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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.

Explanation of Our Condition Grading System

Frequently Asked Vintage Tool Questions




for British Molding Planes

for European Molding Planes

American Molding Planes



John Bell, Philada John Bell, Philada

MP24021 John Bell, Philada A crisp 1 1/4" wide bead with Grecian. There are 3 old holes in the bottom of the fence where an extension was applied. For this profile that is common because it is a tricky profile to use without an extension. There is a light finish on the plane that is probably not originally, but I am not ruling it out. There are a few very small dings on the front left edge. Overall this is a superb plane that most dealers would call mint. G++ Sold


S.H. Bibighaus, No. 311 Willow St, Philada S.H. Bibighaus, No. 311 Willow St, Philada

MP24027 S.H. Bibighaus, No. 311 Willow St, Philada A 1" shallow cove with ogee, which I believe is a custom profile. I have only seen this profile once before and that was on a British plane. The profile is clearly original to the plane since the mouth is too tight to have ever been modifiled. The plane is about as crisp as they come, with just one ding on the front right bottom corner. For the connoisseur. Fine Sold



Butler, Philada Butler, Philada Butler, Philada Butler, Philada

MP240211 Butler, Philada A lovely handled 1" square ovolo. The round topped iron is by James Cam. Measures 12 1/4"overall. Butler is not a common maker and this is a nice example from a great old collection. G++ $159





Jo. Fuller, Providence Jo. Fuller, Providence

MP240217 Jo. Fuller, Providence A 5/8" wide bead with ovolo. A classic early profile that is not seen much into the 19th Century. The body is beech and 9 1/2" long and the wedge is birch. The plane is in lovely untouched condition and is from an important collection of early New England planes. G++ https://cwocauctions.proxibid.com/Carol-Watson-s-Orange-Coast-Auctions/Antique-Modern-Firearms-Auction/event-catalog/256496?#84




F. Dallicker F. Dallicker

MP24011 F. Dallicker A desirable 5/16" square ovolo by a desirabe Pennsylvania maker. The blade is skewed. The plane is in as found condition with a nice surface. There is a hang-hole drilled through the side towards the front. A nice honest plane. G+ $75




W. Raymond W. Raymond

MP24015 W. Raymond A 3/4" ogee in nice crisp condition. There is one spot of roughness on the right side that I really can't explain. The plane would have rated fine otherwise. Really a great plane with wide flat chamfers that give it a great early look. G++ $159




T.J. McMaster & Co. Auburn, NY T.J. McMaster & Co. Auburn, NY

MP240121 T.J. McMaster & Co. Auburn, NY A crisp as found 1 1/8" wide astragal with cove. It has the fancy eagle mark that everyone loves, including myself. The iron is marked "W. Butcher". Wonderful. G++ $109





Jo. Wilbur Jo. Wilbur Jo. Wilbur

MP240128 Jo. Wilbur A 1/2" bead plane in birch that measures 9 7/8" overall. The plane has a very untouched look about it. The rear edge where the palm goes has been rounded off for the comfort of the user. The sole shows honest wear. Joshua Wilbur's father was a Loyalist and was imprisoned duing the Revolutionary War for refusing to fight, but Joshua fought with the Rhode Island militia during the war. This plane was previously sold by Jim Bode Tools as his EXCELSIOR 85430. G++ $989


R. Eastburn R. Eastburn

MP231145 R. Eastburn A nice as found 1/8" bead. This is a real cabinetmaker's bead with a nice sharp quirk. Eastburn is a relatively early New Jersey maker and since these small beads got used up, I rarely see nice ones this early. G++ $55




Kennedy & White, N. York Kennedy & White, N. York

MP231122 Kennedy & White, N. York A 3/4" astragal with cove. This plane has been properly waxed by a collector and has lovely color. There is a bit of wear on the wedge finial but it is otherwise quite crisp. G++ $89





