Antique British Metal Planes & Infill Planes at The Best Things

Infill Planes

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Infill & Other British Metal Planes

British Metal Planes, commonly referred to as infill planes, represent the pinnacle of refinement in cabinetmaking planes. These planes came into vogue during a time when industrialization allowed products of remarkable precision to be made for a wide market, but at the same time fine hand work was still being done. Infill planes proliferated in the second half of the nineteenth century. While production lingered on until the early 1950s in a few isolated cases, The Great War really sounded the death knell for this type of tool. Today, these tools are avidly sought by both users and collectors. Their elegant lines and unequaled performance stimulating interest in both groups. When perusing the planes in this section, it must be remembered that the very nature of these planes meant that production would be relatively small. Today, the supply of good examples is very limited. We do sell quite a few Norris and Spiers planes, but it must be borne in mind that these planes are far too scarce to maintain a constant stock of good planes at a reasonable price. Planes by lesser known makers, while often of similar quality, are typically much easier to acquire, simply due to their lessor fame.

In our New Tools Section you will find a complete selection of parallel irons for infill planes custom made for us by Ron Hock.

for more of a discussion of infill planes.

BM120156 Holland, London, Improved A 1 1/2" gunmetal shoulder plane with steel sole. The mouth is very tight. The sole is in nice untouched condition. The body has a nice patina, but may be lightly cleaned. The wedge has a big chip in it. Holland wedges were prone to this and I wonder if he was doing something differnt than other makers that would make this damage more common on his planes. There are some marks on the right side as if the plane was splattered with a chemical. I have not tried to clean them off. The blade is by James Howarth and is about 50%. I can't say if it is original or not, but I will say that Holland often used Ward irons and his irons often have J.H. marked on them. Since he did not number irons, his production being too small to warrant that practice, it is harder to say definitively what is right and what is not. We know of course that the J.H. marked irons are right, but we don't know if he always followed this practice. This is a lovely plane by a scrarce high-end London maker. G+ Sold

BM120110 Craftsman Made A particularly attractive Scottish craftsman finished smoothing plane. This plane is not without issues, but the form is so lovely that I can overlook them. It has a cove molded front casting and the bun is molding on all four sides. The rear fill is nicely formed, with an ovolo molding around the perimeter. The iron body is in nice condition the heart and shield lever cap has great color and nice form, and is dead genuine. I know of a foundry in Norfolk that has cast a lot of heart and shield lever caps, and I see them showing up all the time on planes that have been given that litte something extra by a British dealer. Now for the issues. The front bun has had a piece of ivory from an old piano key inlaid into, presumably to cover damage around a strike button. The finish on the wood has that look of being cleaned with a solvent and then repolished. There was a pathetic effort to make the ivory in the front blend in with some kind of colored varnish. The right -hand lever cap screw has broken and has only part of its head remaining, which is not an issue except that you would not be able to easily remove it. I don't know why you would want to. If you want to us the plane, you might want to put a thicker iron in it. With this iron the mouth is pretty open and the lever cap screw is down further than intended. Having said all that, I have seen lesser examples bring more money in the UK. G+ $485

BM111073 S. F. Copping, Maker A matched pair of two miniature gumetal bullnose planes, along with another related full size bullnose. This pair of planes are the only signed examples of this maker's work that I have ever seen. I paid a fortune to get them, but I thought it worth it for such an important pair. The smaller plane's sole is only 1 1/2" long and the larger is 2 1/4" long. Both planes soles round up slightly at the front. I assume that these were musical instrument maker's planes. The wood is dark rosewood. They are in flawless condition. The third plane is included for academic interest. It is unsigned and came from a different source. However, I think that it is my the same maker, The form, including the odd wedge shape, is very similar. I have see a few like this before, none of them signed. This pair was found in London years ago, and then resided in an important Dublin collection before I acquired them for my own collection. Now you can own an irreplacable pair of planes. $1995

BM111062 Norris, London A rare Norris #3 smoothing plane. This plane was owned by a user and for inexplicable reasons, he has polished all of the woodwork with fine steel wool so that it is very smooth like glass. The brass has been hand polished but is now starting to repatinate. It looks like the steel body was only lightly cleaned and is quite crisp with a nice mouth. The blade is the original Norris iron. The upper part of the blade is somewhat pitted, which has partially obscured the mark, but in no way affects the lower part of the blade and the cutting edge. The plane is from the early 1920s. The plane is still sharp and ready use. Had it not been cleaned in this way it would be worth $500 more, as it is, it is a steal for a user wanting a genuine Norris. G+ $995

BM110632 Norris, London A rare number 5 Norris in lovely unmolested condition. This is a later style with the #5 embossed on the lever cap between the Norris, London logo. The lever cap has a lovely patina with a significant amount of original bright lacquer remaining. The rosewood has lovely grain and color The blade is a proper blade of the period, with 1 3/16" remaining, but the plane body has a fitting number, and neither the cap iron nor the blade have a fitting number. This would suggest that they are not original to the plane. The mouth is very tight. The sole is quite clean, but the sides of the plane appear to have been cleaned and there is some pitting at the upper edge of the front, where the sweat from a user's hand would have been on the steel body. This is a very nice example of a rare Norris plane made when Norris were at the height of their glory, in that great time of change between the wars. G+ $1595

