Gloat: "Savage" #7 arrives.

[Chris Thompson]

Got home last night and the UPS man had left me a present.

You'll recall that last week I posted about an auction (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=16092) I'd just won on that one auction site. The plane was a "Savage" and had the dimensions of a #7.

Well, I got it and am very happy with what I got.

http://cthompson.com/photos/planes/savage/side.jpg

It's definitely a #7. 22" long, 2 3/8" wide iron. It has absolutely no markings on it that identify a brand (Other than savage, see below). The body is completely devoid of any branding, patent date, or other type of mark.

The tote and knob are completely solid, no cracks.

http://cthompson.com/photos/planes/savage/knob.jpg

A bit of love should bring these back to life.

Other than a few edge dings, as seen above in the knob pic, the body of this plane is in amazing shape. No cracks, sole is only a good lap away from being perfectly flat.

There is one oddity, a divot out of the left cheek that I originally took for a piece cracked out and brazed back in.

http://cthompson.com/photos/planes/savage/divot.jpg

What's odd though, is that once I got the frog out, the inside of that cheek is perfectly smooth, and the japaning is almost perfect. It's not any sort of crack at all. I have no idea if it's some sort of casting defect, or if it had been inadvertantly ground away by something. The cheek itself is nice and square to the sole, so the divot doesn't affect the use at all.

The frog does not have an adjustment screws like later baileys. Based on photos on supertool, this looks to be a frog system similar to a Type 6 or 7 era bailey.

http://cthompson.com/photos/planes/savage/frog2.jpg

A flat raised portion of the body, parallel to the sole with two raised ridges that fit into grooves on the base of the frog.

Iron, cap iron and lever cap are all very solid, though I've never seen an iron with a hexagonal hole at the bottom of the slot.

http://cthompson.com/photos/planes/savage/ironcap.jpg

There is no "rust" of the sort I've dealt with on other planes, that flaky rust that makes your hands orange. There is simply a dark patina. I'm not even sure if electrolysis will take it off.

http://cthompson.com/photos/planes/savage/sole.jpg

And as for brand, here's the "Savage"

http://cthompson.com/photos/planes/savage/imprint.jpg

It's an imprint on the back of the iron in small type. The As have no cross bar and are obviously inverted Vs. It's not in a straight line, and it isn't parallel with the end of the iron. It looks to me to have been hand imprinted, one letter at a time. I'd guess it's a previous owner.

So what I've got is a very solid #7 that could be used today with a bit of fettling. Completely brandless, obviously made by some company copying Stanley forms. It looks to be a Type 6 era version with a simple but good frog system.

Not too shabby for $26.

[Jim Crammond]

Chris,

I haven't heard of Savage, but your plane is undoubtably made by Ohio Tool. It has all the the trademarks of that company such as the the swelling at the front of the tote, the hexagonal hole on the iron and the frog configuration. Most Ohio Tool metal planes had a tapered iron, but the later ones had a parllel iron though somewhat thicker than a Stanley. My guess is that your plane is from somewhere around 1920.

Supposedly, Ohio Tool used the hexagonal hole to avoid Stanley's 1892 patent that moved the hole from the top of the iron to the bottom allowing the iron to take advatage of the lateral adjustment lever longer before the iron would have to be replaced. If I remember correctly, Stanley sued Ohio Tool over this infringement, but lost the suit in court.

I have several Ohio Tool planes and they are generally good users. The irons usually take a good edge and are hard enough to stay sharp for a while. Congratulations on your new plane.

[Tyler Howell]

Sure is ugly. Can't wait to see you work your magic Chris. Go get em!

[Chris Thompson]

Jim, I had hoped someone would be able to identify it based on pictures. Ohio Tool it is then. I'm sticking to my guess that SAVAGE is a former owner who stamped his name on the iron.

Tyler, that's a project for this weekend hopefully. It should clean up nicely.

I'm pondering dropping some cash to Ron Hock for an A2 iron and a chipbreaker as well.

[Marc Hills]

That's going to make an awesome user Chris! I have a Fulton #7, a really old one. People just aren't used to seeing planes of that size anymore. When you get visitors in your shop and you really want to make an impression, roll out that bad boy and show 'em a little 'Savage' planing!

I'd hold off on the upgraded iron and chipbreaker. See how she flies with the OEM stuff first. I'm thinking that unless you plan on equipping all your planes with aftermarket iron, save the Hock and Clifton upgrades for your smoothers. That's where you'll really appreciate the improvement.