L. Kennedy L. Kennedy L. Kennedy

MP230816 L. Kennedy A superb 3/4" quirked ogee with astragal. This is a profle that doesn't come up often in these very narrow sizes. It is very crisp and untouched. There is one tiny chip off of the profile on the front edge, which is why I gave it the minus. For the connoisseur. Fine- $119




E. W. Pennell, 90 Callowhill St. Philada E. W. Pennell, 90 Callowhill St. Philada

MP230230 E. W. Pennell, 90 Callowhill St. Philada A very unusual 8" long center bead. It cuts a 5/16" center bead. There are no added holes in this plane from tacking on fences. It is in nice as found condition. Short Philadephia molding planes just don't show up. I can't recall seeing another one in years. G+ $89




D. Amsden, Lebanon

MP150445 D. Amsden, Lebanon This plane cuts a 5/8" astragal with cove. It bears the second Amsden mark. Both Amsden marks are very scarce, if not rare, in my experience. This plane is in wonderful original condition except that the blade has been stropped, clearly by a recent owner who thought that he might use it, but it shows no sign of any use in the last 100 years. A very hard to find New Hampshire maker and a very desirable profile, all in connoisseur condition G++ $199


Arrowmammett Works, Middletown Arrowmammett Works, Middletown Arrowmammett Works, Middletown

MP210796 Arrowmammett Works, Middletown A 1 3/4" wide Grecian with square. Not a common profile and not to be confused with the common Grecian ogee with bevel. It has an extension tacked on to the fence. It has a rather faded look to it now, but with a few drops of linseed oil rubbed in this plane will look fantastic. G+ $65




T.J. McMaster & Co, Auburn, NY

MP20126 T.J. McMaster & Co, Auburn, NY A 7/8" wide astragal with deep Grecian. The plane is marked 3/4, which seems to be the depth of cut. Sighting down the body there is some warp and if you want to use this plane it will require some fiddling, but it looks doable to me without inordinate effort, if you have experience with this. There is a hang hole in the rear and a check in the front. Nice honest as found condition. G+ $59



Bensen & Crannell, Albany

MP201218 Bensen & Crannell, Albany A 1/2" cove plane in clean as found condition. Sighting down the sole, there is a warp in this plane that will prevent it from performing well without some fiddling. The price reflects that. Needs a light cleaning but should clean to at least G+ $30






D. Copeland

MP160150 D. Copeland This plane has a very unusual profile, a very deep cove. I have seen similar very deep Grecians, so this is presumably the converse. It does seem to me that the depth stop has been planed off. The patina matches, so it would have been done when the plane was near new, but the wood is rougher there than the finish that the maker would have left, and the spring line shows where the depth stop shoud have been. I don't think that the profile itself is modified and this is still a very ususual plane. It does appear to have been "cleaned" with steel wool. G+ $55




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for European Molding Planes



British Molding Planes



Deeley Deeley

MP24024 Deeley A delicate 3/4" wide bead-fillet-ogee. This profile is wonderful. I suspect that this plane was modified from a round, but it was clearly done by a planemaker. The work is superb. If you like small complicated profiles they don't get any better than this. G++ Sold




Griffiths, Norwich Griffiths, Norwich Griffiths, Norwich Griffiths, Norwich

MP24029 Griffiths, Norwich A matching pair of miniature Number 12 Hollows & Rounds. The measure 2 7/8" long. They are skew iron and the working profile is about 15/16" wide. They seem to be made from some kind of dense fruitwood, possibly pear. They could easily be mistaken for boxwood but I don't believe that they are boxwood. Signed miniatures are scarce, particularly matched pairs like this. Fine- $145



Lourie Lourie Lourie Lourie Lourie Lourie

MP240114 Lourie This is a group of 16 Lourie cabinmaker's hollows & rounds. Ten of these planes have matching owner's marks and are clearly from the same original set. Five others have no owner's mark and may or may not be from the original set, but probably are not. Then one plane, a 6 hollow with a replaced wedge, has a different owner's mark. The core set has York pitch irons and are not skewed. The 4 planes that are in the last photo have standard pitch irons. The set includes:
2 Pair, 4 Pair, 5 Pair, 7 Pair, 9 Pair, 12 Pair, and then singes 3H, 6H, 11H, & 13H.
The planes are all in clean condition with the typical British dealer wax job. They have flat chamfers and are probably from around 1790-1810. If you want to play around with some hollows and rounds, this would be a good set to start with since it has more of the small sizes that are more useful. G+ Sold


