Figure 25. — -1830-1840: The design of the rabbet 

 plane, used to cut a groove of fixed width and 

 depth on the edge of a board, was not improved 

 upon in the 19th century. The carpenter's depend- 

 ence on this tool lessened only after the perfection 

 of multipurpose metallic planes that could be 

 readily converted to cut a "rabbet." (Private col- 

 lection. .Smithsonian photo 494789-!^). 



Figure 26. — 1818: The jack plane, used first by the 

 carpenter for rapid surfacing, is distinguished pri- 

 marily by the bezeled and slightly convex edge of 

 its cutting iron. .As with the plow and the rabbet, 

 its shape is ubiquitous. Dated and marked A. 

 Klock, this .American e.xample follows precisely 

 those detailed in Sheffield pattern books. (Smithso- 

 nian photo 49794-C.) 



.*^* :%%: 



this is not a reliable guide, however, since similar 

 moldings are retained throughout the century. Fi- 

 nally, the plane is equipped with a fence controlled by 

 slide-arms, fixed with wedges and not by adjustable 

 screw arms. After 1830, tools of high quality, such as 

 Wiiite's, invariably have the screw arms. The rabbet 

 plane, made by Carpenter, is traceable via another 

 route, the U.S. Patent Office records. Carpenter, 

 self-designated "toolmaker of Lancaster," submitted 

 patents for the improvement of wood planes between 

 1 83 1 and 1849. Examples of Carpenter's work, 

 always stamped as shown in figure 27, survive, both 

 dated and undated. There are several of his planes 

 in the collections of the Bucks County Historical 

 Society, and dated pieces are known in private 

 collections. 



Iniicrent in the bench planes is a feeling of motion, 

 particularly in the plow and the rabbet where basic 

 design alone conveys the idea that they were meant 

 to move over fi.xed surfaces. Of the three examples, 

 only the brass tippings and setscrew of the plow plane 

 suggest any enrichment, and of course these were not 

 intended for decoration ; in later years, however, box- 

 wood, fruitwood, and even ivory tips were added to 

 the more expensive factory models. Also uninten- 

 tional, but pleasing, is the distinctive throat of the 

 rabbet plane — a design that developed to permit easy 



<^MBr 



Figure 27. — -1830-1840: Detail of the rabbet 

 plane (fig. 25) showing the characteristic stamp of 

 E. W. Carpenter. (Smithsonian photo 49794-D.) 



discharge of shavings, and one that mass manufacture 

 did not destroy. 



The divergence from European to an Anglo- 

 American hand-tool design and the approximate 

 date that it occurred can be suggested by a compari- 

 son of contemporary illustrations. The change in the 

 wooden bench plane can be followed from the early 

 I /th century through its standardization at the end 

 of the 1 8th century. Examine first the planes as 

 {Continued on page 202) 



PAPER 51: WOODWORKING TOOLS, 1600-19 00 



199 



