A vintage beast

[Phil Mueller]

I guess you never know where you’ll run into a vintage tool sale. I stopped into my local woodworking store to pick up a few items and low and behold they had a table set out of vintage tools. Apparently a friend of the owner passed and he was helping the widow move some of his tools.

I picked up a nice older Nicholson file, a few saw files and this 30” jointer. I just couldn’t let it sit there. Its been ridden hard, but appears to be in decent shape, although I honestly don’t know how often I’ll need it. Not even sure where I’ll put it! A good cleaning, a bit of wax, and a sharpening and it should be good to go.


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It appears to be made by Gastrolinger & Co., Detroit, MI. (difficult to read). Double iron is Moulsen Brothers. A quick search for Gastrolinger brings up nothing. If anyone knows anything about this company, I’d appreciate some info.

[jack dempsey]

Wow Phil, "vintage beast" is an apt description. I had no idea planes were ever manufactured that large. I cannot imagine the arm power needed to use this particular tool. Jack

[Mark Rainey]

That is a beauty Phil. Your edges will be straight as an arrow.

[Rick Whitehead]

I couldn't find that name in either of my reference works on British and American plane makers.
Could you post a close-up photo of the marking?
Rick

[Phil Mueller]

Rick, thanks for looking in to it! As you can see, it’s well used. Here’s a couple of photos…looking at it again, the first letter of the name might be a “C” not “G”…hard to tell.

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[Charles Taylor]

I think I see C. A. Strelinger. A very, very hasty online search turns up this clue:
http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu...p%3b%20Company

[Phil Mueller]

Thanks Charles! Good eyes, my friend. Another mystery solved.

[Rick Whitehead]

Right! C.A. Strelinger.
Charles gave a link to their catalog, but here's some more info from "A Guide to the Makers of American Wooden Planes".
"C.A. Strelinger & CO. was a large Detroit MI hardware and tool dealer begun by Charles A. Strelinger and active from 1885-95". They list four different versions of their marking.Yours is he first type marking, so your plane was probably made during the first few years of the company.
Hope this helps.
Rick

[Phil Mueller]

Thank you Rick! If I could have read the name correctly, you would have found it immediately. The book you have seems like a great reference…may have to pick one up.

It’s kind of interesting that the maker’s name is on the back of the plane where you hammer to adjust…and hammer they did. 100 plus years of adjusting pretty much all over the top front and the back (with reckless aim it appears) but I guess if I look as good as it does at 100 I’ll be happy.

From the little I have read, seems to have been a high quality shop. Makes me think I need to give it some TLC and put it back to work sooner than later.

Thanks again for the time/insight.

[Assaf Oppenheimer]

Its wood so weight and friction should be low compared to say a No.8.
What blade width is that?

Beautiful plane.. :-)

[Phil Mueller]

Assaf, since it would be used primarily for edges, once sharp, it shouldn’t be hard to push at all. The blade is 2 1/2”. And even with what looks like a lot of use, it has plenty of length left.

[Tom Bender]

I thought the front knob (missing from yours) was sometimes used with a rope and another man pulling to get more power into the task. Or maybe somebody spoofed me on the first of April.

[Eric Rathhaus]

I have a 30" Sandusky and there's no front knob, but there is a strike button in the same location. The blade is 2 5/8" wide.

[Phil Mueller]

Just to follow up, I’m happy to say the beast is alive and well. Wanted to keep the character of the thing, so just a good scrubbing and some time removing the famous white, green, and red paint flecks, followed by a coating of Odie’s oil. Took some time to flatten the back of the iron and fettle the chip breaker, but she’s back in business. Next time I need to joint some 10+’ boards, I’m all set

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[Mike Allen1010]

Dude that's a total score – congratulations! I have a Stanley #8 and it's fantastic tool and works great. That said, I inherited a 26 inch beech jointer that apparently belonged to my grandfather. It was in rough shape; drank a ton of BLSO, to rehydrate. I added a brass wear plate to the mouth and it is my new favorite tool. The tapered blade takes a great edge and seems to hold it for a lot longer than it should. I don't want to sound mystical or anything, but it there is something about old tools have been used by generations woodworkers that makes him extremely comforting to use. Probably that's just me.

Great to hear from you Phil – all the best, Mike