BM110513 Unmarked A rare small sized gunmetal mitre plane, measuring 6" by 1 7/8". The bridge shape would suggest an early 19th Century London maker. The blade is bedded on Mahogany, with a small rosewood piece fitted in the rear beneath the blade. The blade is probably a later replacement. The rear of the wedge has been blunted, presumably to allow a worn out original iron to still be adjusted. The left side of the plane has a superb original patina. The left side and front look to have been lightly poished but still have a good patina. The mouth is about 1/32" when set for use. There are quite a few fake small dovetailed gunmetal with iron sole planes, chariots and mitre planes, but very few that are the real deal. I don't recall ever seeing another genuine mitre plane that was this small. Provenance: formerly in an important Glasgow collection. For the advanced collector. G+ $1495

BM110425 Green, Pimlico This is a #18 Norris shoulder plane, that was made for Green of Pimlico, and is marked on the iron and the plane body. It is not marked Norris, but you have our guarantee that is what it is. It retains 90% of the original iron and has a tight mouth. The rosewood has great figure. This is a relatively earlier plane and the quality probably represents Norris at its zenith. It does look like the iron has been very lightly cleaned with a wire brush. This was a stupid thing to do, but I repeat that it was very lightly done and the plane is not seriously damaged. I have a very high opinion of this plane, but since it is not actually marked Norris it is a bargain. One of my personal favorite planes in my own collection is an early Norris wedged smoothing plane that is also only marked "Green, Pimlico." G++ Sold

BM110413 Mathieson, Glasgow A classic 13 1/2" panel plane, made by Norris but marked for Mathieson. It retains a full original Mathieson iron, properly numbered to the plane, and giving it a very tight mouth. The woodwork and the lever cap are untouched, with a lovely patina on the gunmetal. The rosewood has particularly nice grain. The sides have been polished bright, not with an abrasive, but with a polish like simichrome polish or something like that. They are starting to repatinate, but all of the patina had been cleaned off of the sides. In a few years all signs of this should be gone. This is a great example of a Norris made panel plane, that would cost another $500 for the same plane if it was Norris marked. The best panel plane that we have had in a few years. G++ $995

BM100439 Mosely & Son, King St., Covent Garden, London This is a medium size (8 1/2") wedge type Spiers made, but Mosely marked mitre plane, with the very unusual feature of being handled. This plane has a handle fitted to the rear with such precision and quality of workmanship, that it certainly might be a factory special order. Whenever I see claims in tool auction catalogues that abberations from conventional production, I am skeptical. So, too am I skeptical of my own claims to this effect, but it is certainly possible. I have see a lot of obvious user modifications, many of them described as rare prototypes by their owner's, but typically they are so crudely executed that only the most optimistic among us could believe that they might be original to the tool. That is not the case here, this is so well done that it is hard to believe that any woodworker would have the metalworking skills to execute such a modification so well. It truly looks orginal to the plane, and makes the plane immensly more usable. I have owned and used this plane for 15 years or so and is much easier to handle and used than any other mitre plane that I have used. It has the original numbered snecked iron. It is in very untouched condition, except where the patina is rubbed off on the bottom of the handle screws, where I filed them flush, there having begun to protrude as a result of the handle shrinking. I regret not doing this a bit more carefully, but the color will come back with time. The mouth is as tight as you would expect from a Spiers made mitre plane that has not been through the British trade. Provenance: Ron Cushman. G+ $1395

BM91245 Norris, London A #7 shoulder plane in the scarce 1 1/8" wide size. This plane has a full original Norris marked, and properly numbered, iron. The sole of the pane is crisp with as tight a mouth as any Norris shoulder plane. The rest of the plane has been overcleaned. I can picture what happened. It sat for many years on a shelf, so the sole was protected, while the rest of the plane was exposed. Then some fool took 400 grit paper and rubbed down the plane. The wood has lost its finish ane the sides are bright, with some pitting. This plane would make as good a user as any, just as it stands. It could be made to look a lot better by dressing the sides and refinishing the wood. With its full original iron and tight mouth, this plane is really a steal at this price. Good $595

BM91034 Norris, London A Norris number 51 adjustable smoothing plane with about 70-80% of the original Norris marked iron remaining. This plane has most of the bright lacquer left on the hold down screw and a very pleasant light patina overall. This is another very nice example from that wonderful Norris collection that we have been selling. There are two minor faults. Really one. There are several obtrusive owner's marks on the top of the front bun. Not really a fault but it is a but much. The tote has a glued crack in the front part, that is not the tote itself, but the closed part that goes in front of the hand. This is a common flaw, in just this place, but I don't know why. The original paint is about 80%. Most of the examples that I see turning up in this country are repainted. This is a really nice honest example at what I think is a moderate price. G++ $865

BM90159 Unmarked This plane is one of those times when a tool collector becomes a sleuth. The plane is not marked, but is too well made to likely be a craftsman made plane. It is dovetailed, and the dovetailing is done as a first class maker would do it. You don't see craftman made planes that are dovetailed very often, and they are never dovetailed this well. The plane is beautifully made mitre plane, but with an unusual form. The front bun looks like a Norris front bun of the period. The period, I peg as 1893-1898 because the blade, which looks original to the plane, bears the mark of Ryan, Euston Rd. which would date to this period. The bridge looks like a London mitre plane bridge by a maker like Smith or Gabriel. Since these are earlier makers, it even occurred to me that this was an earlier plane that has been refilled later. It looks too undisturbed to give that theory credence. I just don't know but I would not be surprised to hear that this plane was a special order from a major maker like Norris. Ryan was a dealer for Norris. Whatever the story, this is a fantastic mitre plane in wonderful as found condition. G++ $1295

Hock Parallel Irons for Infill Planes
We have a full selection of Hock irons custom made to our specifications in standard and A2 steel. These are all listed in the new tools section. Hock Blades