Kelly Cox stopped by this morning. Kelly is
somewhat younger, and more importantly far keener
of eyseight than I. He was able to discern and
read letters on stuff that I had long ago decided
was "unmarked"

One was a small smoothing plane, all metal, but
vaguely reminiscent in design of a Norris infill
(thumbscrew on cap, pivot). The lettering which I
had never seen says:

"Palmer's and Storke's Patents
May14 'x7, Oct. 19, '69
Metallic Plane Co., Albany, NY"

The plane is a smoother  about 7" by 2-3/8".  The
tote which appears to be fruitwood slightly
overhangs the rear of the plane. The bottom is
corrugated.  The front knob has a metal sleeve
from which it emerges like a toadstool (but the
sleeve would prevet the cracking that aflicts the
Stanley's)/

I paid $12 (that is what the tag says, I think I
paid less) at a flea market.  I have not cleaned
it up or even sharpened the blade, but a few
passes on wood were quite satisfactory.

Might anyone know anything about this plane?

> Sorry a better Internet search would have told me that Tom Price
> already had info on this company:

http://members.aol.com/tomprice/galootp/auburn_hist.html

Regards,

John Lederer
Oregon, Wisconsin

John wrote:

>> Sorry a better Internet search would have told me that Tom Price
>> already had info on this company:
>
>http://members.aol.com/tomprice/galootp/auburn_hist.html

Storke's original patent for corrugated planes is also on the Galoot's
Progress and was provided by Steve Reynolds the Patent Guy. The Auburn
Metallic Plane Co. history was provided by Dan Weinstock, a noted Auburn
Metallic collector. He may chime in since he is (or at least was) lurking
here. Auburn Metallic planes are collectible and the few examples I have
seen have been priced at >$100, some a lot more.

Don't drop it. Heh, heh.
****************************
Tom Price (TomPrice@a...)
Bleeds Rust
W.F.M. Goss On Bench Planes is featured at The Galoot's Progress:
http://members.aol.com/tomprice/galootp/galtprog.html

Tom Holloway wrote:

> John--
>         You wrote:
> >The lettering which I had never seen says:
> >
> >"Palmer's and Storke's Patents
> >May14 'x7, Oct. 19, '69
> >Metallic Plane Co., Albany, NY"
>
>
>         The location is not Albany, but Auburn,
NY, a
center of
> 19th-century tool manufacture about 25 miles
from where
I live.  The
> Metallic Plane Co. was founded by Mr. Storke
about 1869,
and it went out of
> business with his death in 1879, so all there
production
dates from that
> decade of existence.

It says Auburn clearly -- my mind converted it to
Albany.
The first patent date
is either "May 14,'67" or "May 14, '87".

>
>         A few questions:  Is there a moveable
plate in
the sole in front of
> the mouth, controlled by a screw under the knob?

It appears that the front of the sole has an inset
plate
that is separate but
I do not see the mechanism for moving it.  The
knob looks
like it might twist, explaining the rivet through
the sleeve to attach the
wood, but it does not turn easily, and I do not
wish to force it.

>  Does the grain in the
> tote run parallel to the long dimension, rather
than
horizontal?

The grain is predominantly vertical, running at a
slight
angle across the handle.Viewed from the back end
this would be the
grain...\\.  The tote's "foot" increases in
thickness in front of the handle, then drops
steeply to the raised ledge on the casting to give
it a sort of  Grecian architecture look.

>  Is there
> a mark of any kind on the iron?  In the same
general
location as Stanley
> logos, it should be marked EXCELSIOR, and maybe
Metallic
Plane Co., or it
> might be a Butcher or other iron, and still be
original.
Is it tapered
> like a wood bench plane, wider at the cutting
edge?

It is tapered like a woodie, and is thicker at the
cutting
edge.

There is lettering on the blade, apparently two
lines, but
quite indistinct. I believe the upper line ends in
"ARK" or "ARY" . The second line in slightly
smaller letters ends with "ER& Co"  and leaves the

impression of perhaps  a "P" in front of the "ER"
The "o" in company is small, raised and with an
underline.
The lettering style is reminiscent of civil war
stuff.

