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The Metallic Plane Company of Auburn, N.Y. – Manufacturer And Builder (April 1878)

Metallic Plane Company - Manufacturer And Builder

The article below first appeared in “The Manufacturer And Builder” in April, 1878, and highlights the benefits of metal planes produced by the Metallic Plane Company of Auburn, N.Y. While these articles were little more than advertisements in the trade papers of the day they do, nonetheless, show some insights into the makers and manufacturers of times past. They can also be of great interest to collectors, tool historians and users alike.

Metallic Planes.

Among recent improvements in wood-working tools, there have been none greater than those made in carpenter’s planes. Up to within a few years wooden planes were exclusively used, and the introduction of the iron substitute met with the usual opposition that attends all innovation on old habits and customs. For this opposition, as far as the early attempts to substitute iron for wood are concerned, there was some reason. They were heavy; they had devices for holding or setting the bit that were clumsy or complicated, and their perfectly true surfaces were found to hug the wood so closely as to make it slave-labor to use them. This last objection was the most serious, and for some years kept them out of general use.

About ten years ago the Metallic Plane Company, of Auburn N.Y., E. G. Storke, Business Manager, started the manufacture of a full line of iron planes, the result of many years of practical experiment, in which for the first time this most serious objection was overcome. By the simple device of slightly fluting the face longitudinally all suction was avoided, and the planes, while being and remaining always true, work as easily as wooden planes.

Other improvements were added from year to year; they were made lighter, and by means of an adjustable throat in front of the bit adapted to all kinds of work, coarse or fine, at the will of the operator. Improvements were made in the methods of setting the bit, for no first-class wood-worker now thinks of buying a plane that has not a convenient and accurate adjustment, for the iron.

The planes made by the Metallic Plane Company now combine all these advantages, and most of them exclusively. In the bench planes of the latest Centennial pattern, (Fig. 1), the bit is set with a direct-acting screw moved by a thumb-wheel, having six arms, within easy reach of the hand while grasping the handle. By it the bit is instantly raised or lowered with a delicacy that adapts it to the finest veneer work or the most knurly of our native woods. The irons are of the best temper, always reliable, and every one warranted.

In response to the demand of the times, the prices for the 1878 trade have been largely reduced, and special inducements are offered to agents, dealers, and all who purchase in considerable qu|quantities.

Metallic Plane Company - Manufacturer And Builder

The Auburn Metallic Plane Company was early in the field with that most convenient too1, the iron block or heading plane, represented in Fig. 2, of which tens of thousands have been sold. They are now retailed at less than one-half former prices, and the one illustrated in the cut, with 1-9/16 inch adjustable bit, will be sent postpaid to any part of the country for 90 cents.

The iron plow and match plane, represented by Fig. 3, has been largely sold and gives universal satisfaction. Eight plow and two match bits are furnished with it, and in lightness, convenience, and accuracy of work it is unexcelled. It is also cheaper than equivalent wooden tools, takes up much less chest room, and is every way superior.

The rabbet and fillettster, Fig, 4, has now been in use for nearly five years, and is adapted to a great variety of work. It is a perfect fillettster, and also a side rabbet for any width up to 2 inches. An accurate scale is marked on the face for convenience in setting the fence, and the bit is adjusted by a lever.

Every wood-worker will at once appreciate the advantages offered by the miter jack or template, a handy little tool used in making and fitting all kinds of small miters on moldings, etc. It is represented in Fig. 5. Its angles are all mathematically exact, and keep so. It is sent by mail postpaid to any address for 50 cents. This company also make a full line of wood-faced planes, such as represented in Fig. 6, with adjustable bit and throat, at prices ranging from $2.25 for smooth to $4 for long jointer.

The Manufacturer And Builder – April 1878.

Last Updated: Sep 30, 2021 @ 4:39 am

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