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Rob Paul
09-17-2011, 10:40 PM
Anyone recognize this plane, that followed me home from a local estate auction :) ?
Main casting is 9" long and accepts a 2" wide blade.
Blade and chip breaker fit under a cross bar (with a screw to lock against the blade), and on top of a saddle that has a brass adjuster screw to raise the saddle against the blade.
Frog has two screws to hold it to the base, and an adjuster screw that bears horizontally against the casting post that supports the blade saddle.
The blade is a Moulson Brothers, and the chip breaker has "W. BA***E" on it (I think), but there doesn't seem to be any identification on the main body.
The woodwork might be replacements, but the rest looks original.
Jim Koepke
09-18-2011, 12:02 PM
This looks like one of the many planes that used a way to change the pitch of the blade to adjust it.

Patrick Leach expounds a bit on that here:

http://www.supertool.com/etcetera/deadends/blandin.htm

jtk
David Nowicki
09-18-2011, 12:34 PM
You have a Davis Iron Smooth Plane manufactured by the Davis Level and Tool company of Springfield, Massachusetts. I think you're correct that the wood has been replaced. The original knob and tote would have been rosewood. Also, some of these planes are known to have had a gold paint stripe around the frog base.

Dave
James Taglienti
09-18-2011, 10:16 PM
Super rare... Send it to auction and youll get a couple lie nielsens with the earnings!
Rob Paul
09-19-2011, 10:23 AM
Thats it !! Thanks David ! With the maker's name I've now been able to find the original L L Davis patent (Pat 167,311 Aug 31 1875) which illustrates my plane, and have been scanning the www for other info on Davis planes (a little bit of data found, but not much)

James, I'm not really a plane collector, more of a handsaw junkie :D, and only pick up planes (and various other hand tools :o ) if they look interesting and are not too expensive. So I'll likely take your advice and sell it, after I've satisfied my curiosity on it's history, value, etc (looks like I'd be able to recoup my miniscule purchase cost ! even though it doesn't seem to have any gold paint on the frog)