The blade fits the plane perfectly, matches the
cap, and
the cap has a small cricle of marks where the
screw contacts it. It also is
very similar in patina to the rest of the plane

>
>         You say:
> >I have not cleaned
> >it up or even sharpened the blade, but a few
> >passes on wood were quite satisfactory.
>
>         I'm not surprised.  These are quality
items.
It's your tool, as we
> say, and you can do what you want with it, but
keep in
mind that to some
> people it is literally a museum piece, and
should be
treated as such.  If
> it's in good condition as you suggest, with no
globs of
crud or rust, I
> would not mess with the finish at all, on wood
or metal,
or do anything to
> it other than a light protective coating of
paste wax
and hand buffing with
> a soft cloth.

I (blush) bought it because I thought it would be
very
easy to convert it to an infill. (guess not).

I did sharpen the iron to make a few more trial
passes. It
is a nice plane.

I have given it a light rub with a  cloth with a
little
turpentine to remove some surface rust, and put on
some some beeswax.....and I took off the $12
sticker.

  It had some rust, but little or no pitting.
There is
black paint on the sleeve, and black paint on the
interior of the casting,
and the metal on the sides almost appears as if it
were once blued. The front knob has a couple of
tight cracks but seems solid.

>
>         I'm just writing this now so that you
are aware
of what you've got,
> so that no one talks you out of it for peanuts
(not that
that would happen
> here).  If prodded I'll tell you my own Auburn
Metallic
story, but the
> topic here is your plane.  It is special.
>

I would be interested to hear it.

This could be big trouble for me.

SWMBO has  been very suspicious that my meager
assortment
of indispensable user tools might actually be a
"collection" which would put things on an entirely
different footing.
There was some discussion of this when she counted
the saws
I had craftily put up between the rafters, and
coincidentally happened to
notice that I have  6 braces. I  thought truth was
the
best policy so I explained to her that I had no
idea why I had 6 braces,
they just sort of crept in, but she seemed
somewhat unconvinced.

 Kind of difficult to say "this plane is so I can
more
easily trim the sticky bathroom door for you ,
dear".

John,
As Tom Holloway has indicated, this is a desirable and uncommon plane. The
1867 & 1869 patented planes with the swinging lever cap are the first
models made by the Auburn Metallic Plane Co., which continued in business
until 1878. A good deal of the history and products of the company are in
Roger Smith's PTAMPIA ("Patented Transitional and Metallic Planes in America,
1827-1927"), Volume 1, which is a must have for anyone interested in the
subject. The company was very successful, and seems to have sent a fair
amount of their product to the midwest where the planes turn up, it appears
to me, with disproportionate frequency compared to, say, New England. I
also believe that the success of the designs, quality and sales of Auburn
Metallics in the 1870s was directly responsible for Stanley adding (in
1876) the Liberty Bell line of "Stanley" planes and the 110 series of block
planes to offer a cheaper alternative to the Bailey bench and 9 1/2 blocks.
A careful comparison-review of price lists of Auburn Metallic and Stanley for
the years of 1869-1878 shows that Auburn *invariably* undercut the Baileys in
the price of each model- bench plane, transitional & block. The Liberty Bells
and 110 series of Stanley planes, however, were less expensive than the Auburn
product.

Your plane does have a movable throat.  Loosen up the front knob- if
necessary soak the threads at the base of the front knob with some
penetrating oil and give it a determined twist to unscrew the knob. Tap out
the throat adjusting plate from above using the exposed & tapped socket,
and a little cleaning will loosen it up to move smoothly.

I can't just now think of who the maker of your iron is. Original Auburn
Metallics had Excelsior, Metallic Plane Co., Auburn, N.Y.  I'll keep
staring at the letters for a while longer.

Nice find! Reassure SWMBO that you have been stewarding the family treasury
intelligently. :-)

Regards,

Dan
-Dan Weinstock
Geneva, N.Y.

weindan@h...