Carpenters Hand-Held Molding Plane, Cast Iron and Wood.

Carpenters Hand-Held Molding Plane, Cast Iron and Wood. 

In woodworking, a moulding plane is a specialized plane used for making the complex shapes found in wooden mouldings.

Traditionally, moulding planes were blocks of wear-resistant hardwood, often beech or maple, which were worked to the shape of the intended moulding. The blade or iron was likewise formed to the intended moulding profile and secured in the body of the plane with a wooden wedge. A traditional cabinet makers shop might have many, perhaps hundreds, of moulding planes for the full range of work to be performed. The late nineteenth century brought modern types which were all-metal affairs such as the American Stanley. No. 55 Universal Plane and the English Record No. 405 Multi plains with a wide variety of interchangeable cutters, integral fences, and "nickers", small cutting edges which score the grain fibres when working across the board.

Large crown mouldings required planes of six or more inches in width, which demanded great strength to push and often had additional peg handles on the sides, allowing the craftsman's apprentice or another worker to pull the plane ahead of the master who guided it.

While generally considered outdated, a modern furniture shop doing reproduction or restoration work might keep a collection of moulding planes to match original work, or to build in an authentic manner.

The earliest known record of a moulding plane is a moulding plane iron of Roman origin unearthed in Cologne, Germany.

Item Code - TOO8C2232HAE

Width: 8"  Height: 6 1/2"  Depth: 2"  Weight: 595 g