Gunmetal Archives - Handplane Central

DID YOU KNOW…

Looking for diagrams to help make a hand plane or to turn a Norris adjuster? Handplane Central has several plans and diagrams on the site and we hope to add more soon. Everything you need to help get you started on making either a metal, transitional or a wooden handplane can be found here, such as this article on the famous Norris adjuster.

Planemaking – Casting An Adjustable Block Plane

Fig. 1. — Casting for Block Plane, in Section. Fig. 2. — Section through A A.NOTE: Click on image to enlarge. A Block Plane And Plane With Lever Adjustment. By A Foreman Pattern Maker. A word in season – Shell of Block Plane – Patterns…

Tyzack And Son 1908 Catalog

The scans below are from the Samuel Tyzack & Son catalog of 1908. Samuel Tyzack was in business from 1861 to 1867 at 8 Old St. before moving to 347 Old St. & 153 Shoreditch from 1872 and later 343 & 345 Old St. in…

Norris 1928 Catalog

This is the second Norris catalog addition to the site and is a reproduction of the 1928 catalog. The main difference you will note is that most of the images of the bench planes feature the Norris adjuster, whereas in the 1914 catalog the adjuster…

Metals Used In Making Planes

The Stuff Of Metal When it comes to the materials that can be used in planemaking it can sometimes become quite easy to “lose the plot”. This is especially true when you consider the vast array of metals available – both ferrous and nonferrous. In…

Miller “Rhino Horn” Gunmetal Infill Shoulder Plane

I’ve always found the gentle sweep of a Miller shoulder plane wedge to be one of the most attractive wedges I’ve ever seen. While many of them become “injured” and “deformed” over the years a good quality Miller wedge is always nice to find. George…

Norris 1914 Catalog

The scans below are from the Thomas Norris & Son catalog of 1914. The catalog features the entire range of Norris hand planes, from dovetailed smoothers, panel planes and jointers right down to tiny violin makers planes cast in bronze. Mitre planes, shoulder planes and…

Plane Works – Gunmetal Infill Panel Planes

The following text was taken from a three-page promotional leaflet which was acquired in 1992. Originally there were no pictures with the leaflet and the ones here were sourced from the magazine “Australian Wood Review”. While it is understood that the company no longer produces…

George Adams 1923 Catalog

The following images are taken from the George Adams “Woodworking Tools” catalog of 1923. George Adams was a tool and hardware merchants located at 255/6 High Holborn in London. While most of the planes and spokeshaves featured on these pages are manufactured by Stanley, there…

Through Much Tribulation

Through Much Tribulation: Stewart Spiers and the Planemakers of Ayr To call this book the definitive story of Stewart Spiers is somewhat of an understatement. Sure, by definition, the scope of information which resides within this 132 page work by author and longtime collector Nigel…