Strange moulding plane, can you help identify it?
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- This topic has 4 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 5 months ago by Cyril LE GUIENNE.
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26 November 2023 at 9:41 pm #820364
Hello everyone,
I ve been given this moulding plane a few months ago but I’m quite confused by how it supposed to be used. According to the profile, it seems to be used for making grooves. The iron in the middle would indicate so, even though its edge is skewed and the bedding in the body also is, but why not. What puzzles me the most is the iron on the front I’m not even sure I am loading it properly. It stands straight, almost as if used for a scrapping action but the strangest thing is the cove at its edge which isn’t anywhere near following the sole’s profile. No mark of the maker to help identify it either. Not sure if it’s a modified tool and to what end, or if it’s a very specific plane for a very particular usage.Attachments:
You must be logged in to view attached files.I think this is a plane designed to take out a groove across the grain. The vertical blade at the front simply scores a line at each edge enabling the second blade to take out a full width in the space between without the cross grain timber splitting out as it otherwise would do.
I love old wooden planes!
Richard KornickiThis looks like a shop-made dado plane. Unfortunately, I doubt that it can cut well. The escapement is very rough, but that probably doesn’t matter. The issue is the nicker up front. This needs to have parallel knife edges the width of the dado and they must be sharp to cut across the grain and must align with the main blade. What is there instead is a blade that appears to simply scrape the wood, not sever the fibers. I wonder if it could be sharpened differently. Offhand, it looks like someone took a blade from a hollow and stuck it up front in this plane.
Here are some photos of a dado plane made by Chapin to give you a comparison. Notice how the front blade (nicker) is different from yours. It doesn’t matter that these blades do not line up with the sole. What matters is that the nicker and blade line up. The sole is like the skate on a grooving plane and just determines the depth of cut, giving the plane something to ride on. Looking at my photos, I think my nicker is in backwards, given the way it is sharpened. If you address these things on your plane, it might do some useful work. On the other hand, I’ve pretty much never used mine and just chop them the way Paul taught us. A plane cuts what it cuts, but a knife and chisel cuts exactly what you need, even if slower.
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You must be logged in to view attached files.28 November 2023 at 2:22 am #820493Thanks very much to the both of you for these explanations and details. That’s a very peculiar plane indeed since it’s meant to cut across the grain as opposed to the vast majority of planes we use day in day out. After removing a quite thick layer of rust on the back of the irons, I was able to read they were made by Peugeot frères, a quite popular brand in France during the 19th and 20th centuries.
I doubt I’ll have very much use for it but just for my own education and since it was a present I think I’ll try to restore it to function. Perhaps by remodeling the nicker’s edge first.
I do agree with you Ed, if I have a dado to cut, I do prefer using knife walls and a good sharp chisel. Maybe not the quickest method but I like to take my time anyway -
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