it's hard to find a good source of the older tools. I get my fix bi-monthly at the one tool collectors club out here, but one of only other sources is antique stores.

This weekend there was a big Antique Fair out in Puyallup (don't even try pronouncing it) and I think I did pretty well.

I got a spare later model #45 without blades, but in good condition otherwise. I have a complete one (earlier model with floral casting) that I use, so this one I plan to set up with a standard groove and leave it alone. I paid $34 for it.

I also got a Disston square, some saw sets and my first molding plane.

I'm new to molding planes, but I've wanted one for a while. This one looked ok to me (untrained eye) and I was able to talk her down to $30 from her asking price of $45. (every one was willing to deal, must be the economy)

What did I buy? What is it's intended use? Help? I tuned it a little (not much) and cut some shavings. I didn't do much other than take of the little bit of rust, and flatten the back a little. I need slipstones, but it had some sharp left in it.

[Steve Branam]

Very nice! Here in the Atlantic Northeast, that's what we call a "keepah!"

That's an ogee, a decorative molding profile with S-curve and steps. The steps serve as fences to stop it once it bottoms out working on an edge. I don't see spring lines marked on the end, but this one is held "on the spring", i.e. on an angle so that the steps are parallel with the workpiece face and edge.

Whelan's "The Wooden Plane" figs. 10:73 and 10:74 show 18th and 19th century ogees that match this pretty closely. Fig. 5:7A shows a wedge profile like it, from 19th century Scotland and Canadian Scottish immigrants. So it looks like this is probably late 1800's, obviously used based on the hammer marks, but in good condition with another century of use left in it.

Using these is just pure fun. As Roy Underhill says, no need for those nasty rotary devices! Joshua Clark did some nice videos on using them, short, sweet, and to the point. Here's one with a similar plane: http://www.youtube.com/user/fugazi42#p/u/5/uX4tKrl4U2g.

[Larry Williams]

That's an ovolo sash plane. The worn fence, evident from the fact it's not at 90º to the depth stop, can be repaired with a slip. These were usually sold in pairs marked "1" and "2" on the heel. The number one was for the initial cut and the number two was for the final pass or passes.

[Robert Rozaieski]

Badger,
I hate to disagree with Steve, but what you have there is a sash ovolo. What you see in the end shot is a sprung fence on the right, a depth stop and fillet on the left, and a shallow curve connecting the two. The depth stop and fillet are somewhat worn, making them appear somewhat like the "S" curve Steve is describing, but if you study the plane closely, it's not.

You can tell sash planes in a couple of ways. First, their profile is typically very shallow as sash bars (i.e. mullions and muntins) are not very thick. Second, they usually have a rather long or deep fence as compared to cabinet moldings. They usually were also made and sold in pairs, one for rough shaping and one for the finer, finishing passes. They would be stamped "1" and "2" on the heel respectively.

[Brander Roullett]

Badger,
I hate to disagree with Steve, but what you have there is a sash ovolo. What you see in the end shot is a sprung fence on the right, a depth stop and fillet on the left, and a shallow curve connecting the two.

That makes sense, I was trying it out on a piece of cherry to see what profile it created and learning how to keep it sprung, is that the term for making sure the angle is right?.

I did it on both sides just for practice and it did look like a door molding around windows. I didn't make the connection until you said it, but yeah.

Thanks guys, I'm glad I picked it up as I've already leaned a lot about the tool type just from a quick evening playing with scrap. Just can't get that out of book learning. I think next time I pick up a molding plane at a tool collectors meeting I'll have a better idea of what I'm looking for.

badger

[greg Forster]

Why did sash molding planes come with a roughing plane and a finish plane?

[Steve Branam]

Ah, yep, I got confused by looking at the plane profile, when I should have been looking at the iron profile. In the picture with the iron removed, it's clearly not S-curved, and it's the iron that does the cutting, regardless of what the worn plane profile may look like!

[David Keller NC]

Why did sash molding planes come with a roughing plane and a finish plane?

Because a sash maker was paid for both the quantity and quality of his work. What that equates to is how fast he can rough out the profile, which means a plane with a wide open mouth that can take big, thick shavings, and how smooth his finished work was, which means a plane with a very fine mouth that can only take very thin shavings.

The roughing plane gets you down to the desired profile very quickly with fewer strokes, but it leaves tear-out behind that doesn't look so good. So you take a few extra passes with the finish plane with a very finely set iron, which removes the tear-out and leaves a nice surface (but would take forever if you did the whole profile by taking 2 thousandths shavings).

[Larry Williams]

.... and learning how to keep it sprung, is that the term for making sure the angle is right?.


On the toe of the plane you'll find a scribe line that indicates the spring angle. This should also run right into and be coplanar with the face of the fence. This spring line allows you to visually line the plane up with the edge of the board and maintain the proper angle as you work. When/if you repair the fence, this scribed spring line will show you exactly where the face of the fence needs to be.

[Jonathan McCullough]

Something I'd like to know: what would prevent someone from using a sash plane like this, or its counterpart the #2, to make decorative moldings? Small as they may be, it seems that an ovolo like this would be nice for small casework or boxes and such. Would that be somehow inappropriate, odd looking, gauche, just not cricket?

[David Keller NC]

Something I'd like to know: what would prevent someone from using a sash plane like this, or its counterpart the #2, to make decorative moldings?

Nothing - moldings can be just about any profile one chooses. The only real distinction with a sash ovolo is that they're often quite shallow compared to the square ovolo one typically sees on furniture.