Drury, N.B. St. John Drury, N.B. St. John

MP231132 Drury, N.B. St. John A 1/4" bead plane by a scarce Canadian maker. It is also marked by the retailer, "T.L. Cleary, St. John, N.B." . The first of either of these marks that I have seen. It is in as found condition and was clearly used but not abused. G+ $49




Jas Lumsden, 20 South Lindsey St, Dundee Jas Lumsden, 20 South Lindsey St, Dundee

MP22081 Jas Lumsden, 20 South Lindsey St, Dundee A 3/4" cove plane that is made in a very unusual way. The blade is shifted very far forward of where it would normally be positioned. It should function in the same way, so I don't get why they would do this. The plane is in honest untouched condition. G+ $55




H. Olsen, 11 Vognmagergade 11 H. Olsen, 11 Vognmagergade 11 H. Olsen, 11 Vognmagergade 11

MP220712 H. Olsen, 11 Vognmagergade 11 This is a most unusual, and beautifully made, sash coping plane from Copenhagen, Denmark. I bought it from a European collector who told me that in his entire collecting career he has only seen one other example. The plane is also marked "! 1/2" for the size, probably in centimeters. At first glance it looks like a veneer saw. The beech wood has a lovely honey color and has been waxed by the collector. The metal parts have a pleasing light patina, but if you look closely you can see that they were hit with a fine wire brush. No real damage was done as it was a soft brush, but it is still a really bad thing to do to a tool and should be prosecuted. G++ $195


Moseley & Son, London Moseley & Son, London

MP22055 Moseley & Son, London A 1" Grecian ogee with bevel. Interestingly, the plane is also marked with a Ward, W&P mark that I have not seen before, but I assume was used to mark tools that went through their retail store. The plane has been lightly cleaned by a collector. The fence is rather shallow. I don't know why, but if might be a little tricky to use without putting on a fence extension. This is no big deal. I see fence extensions on planes all the time. G+ $55


Hields, Nottingham Hields, Nottingham

MP22022 Hields, Nottingham A matching pair of 5/8" ovolo sash planes in really crisp as found condition. These literally came out of an old tool chest about 2 weeks ago. Unfortunately, the #1 plane has a warp at the cut out for the mouth. They have been together all their lives, but yet one is straight and the other is not. Strange. They are still a wonderful pair. Fine $69





Sash Template Sash Template

MP180841 Sash Template This is the largest sash template that I have ever seen by far. It is for a giant lamb's tongue sash like might be used in a Victorian church. The molding would be about 2" wide to the glass. It is in wonderful as found condition with an attractive rich patina. Fine $59




Hathersich Hathersich

MP221127 Hathersich This is a 5/8" cove with ovolo sash plane. The boxing is warped and pulling up, and it has the wrong blade. The body and wedge are in lovely condition. Free to the first person who orders it and spends at least $200 on old tools. G++ $0




Two Hollows Two Hollows

MP210197 Two Hollows This is a lot of two hollows, both with the same owner's mark, but different maker's marks. There is a #15 marked Summers Varvill, Ebor Works, York, and the other has no number mark, but is a 13 or 14. It is marked Varvill & Son, York. G+ $45




Edwd Preston & Sons, B

MP210155 Edwd Preston & Sons, B'ham, Eng. An unusual 1 1/4" wide ovolo. Not a square ovolo, it is more similar to a very larege sash ovolo, but not quite the same. As found condition. G+ $59






W. Greenslade, Bristol

MP151021 W. Greenslade, Bristol A very unusual #4 round that is only 7 inches long. The only one of its kind that I have seen. I have seen much smaller Hollows and Rounds, but not one in this intermediary size. G++ $59







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European & Other Molding Planes

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