RUSTHUNTER find: Marples X4 infill plane

[Greg Muller]

I am looking for more information on an uncommon plane that I recently picked up at an estate sale.

It's been identified as a Marples X4 infill plane from around the 1950's. I've been told they are rare in the UK, and even more so here in the states. I'd like as much info as possible to help me determine what I should do with it. It will either become a part of my permanent collection, or I may put it up for sale. It's in outstanding near mint condition, I haven't even dusted it off yet.

Here's some pics:


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This is probably mentioned in PTAMP-II, but I don't have my edition available.
Anyone have some info for me?


thanks,
Greg

[Jim Koepke]

Interesting find. My knowledge on that is zilch.

My inclination would be to give it some use and see how it performs.

A superior performance would be a good reason to hang on to this plane.

If it isn't a great user, my inclination might be to hang on for an opportune time to sell it to the collector crowd.

jtk

[James Bird]

I agree with Jim, I would use it for awhile either way since it has obviously been used before so you aren't going to hurt it!

My thoughts are that yes, it is rare, but that it is also lacking in much of a collector "allure". What I mean by that is, it is not a plane that collectors seek so even though it is rare it may not hold much value. You can always put it on Ebay with an big buy it now price of say $1,000 and accept best offers and see what you get. As long as you list it as an infill it will get a good amount of traffic from the collector market as there are only maybe 20-30 infill's on Ebay at any given time and the amount of collectors who are always keeping their eye on those hand full of planes is quite a lot.

And really, what's the worst that could happen? You get the $1,000 and make some money.... or you get low-ball offers, and maybe a few messages from guys who know a lot more than I about infills, and they will tell you what it's really worth... Just my $.02

[Greg Muller]

James, what do you see that makes you think it has been used previously? The only possible indicator is that the blade has a minute secondary microbevel, but the factory primary grind appears to still be there. There's no marking on the sole, and no residue from wood anywhere. I may give it a 12k honing and give it a try, but I'm not sure I want to do even that until I learn more about it.

[Chris Vandiver]

Is that an adjustable mouth I see behind the front knob?

[Greg Muller]

Sure is Chris. The screws behind the knob are for adjusting the mouth opening. Mighty nice!

[george wilson]

My,that is a very charming plane!!
although it doesn't have the workmanship of a Norris,it is so evocative of the 50's. And,I love the name Marples!! I don't know what it is worth,but I'd certainly love to have it. Not long ago I bought a smallish Marples wooden smoother from our classifieds. It's practically a toy. Small,inexpensively made,but very evocative of simpler days. I just sit it on my shelf.

[Greg Muller]

This was in a post over on a UK woodworking forum. Photo from a Marples catalog. Once you click on the image, you can use the CTRL + to enlarge further to read the detail.

MarplesX4.jpg

[James Taglienti]

Three months ago in MA i passed on one of those in the box for 275 bucks. I really regret it! It was a prolific day for tool hunting and I was completely jaded by the time I got to the Marples. It is such a cool plane...

[george wilson]

I am so jaded that I like the naivety of this plane!! This is true.

[Chris Griggs]

I'd shoot Joshua Clark (aka hyperkitten) and/or Patrick Leach an email. Those dudes know a heck of a lot about uncommon vintage tools.

Really cool plane by the way!

[Greg Muller]

Thanks for the idea, Chris. I'll do that.

This plane has loads of details in it that make it obvious that the Marples designers were thinking about every option. Designing the lever on the cap with ridges so that it was easy to grip when shooting is just one excellent example of the detail. It really is comfortable.

.