A Mystery Tool Joined The Fleet & I Wonder What It Is

[hman]

Howzabout this? Rotated OK. Tried to enlarge a bit, but pixels started to show, so I decided to leave well enough alone.


Absolutely fantastic work!!! "We had the very best job in the whole place." sounds like a real understatement! Thanks for showing us your work.

 

[george wilson]

Thank you,hman!!!!

I'm afraid I have completely hijacked the original OP's post,but his question has been thoroughly answered at least.

I thought I'd mention how I invented a way to cut the complex angled morticed escapement in all those planes. We had no special plane making equipment,and I wasn't about to spend the next several months hand chiseling those planes!!!

I had thought about it a lot,and I do have a Bridgeport slotting head that mounts on the opposite end of the ram. I made some heavy duty wood chisels that would mount to the slotting head,and a very coarse toothed saw 1/4" thick and double sided that was used to cut the mortices wider where the wedge fit. You can see the wedges going into the mortises(escapements) in the picture. We made a few templates to draw the shapes of the escapements on the sides of the plane. Then,we drilled out as much wood as possible with Forstner bits,as deep as possible. I had a long 3/16" router bit I had gotten from a machine shop that made router bits for the furniture factories in North Carolina. I picked up many a reject from their scrap bucket. You can't buy a 3/16" bit this long. It was JUST long enough to rout up from the bottom of the planes,JUST past the crooked angle down in the escapement,where the mortise changes angles. The chisels HAVE to have a cleared area to chisel into,or they just would hit bottom with a clunk,and go no further. That router bit gave the chisels the needed cleared area to slice into,and provided the bottom area of the escapement,where the plane iron could come out of the bottom of the plane: The throat,in other words.

With the slotter,we were able to efficiently mortise out those escapements,and an added benefit was,there were no modern routed surfaces left in the planes to see. The planes looked hand made as they were supposed to look,being 18th. C. repros.

Sorry,I have no pictures to illustrate how the escapements looked,but they have several angles,and it was a head scratcher to figure out how to make them efficiently. The outsides of the planes were no problem.

 

[dulltool17]

George- every time you take the time to type something on this forum, I get all bleary-eyed and go into a nearly-catatonic state of wonderment when I read of your wonderful experiences in Williamsburg. I'm 56 (well, on Friday) so if I get a 10th as much tool experience as you've had, I'll be delighted!

Folks here know you're a Treasure!

Doug

 

[george wilson]

We really DID have the best jobs. We didn't have to talk to the public all the time. The boss came out there about 2 times a year. We got to do some real nice creative work too,as well as making these "run of the mill" every day types of tools. And,I really enjoyed using lathes and mills. We even made 12 flintlock rifles and fowling pieces for a special "militia" armed with civilian weapons rather than the regularly seen troops armed with Brown Bess muskets.

 

[PGB1]

I'm afraid I have completely hijacked the original OP's post,but his question has been thoroughly answered at least.

Hi George & Everyone!

I'm the OP & nuthin' got hijacked here! Quite the opposite- I asked a question & learned a whole lot of things.

Your writings gave me curiosity to study much more about old tools & their craftsmanship. It's kind of like when I open an encyclopedia to look up one item. Before I know it, I've got 5 volumes spread out & opened to various related topics. That's the way life & learning should be!- Fun to say the least.

I think it absolutely GREAT that you gave your time to not only provide us with a thoughtful reply to my question, but to explain your work at the museum and to share your photos.

Traditionally, wood & I do not play well together, but reading your words & seeing what you've crafted gives me new hope of at least finding a peaceful middle ground!

After reading everyone's posts in this thread, I can guarantee that my wife & I will visit Williamsburg one day. Being kinda-sorta retired should give us some freedom to travel. (Finally!)

Thanks For Providing Inspiration!
Paul

 

[PGB1]

Would this fit in a( harde )sp hole in a anvil???
Love your pictures from Williamsburg.

Good Thought Gregg!
It fits the Haride hole in my anvil quite well. I never would have thought to try it in the anvil.
Guess who's going to be setting a saw in the morning?
Thanks!
Paul

 

[george wilson]

It is luck that it fits the hardie hole. Ours was mounted in a short log about 8" dia. and 6" high,which was heavy enough to hold the saw setter. It could be taken off the shelf and set upon the workbench.

 

[PGB1]

It is luck that it fits the hardie hole. Ours was mounted in a short log about 8" dia. and 6" high,which was heavy enough to hold the saw setter. It could be taken off the shelf and set upon the workbench.

It would look great driven into a log. Maybe I'll get a slice of oak or maple from one of my brothers who cuts & splits for side-money. Sanded & oiled, the log with this sawset would look great in my Mini Museum.

I've found this tool quite fun to use, so it will be one of my 'Use-It' antique tools. To be honest- They all are use-it tools. Working with old tools imparts a kinda-sorta peaceful feeling to any project. Even woodworking projects!