Laminated Molding Plane

[Jim Koepke]

This came from a recent purchase on ebay:

319529

Was this a repair or were some molding planes actually made this way?

jtk

[Kees Heiden]

The French made laminated moulding planes, but not quite like this one. It would have been a moulding plane with an open mortise, closed with a batten along the side. I can't quite envision how this one is made, but it seems that the lamination is at the other side of the mortise.

[lowell holmes]

How about a picture showing the plane from the side or top?

I don't know what I'm looking at there. I can't answer your question, but I'm sure curious.

Never mind. After looking at images on line, it seems a logical way to make some planes. I'm not aware that any of mine are laminated, but I couldn't swear to it.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I am going to go with not a repair because it sure looks like the same wood, same aging. Seems logical and a simple way to mass-produce planes of this nature to route the mortice and then glue on the side. I have a friend who has 2,000 (No exaggeration- TWO THOUSAND) planes and next time I see him I will ask. If anyone knows, he will know.

Yes, folks-there is a person out there who has the bug worse than we do, and you can tell your wives that his wife fully supports his hobby. :-)

[Robert Norman]

I have a dado plane of my great grandfather's that is built similarly. Maybe in some instances it's what makers used instead of thick stock? Maybe it was a quick and dirty way to crank out the planes by sawing all the way through and slap a lamination on the blind side? In my case it looks like a skewed rabbet plane with an extra mortise for the nickers while the lamination houses the volute and depth stop. I'd think one could crank out many more like this than starting with a solid billet.

Does your lamination line up with the wedge mortise on the blind side?

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[Jim Koepke]

Thanks all for the replies. The escapement is on the non-laminated side. The wood does look quite the same from the body and the lamination. It may have been a way to use up some scrap or a way to make planes quicker. Kind of a Krenov style before Krenov.


I am going to go with not a repair because it sure looks like the same wood, same aging. Seems logical and a simple way to mass-produce planes of this nature to route the mortice and then glue on the side. I have a friend who has 2,000 (No exaggeration- TWO THOUSAND) planes and next time I see him I will ask. If anyone knows, he will know.

Yes, folks-there is a person out there who has the bug worse than we do, and you can tell your wives that his wife fully supports his hobby. :-)

And I thought I was getting a little out there by getting up to the century mark of plane ownership.

My wife is still supportive of my hobby. She will actually look for planes when we are at antique malls and yard sales.

jtk

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Okay sir, I visited Mike today and showed him.your image. (Note: posting from my phone so try to decypher this. My fingers are too fat for this keyboard.) First off, Mike loaned Thomas Lie Nisen his No 9 to make the first prototype and later today I will post a picture of it with some amazing differences from the priduction model.

Anyway, mike immediately saw your pic and said no. This is an artisan made plane, but then said that he needs to see the wedge to see the shape of the scroll. There were rare cases of laminated planes but they were mostly rabbeting planes. He noted that yours has no cgamfer and usually there is a chamfer. He thinks the name is the owner but could be the artisan who made it.

Look for a post tonight of the very first prototype of a LN no 9 with some really amazing features that did not make production.

[Jim Koepke]

Thanks to all for your responses and knowledge.


Does your lamination line up with the wedge mortise on the blind side?

Robert,

Yes it does. There is also some room in the lamination to accommodate the wedge which looks wider than most.

319707

The wedge may have been damaged in the past. It does seem a bit wider than most of the wedges on my other molding planes.

Here is a shot of the escapement:

319708

It looks a little sloppy compared to one from Auburn Tool Co:

319706

My knowledge is increasing on the wooden molding planes a lot just by looking closely at how they are made. The wedges have a bit of shaping to them to act like a chip deflector. They also need to seat solidly to prevent the shavings from choking up the works.

jtk

[paul cottingham]

None of mine are laminated like that. I guess the real question is how well does it work?

[Jim Koepke]

None of mine are laminated like that. I guess the real question is how well does it work?

It seems to work okay. it hasn't had much more than a test run. This plane was in a group of planes that was priced low due to damage and ill fitting wedges. One of the lot is a match by maker and size for one of my unpaired hollow planes. This one duplicates the size of another in my set.

jtk