*** Date for your diary***
 
The  5th 'Vintage hand Tool Extravaganza is being held on
Saturday 14th October 2023



  Free entry and Free car parking
 
Location -  same as always - is:-
The Village Hall
Newark Lane
Carlton Scroop
NG32 3AR
Lincolnshire
 
Come and meet the Tool Dealers -   Daniel of Boyshills Tools from Devon, David from Norfolk, Robert from Old Hand Tools, Brian the Norris Plane man, Steve with his eclectic French selection, and of course myself, the 'other' Robert  of Old Tool Mart

As well as being able to look at and buy the tools, we have various demonstrations throughout the day:-

* Pole-lathe woodturning and all things Bushcraft by Martin Rollins a.k.a. Silverback Bushcraft
* Saw restoration and sharpening with Peter Tiffney
* Andy James with woodturning segmented pieces         * Beezy James and the art of Rag rug-making
* Splatback chairmaking with Peter Tree  

Displays of rare and unusual tools will be shown by their proud and knowledgeable owners:-
* Richard Arnold showing some of his early wooden planes
* Andy Brown with his astonishing range of tools and ephemera rarely seen these days outside of a Museum!
* Tim Smith displaying his evergrowing collection of infilled Chariot and Mitre planes

A small stand supporting TATHS - The Tools and Trades History Society, with membership application forms, and small selection of their books etc

For your delight and delectation Sue and Valerie will be serving  slices of theirdelicious home-made cakes, all washed down with a freshly made cuppa - Tea or Coffeee

Don't miss this great opportunity to meet up with like-minded tool enthusiasts

If you need any more details or information please message me, especially if you are wanting to buy a particular tool.
I will circulate any 'needs' to all the dealers, since their stalls will only have so much stock for the day - it means they will  have the chance to dig out that 'elusive' tool that you're looking for

Look forward to meeting up with old friends and customers, and making many new ones!
 
Regards to all, Robert

Quite frequently, I get asked about the various names that are applied to long bench planes, both vintage wooden planes and also the more modern metal ones, which can seem  confusing to the uninitiated woodworker.

I understand that the term 'Jointer' was certainly being used in England from the seventeenth century (and maybe even earlier), to describe any bench planes that were over 20" long.

Bench planes between 14" and 18" were generally referred to as 'Fore' or 'Jack' planes, a term in common use these days.

At some point in the early nineteenth century, the other terms of 'Trying' plane and 'Long Trying plane were used in manufacturers catalogues, by such as Marples in their 1862 edition, and earlier by Holtzapffel in 1846.

They both list :-

Trying planes as being 20" or 22"

Long Trying planes as 24" or 26"

Jointer planes 28" or 30", and longer by special order.

In the late 1800's, the terms 'Trying' and 'Long Trying' plane went out of use, with the earlier term 'Jointer' being used to cover the whole range of long bench planes.

According to Peter Nicholson, in his 1832 text The Mechanic’s Companion, He states that the purpose of the try planes is to :-

"…reduce the ridges made by the Jack plane, and to straighten the stuff: for this purpose it is both longer and broader, the edge of the iron is less convex, and set with less projection…”

And, that, the Jointer plane :-

“…is principally for planing straight edges, and the edges of boards, so as to make them join together; this operation is called shooting, and the edge itself is said to be shot…The shaving is taken the whole length in finishing the joint, or narrow surface.”

"...truing up the edges and surfaces of long boards, perfectly straight, so that their juncture may be scarcely discernible when their surfaces are joined together..."

It is also believed that the term 'Trying' was a corruption or derivation, of the term 'Truing.'

A further comment, on the traditional difference between Trying planes and Jointer planes, is that in their use, the former utilises a slightly cambered edge to the cutting iron, whereas the latter uses a straight edge on the cutting iron.

That's a simplified history of naming English long bench planes, as I currently understand it!

If you know different, please tell?