Molding Planes at The Best Things

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Molding Planes

Before the days of store bought moldings and Stanley combination planes, every cabinetmaker and joiner had a chest full of molding planes. For the most part these planes are almost identical, however, there are subtle but important differences. More on the differences between cabinetmaker's and joiner's molding planes. Joiner's planes are much more common to find, because far more people were employed building houses than were employed building furniture by hand. Both types of planes can still be used on today's projects. By our estimation, you haven't lived, until you have struck a molding with an original molding plane that once sung in the shop of a 19th Century master. 18th Century molding planes are quite scarce and should be left to collectors. We hope that the collection presented here will offer something for everyone.

A word on sharpening and using molding planes.

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American Molding Planes

MP120131 J.F. A group of 5 craftsman made planes, all from South Eastern PA. These planes are early 19th Century and would likely have been used for furniture. All of them are in untouched condition with nice patina. The prize is a thumbnail plane for doing drawer edges. It is the perfect size for furniture. Sadly, the wedge finial is sheared off, but this is an easy fix. Next there is a 1/8" bead. The type that has no flat at the bottom of the quirk, i.e. the type that you can't paint, a true cabinetmaker's bead. Next is a 1/2" bead, the most worn plane of the group. Fourth is a grooving plane that may have been for drawer bottoms, or it may be half of a T&G pair. Finally, there is a modified plane that is now a fixed fillester, or halving plane, probably to do the rabbet on the edge of a cabinet door. I have a Dutch Cupboard in my living room that this plane fits the door nicely. The value here is 85% in the thumbnail, 15% in the 1/8" bead, and the rest are just along for the ride. A rare find of original American cabinetmaker's tools. From an important PA collection. G+ $195

12016 Unmarked A super-complex bolection with larger bolection, one of my very favorite moldings. This is a rare profile. It measures about 2 inches wide. I am not sure about what it was used for, but my guess is a chair rail molding. Sadly, when I bought this plane it was just a body. I had Larry Williams, of Clark and Williams fame, make me a blade for it some years ago when he was convalescing from an arm injury. It is still missing the wedge, but that is a pretty easy thing to make. If you want to use it, the blade will need some more work to match it more carefully to the profile. The plane is marked on the back with a manufacturer's model number, "No. 104". I have never bothered to look it up, but is clearly the work of one of the big American factory makers. Untouched condition. This would be a $500 plane if it had the original wedge and iron. G+ $199

MP111128 S. M. A cabinetmaker's cornice plane cuttting a 3 1/8" wide ogee with fllet and reverse ogee, the quintessential American cornice molding profile. If you only own one cornice plane for all of the period furniture that you make, this is the profile that you want. This plane is probably cabinetmaker made. It is applewood with a round topped iron and clearly 18th Century features. The tote has a very distinctive look that I have seen on other 18th Century New England planes. I think that the tote is replaced, its surface is just a little too smooth and nobody would overclean just the tote, but it is very well done and I would assume follows the original. Otherwise it is doubtful that it would have been made in this style. A superb early plane for the user or collector. G+ $695

MP111051 Tho Napier Thomas Napier is the only planemaker know to have signed planes on both sides of the Atlantic, having learned his trade in Scotland and then moved to Philadelphia. I don't know where this plane was made, but it was found in Britain by the famous retired Jim Wareham many years ago. It was in Jim's collection for years and has subsequently been in my collection for about 15 years. The profile is one that I associate as being more of an American profile. It is my very favorite profile, a double bolection, 1 5/8" wide. I don't recall seeing a British plane with this profile and I wonder if Napier introduced it into the colonies, or if this plane was made in Philadelphia and then made its way back over to Britain. When I bought it from Jim, it was untouched, and had a strip of copper screwed on to the depth stop, which had been slightly reduced. I had Bob Baker remove the copper strip and put a piece of wood over the holes that also built the depth stop back to the original position. Believe me, if I didn't mention it, you wouldn't notice it. Bob was that good. This is one of the best 18th Century molding planes that I have seen and an historically important plane on several levels. G+ $1465

