Greetings,
I recently purchased a 7/16" center bead plane which I believe to have a somewhat unusual feature. Photos can be seen by clicking on this link (I hope):
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B5YwO2tVTpdceXBCSWdIZEIwVWc&usp=sharing
As can be seen from the photos, it does have some condition issues and was missing its iron. But that didn't concern me, as my interest lay in the unusual feature (and it was very inexpensive). I've decided not to identify the feature in this post, because I thought it might be more interesting to allow people to discover it for themselves. I have some ideas about possible implications, but am interested in thoughts from others in the meantime.
Incidentally, the plane was made by Nathaniel Chapin & Co., so likely dates from about 1838 to about 1850. The mark is "frequently found" according to Pollaks' _American Wooden Planes_, so it's not the unusual feature.
Don McConnell
Eureka Springs, AR
I recently purchased a 7/16" center bead plane which I believe to have a somewhat unusual feature. Photos can be seen by clicking on this link (I hope):
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B5YwO2tVTpdceXBCSWdIZEIwVWc&usp=sharing
As can be seen from the photos, it does have some condition issues and was missing its iron. But that didn't concern me, as my interest lay in the unusual feature (and it was very inexpensive). I've decided not to identify the feature in this post, because I thought it might be more interesting to allow people to discover it for themselves. I have some ideas about possible implications, but am interested in thoughts from others in the meantime.
Incidentally, the plane was made by Nathaniel Chapin & Co., so likely dates from about 1838 to about 1850. The mark is "frequently found" according to Pollaks' _American Wooden Planes_, so it's not the unusual feature.
Don McConnell
Eureka Springs, AR