Chalmers Jiffy 20 Plane

[Sergey Petrov]

Can you guys twll me what this plane is used for and how? What is its value in projects?377089

[Jim Koepke]

A consultation with Dr. Google says it is a fibre board plane.

According to Patrick Leach it only has value to a collector and then not much.

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/chalmers-patent-1935-jiffy-plane-151476046

jtk

[Sergey Petrov]

Thanks Jim!! I also asked Doc but did not find much. Was wondering if there is someone here who used one or owns one.

[Jim Koepke]

Your welcome, not many people need a plane made to smooth or trim fiber (fibre) board.

Looking at Patrick's Blood & Gore brought up this:


Let's just say that this plane is an utter piece of junk, which Stanley made to cash-in on the tacky fibre board craze of the 1930's and leave it at that. Oh, this, and the next 3 are my most favorite planes to hate, in the whole wide world, right up there next to anything made by the Shelton Plane and Tool Co. Mere words fail to express just how much I loathe these planes.

http://www.supertool.com For the fibre board planes start at #192 for the full effect. (Note: The fibre board planes start at #193, but there is a warning between #192 and #193 directed at fibre board planes.

Having seen only one Shelton plane, and it didn't work well at all, my feelings toward it are now vindicated.

jtk

[Bill Houghton]

When fiberboard came out, it was the New Best Thing, a status that lasted only a short while. It was faster and cheaper than either plaster or proper wood paneling (by which I mean frame-and-panel, not the godawful wood-grained thin plywood that (dis)graced many a rec room in the 60s and 70s). We've stayed in cabins in Oregon that had fiberboard paneling in the upper half of each wall, and it's denser than homasote, with particles sizes between MDF and particleboard. It's not exactly ugly, though it's close; paint would be the only proper finish for it, applied thick enough to hide the texture.

I suspect it was pretty much driven off the consumer market when drywall, developed in 1916, really established itself in the market in the 40s.

The bedrooms in the Grand Lodge at the Oregon Caves National Monument, the last Grand Lodge built by the National Parks folks, use fiberboard paneling; as I recall, from the one time we saw them, the execution is not great, and the rooms aren't very attractive.