MP110265 S. V. Pierce A graduated set of handled reverse ogee with bevel. These planes are superbly well made, with the form of the integral handles being as good as any that I have seen, but I am not sure if they were made by the craftsman, S. V. Pierce, or are unmarked planes that he marked as an owner. If he was an owner/maker, then they are the best made craftman made wooden planes that I have ever seen. I can't express enough how impresed with these planes I am. The are in wonderful as found condtion.. The front were sticking to some deteriorated cardboard and that needs to be cleane off. Otherwise they look as good as when they were in a 19th Century tool chest. There are 4 plans, but one is missing its wedge and iron, so I have priced them as if there were three. The sizes are 1", 1 1/2", 1 5/8", & 2" missing the iron. By a better know maker, one of these planes would be worth this amount. Handled molding planes made from a single piece of wood are rare. Fine $385

MP110241 W. Raymond A unique set of 4 molding planes, that I can only speculate on the function of. There are two curved and one straight plane, that all cut the same profile, which I think is a form of a fenced cock bead. The curved planes are fenced left and fence right, so that you could work in either direction on a curved piece. These three planes were clearly intended as a set. The fourth plane cuts a 1/2" astragal. This one has some chips from the rear where it was struck to set it. These planes have great as found patina. Here is the kicker, all four have replaced wedges, and one plane has a replaced blade. I have owned these about 20 years and I made the wedges back then. They are accurately made and colored, but no effort was made to age the wedges to they won't fool anyone. Bob Baker would have made these wedges look original, but I am no Bob Baker so I just try to make things look correct in form. The replaced blade fits properly and has been ground to profile, but you can see that it is freshly ground compared to the other 3. These planes are so rare that I can overlook there shortcomings. They are true 18th Century American planes, and probably cabinetmaker's planes at that. G+ $295

MP100143 J. R. Gale This plane cuts a 1 7/8" profile that is quite rare. A fillet, a cove, and then a deep ogee. The boxing is keyed so that it can't warp. Gale was a Providence Rhode Island maker who only worked for a short time, and in my experience his planes are quite scarce. I can see why since doing the boxing this way would have been much more time consuming than the usual way of doing it. There are three lines carved into one side, probably as some means of identifying the plane. The wedge is a properly made replacement that most people would not notice is replaced. It may be a Bob Baker job but I am not sure. There is a tiny chip on the edge of the iron where it seems to have recently been dropped out of the plane. This can be easily removed with a Dremel tool. G+ $329

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British Molding Planes

MP111232 C. Nurse & Co, 182 & 184 Walworth Road, London S.E. A group of 5 molding planes, and 4 sash templates, all owned by one W. Saunders. There are two pairs of sash ovolos. I don't quite understand the markings on them. One pair is marked 5/8" and 1 1/2", and the other pair is marked 5/8" and 1 3/4". There is also a huge, crisp and fine 1 1/2" ovolo in just superb condition. What most would call mint. It has a Marples marked iron, which is unusual on a molding plane. The sash templates are the proper original ones for the pairs, 2 each, and are marked by Nurse, and have the size markings as well. Also marked by the owner. I have never had such a complete grouping, two pairs of planes both with the proper templates, and with 5th plane which is fantastic on its own. You just don't find sets like this. One pair rates about G+, the other pair G++, and the large plane is in a class of its own. G+ - Fine $349

MP110623 Jennion A 10" long 5/16" square ovolo by one of Robert Wooding's apprentices. In my experience, Jennion planes are by far the most scarce of the Wooding apprentices. Wooding planes themselves are also much more scarce than people realize, because so many of the fakes have come to be acceptned as right. The wedge on this plane has great form. The mark is not deeply struck, which is nearly alwasy the case with Jennion, but it is clearly legible. There is a sliver, running 1 1/8" long, missing from the rear of the depth stop. There is also a chip from the rear left side where the plane was struck to set it and a piece chipped off. This is an excellent example of this important maker's work. Provenance: From my personal collection and before that with the collection of Jim Wareham. G+ $165

MP80540 I.Cox This is a rare handled English complex molding plane. It was apparently made for the American market, which makes sense for this style of plane. I make that prempton because it bears two different American style owner's brands. It looks very much like a Napier plane of the same period. The mark is the early Cox mark, which is a big rectangular mark. The profile is the really great news here. It is a very unusual and appealing profile. The profile is 1 1/2" wide and would fit in well as main part of a cornice mold on a piece of furniture. The iron is a round topped Hildick. The bad news is that the tote is a later replacement, more in the 19th Century style. Also, the rear of the plane is marked with an American collector's mark and inventory number. I can overlook the tote and the desecration because the rest of the plane is so good. It is just a great profile that I won't even begin to try and describe. G+ $265

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European & Other Molding Planes