>-----Original Message----- 
>From: paul womack Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2016 10:53 AM To: old tools 
>Subject: [OldTools] Block Plane - 1864 reference

>Apart from the old canard about this tool being used for butcher's blocks,
>the origin of Stanley's "Block Plane" is vague.

This started out as a question about Stanley's Block Plane, and quickly 
digressed into very interesting posts about pre-Stanley use of the term 
"block."  (Or am I misunderstanding what's been going on here?)

To get back to Stanley and its planes, I read somewhere about using these 
planes for trimming the blocking between the framing posts (2x4) of a house. 
The use was light-weight, and being able to fit in the pockets of workman 
overalls was important.  Now while there may well have been pre-Stanley 
"block planes,"  it seems to me that Stanley would not have continued the 
plane type if there wasn't some contemporary use for it.

Tom Ellis
Jackson, GA