Clifton Planes
The Clifton line of shoulder planes are the direct descendants of the legendary Preston planes of old. Preston was bought out during the Great Depression by the company that became Record. Later, Record passed the designs on to Clico Tooling, who produce the Clifton planes today. Clico Tooling is a premier manufacturer of tooling for the aerospace industry, based in Sheffield, England. Modern Clifton planes, while admittedly not as decorative as the highly embellished Preston tools, are actually machined to higher tolerances. We think every shop should have at least one Clifton shoulder plane.
The Clifton bench planes, like their Lie-Nielsen counterparts, are based on the classic Stanley Bedrock line of planes that were produced before the second World War. The Clifton planes are less expensive than similar Lie-Nielsen planes, but don't let that fool you. The Clifton bench planes are in no way inferior to Lie-Nielsen bench planes, they are simply a better value. In fact, the heavy forged blade on the Clifton is superior in our view.
| Clifton #3 Smoothing Plane Bedrock style smooth plane with rosewood knob and tote and heavy hand forged 1 3/4" wide Clifton made blade. The Clifton #3 is an excellent size smoothing plane for small work, or for people with smaller hands. $229.95 |
| Clifton #4 Smoothing Plane Bedrock style smoothing plane with rosewood knob and tote and heavy hand forged 2" wide Clifton made blade. The #4 size smoothing plane is the most popular metal plane size of all time. This size is the primary smoother of most shops, and the Clifton #4 is certainly as good as any Bedrock/Bailey style smoother made. $239.95 |
| Clifton #4 1/2 Smoothing Plane Bedrock style smoothing plane with rosewood knob and tote and heavy hand forged 2 3/8" wide Clifton made blade. Offering a wider blade and more heft than the Clifton #4 size, the Clifton # 4 1/2 size is preferred by many cabinetmakers. $289.95 |
| Clifton #5 Jack Plane Bedrock style jack plane with rosewood knob and tote and heavy hand forged 2" wide Clifton made blade. The jack plane is the workhorse of the workshop and the Clifton #5 Jack plane is as good as any iron jack plane available, old or new. $249.95 |
| Clifton #5 1/2 Jack Plane Bedrock style jack plane with rosewood knob and tote and heavy hand forged 2 3/8" wide Clifton made blade. The Clifton 5 1/2 Jack plane is for people wanting a larger Jack plane. This can be especially useful when taking the wind out of long boards. $289.95 |
| Clifton #6 Fore Plane Bedrock style fore plane with rosewood knob and tote and heavy hand forged 2 3/8" wide Clifton made blade. The Clifton Fore plane is one of the handiest bench planes, great for truing up warped and twisted boards and for jointing shorter lengths. $299.95 |
| Clifton #7 Jointer Plane Bedrock style jointer plane with rosewood knob and tote and heavy hand forged 2 3/8" wide blade. Excellent general purpose bench plane for longer boards - used to produce a straight edge on boards for joining. $359.95 |
| Clifton Bench Plane Set of 3
This is a set of the three types Clifton bench planes that you need to get started. Every shop using hand tools needs at least a smoothing plane, a jack plane, and a jointer. This set includes the Clifton #4, #5, and #7 bench planes. $799.95 |
| Clifton Bench Plane Filler Set of 2
This gives you two more Clifton bench planes that are not in our starter set. This set includes the Clifton #3 and #6 planes. $499.95 |
| Clifton Bench Plane Wide Set of 2
This set includes the Clifton #4 1/2 and #5 1/2 planes. $549.95 |
| Clifton Deluxe Plane Set of 8
This is a set of the 8 Clifton planes that we feel would make up a well equipped shop. All of the tools in this group are tools that we feel are used often enough to justify them in most shops. This set includes the Clifton #3, #4, #5, #6 and #7 bench planes as well as the Clifton shoulder planes #410, #420, and #3110. $1799.95 |
| Clifton 3110 Combination Bullnose and Shoulder Plane Reconfigurable through removeable parts, this plane combines the features of a shoulder, bullnose, and chisel plane all into one. If you can only afford one Clifton plane, this one affords you the most versatility. 1 1/8" wide. $259.95  |
| Clifton 400 Bullnose Plane Made for the most delicate work, the original of this plane is one of the hardest to find Preston planes. Only 3/8" wide, this plane is made for doing the finest trim work on delicate jobs, like a desk interior or a jewelry box. $84.95  |
| Clifton 410 Shoulder/Rebate Plane The one metal plane you would have found in every 19th Century English cabinetmaker's box would be a rebate plane or a shoulder plane. Unlike the 19th Century planes, the Clifton shoulder planes offer a high precision adjustment mechanism that can make life a lot easier for the casual user. This plane is a 11/16" wide version of the classic Preston shoulder plane. $219.95  |
| Clifton 420 Shoulder/Rebate Plane The same as the 410 except in 3/4" width. Take your pick, every shop should have one of these two. $229.95  |
| Clifton 500 Convex Spokeshave Often associated with chairmaking, these tools are invaluable for recessed work. $94.95  |
| Clifton 550 Concave Spokeshave Almost every major project seems to call for a concave spokeshave at some point, wether it be in shaping Windsor chair spindles or cabriolet legs. $94.95  |
Clifton 260 Chairmaker's Bits These are spoon bits that are indispensable in the manufacture of Windsor and other similar chairs. There is simply no other way to properly bore the special hole that correct construction technique demands. The holes used in Windsor chairs are made to be larger inside than on the surface. This is done with a spoonbit by boring the hole and then manipulating the brace to expand out the inside of the hole. When a spindle is then inserted with a blind wedge, it will not come undone, as can be seen in 200 year old chairs made in this way. This technique is also used, without the wedge, using a green wood for the chair seat and dried wood for the spindle. As the seat dries, it locks itself to the legs and spindles, which are turned with slighlty bulbous tenons.
Clifton spoon bits are hand forged from the best carbon-steel and then ground with the highest precision. While cheaper Asian made bits are availabe, they do not compare quality to these Sheffield made bits.
| Description | Price | Qty | Buy |
| Chairmaker's Bit 3/8" | $28.95 | ||
| Chairmaker's Bit 7/16" | $29.95 | ||
| Chairmaker's Bit 1/2" | $31.95 | ||
| Chairmaker's Bit 9/16" | $32.95 | ||
| Chairmaker's Bit 5/8" | $36.95 | ||
| Chairmaker's Bit 11/16" | $37.95 | ||
| Chairmaker's Bit 3/4" | $42.95 | ||
| Set of all 7 bits and the Chairmaker's Spoon Bit | $275.95 |
| Clifton 250 Tapered Chairmaker's Spoon Bit These bits are used for making tapered through holes where a wedge is then inserted from the far side to lock the joint. Every cabinetmaker's box had one of these in the 1800's. $49.95  |
| Clifton 460 3 Piece Scraper Set This is a set of the three standard cabinetmaker's scrapers, a standard 5" by 2 1/2" rectangular, a gooseneck, and a convex/concave. We use all three of these all the time and highly recommend this set. Also check out our Hock burnishers for sharpening these scrapers. $21.95  |
