Such a pretty girl!

[Rob Luter]

I'm not sure if this will qualify for a true Neander Gloat, but she had me on looks alone. The pictures don't really do it justice. Other than the patina and a few dings it's pretty much like new. The iron didn't look like it had ever been re-sharpened. By the looks of things, somebody had used it for a paint scraper. Once I got it cleaned up and the iron honed properly, function was confirmed on a stringy old red oak stair tread. I was able to make a big pile of curls in fairly short order.

The particulars: Maple block 18" long, 3" wide, 1 3/4 thick. Maple tote and knob. The 2 1/2" wide iron is marked "Beverly Hdw. Co., Trademark Regestered, Master Mechanic, Warranted". I'm sure it's likely not worth much to a collector, but to me it was worth $30 out the door.

Bottom view added for Andrew. Mouth is 5/16 x 2 9/16. Frog is adjustable too.

[Andrew Williams]

looks in better shape than my transitional jointer. How big is the mouth opening?

[Brian Kent]

Transitional planes are beautiful. I am curious about your experiences in using this one. Since they seem much cheaper than other kinds of planes, I would love to get one and work with it - if they work well.

I am also fascinated with the idea of finding one with soild steel and unusable wood, to do a rebuild with new wood.

Let us know how well it planes compared to any other style.

[Jim Becker]

Hmmm...I believe I have her twin sister in my shop! Yours looks to be in better condition, however. IMHO, mine is never going to be a good user.

[Andrew Williams]

My transistional has a huge mouth on it. If I move the frog forward there is not enough bedding to avoid chatter, so it has been relegated to two duties..

1. Scrubbing...this thing is great for initial scrubbing when prepping one face of a board for flattening to then feed the power planer.

2. Taking off all of the roughness in preparation of edge jointing with my metal bodied jointer.

That said, I use the thing quite a bit. The 100 year old plane iron is fantastic.

[David N. Williams]

Anything stamped on the front? I've got a Sargent that looks very similar: the lever cap is identical, but the lateral adjustment lever is different. The Stanley transitionals also look similar, but I think they have a number in the casting. IIRC, Stanley and Sargent called 'em "Fore" planes.

Sure is purty!

[Rob Luter]

Nothing stamped on the wood anywhere. Speaking of wood, recent research suggests it's Beech, not Maple as I speculated earlier.

The only markings on the whole plane are on the iron. Google searches turned up one reference to Beverly Hardware Company that seemed relevant. It was an item in an antique tool auction in upstate New York.

I'm curious as to how old this thing is. Andrew's comment suggests 100 years. My research suggests that the transitional period planes could easily be this old or perhaps older. I sure wish I could find more information on the manufacturer.

I can email hi-res (2mb) photos to anyone who'd like to see any details. The ones shown above were reduced in size to post. I have a number of other shots as well. Just send a PM with email address.

[Andrew Williams]

I think it is a Fulton. The lever cap looks identical to my Fulton.

[Rob Luter]

Andrew - When I get home tonight I'll post a close up of the lever cap (and any others you'd like to see). There's a geometric pattern cast into the material that may be of help in comparing it to yours. Look for it after about 6:00 PM Eastern Time.

[Rob Luter]

Photo added above

[Clint Jones]

Probably made by Fulton for the Beverly Hdw. Co around 1910 to 1930.

[John A Walker]

Hi folks,

That is a desirable oldie. (like me? ;) )

I must confess mostly I use metal bodied planes. The older ones, I find at antique-fairs (Usually in cardboard boxes, under the stalls!) Which generally means the vendor doesn't know much about them.

The only wooden planes I buy are bought for their irons and the few wooden planes I use are shop-made, with rounded soles for hollowing coopered doors. So far I haven't gone to the trouble of making a concave-soled plane for working a rounded-edge or 'bull-nose' moulding as we say over here. :)

John (UK)

[Rob Luter]

When I bought it I didn't expect that it would be a great user, but it was so nice I couldn't resist. Once I got it adjusted and sharpened however, I found that it works pretty well. It's lacking the mass to power through tough wood like a metal plane would. The red oak stair tread I cleaned up as a test was easier using my #4 Stanley than using the woody. I found a Fulton metal joiner plane with a corrugated bottom at another location the same day I got this one. I Passed it up as I'd exceeded my "one tool per day" limit. If I'm in the area I'll check it out again. It was heavy and looked in pretty good shape. For $20.00 I can justify putting some time into it to make it a decent user.