Walt wrote:

>"I have come into possession of a #4 size bench plane
>made by the Consolidated Tool Works, Inc. with
>the PILOT brand in a ship's wheel on the iron.
>
>I cannot seem to find any info on this company in my
>meager library. Do any of you have an idea of when
>this plane may have been made? MJD catalogue has
>an entry for a caliper in both the 1996 and 1998 edition
>indicating this was a New York company.

Someone else found a Pilot jack plane a year or so ago and Charlie 
Newbold wrote the following:

>>Made by The Consolidated Tool Company. Has a ship's wheel on the iron (very
>>thick) and on the lever cap, with the word "Pilot" between the spokes. It
>>is about the size of a Stanley/Bailey #5. Has a corrugated sole.
>
>The blade stamp indicates it is probably an original iron for the plane. 
>According to Roger Smith's book on metallic planes, the Pilot Brand was made 
>by The Consolidated Tool Co. of New York city circa 1925. The Stanley 
>planes 
>were made with corrugated soles starting in 1898, so I suspect it is an 
>imitation made after the Stanley patents expired. 
>
>I've never seen any of their planes, so I don't know about the quality or 
>value. Roger's book doesn't show any examples or discuss any patents 
>associated with them. In general, jack planes are very common. Corrugated 
>sole planes are worth a little more than smooth sole planes of the same 
>size. 

So Roger Smith does have some information on Pilot planes in one of the 
PTAMPIA editions. I don't have either of these so I can't be of further 
assistance. Can some kind soul check his/her PTAMPIA and tell us if there 
is any more information on Consolidated Tool?
****************************
Tom Price 
Will Work For Tools
http://members.aol.com/tomprice/galootp/galtprog.html