The medieval toolchest the plane part 5 moulding planes

Moulding planes are planes that serve a special function: shaving a specific form or mould into the wood, such as a decorative edge or concave or convex forms. Nowadays, the functions of these planes have been taken over by electric routers. During medieval times some moulding planes are thought to have existed; the round and hollow planes. But no such planes, except for some early medieval planes from Funen, have survived from the medieval period. All other evidence is only indirect.

Roman moulding plane irons. Image scanned from Die geschichte des hobels by Joseph Greber.

Many surviving irons from Roman moulding planes, round and hollow planes and rabbet planes have been found in Roman fortresses, like Saalburg (Germany). Some (complete) round and hollow planes were found on the 16th century ship Mary Rose. There is no reason why these planes would not have existed in the time period in between. Also, parchemin and linenfold panels, either in furniture or as wall panels, came into fashion during the 15th century. This type of panel can be carved or scraped, but more likely they were made using hollow and round planes. Planing is not only easier, it is also faster, giving a more reproducible product and a smoother end result. And especially this smooth result is found on the medieval parchemin and linenfold panels.

Some of the moulding planes excavated from the Mary Rose (1545). Photo: Moulding planes 81A1040 (flared wedge) and 81A1039 (pinned wedge), both made from boxwood (image from Mary Rose website). Moulding plane 81A1425 made from oak with a side peg (length 30.8 cm). Both plane drawings are from the book Before the Mast - Life and death aboard the Mary Rose by J. Gardiner (ISBN 9781842175040).

Hollow plane irons from the Nova Zembla expedition (1596) by Willem Barentz. 

Photo copyright by the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

The intarsia panels (1477) in the choir of the San Petronio church in Bologna (Italy) do show two planes that have the same characteristics of the rabbet and moulding planes that were in use during the last century: an open side, where shavings van be ejected. These planes have a single iron held by a wooden peg.

The two planes hanging on the right of the panel look like moulding planes. The top one has the plane iron all through the wooden stock - as with a rabbet plane, while the bottom one shows the typical open side for ejection of the shavings.

Ship-like form planes

The three Vimose planes. Images from the book Die geschichte des Hobels by J. Greber. 

The moulding planes from Vimose on the island Funen (Denmark) have a special ship-like form and date between 300 and 400 AD. One plane is complete and measures 26 cm long with a width between 1.6 and 3.8 cm and a height of 2.7 cm.  The iron was fixed with a bolt and wedge, and was only 15 mm wide. The angle of the iron was around 50 degrees. The two other planes are broken with some parts missing, but have similar dimensions. Also some runic inscription were found on the planes. The planes are thought to have been used for smoothing spear-shafts.

The parts of Vimose planes 2 and 3 have been thought to fit together, but Greber correctly remarked that the bolt holes do not match, and thus they should be two separate planes. On the right part you can see a runic inscription. Image from the Nationalmuseet in Copenhagen, Denmark.

A nice replica of the Vimose plane has been made by Stewart Would. 
The construction process of his plane can be found on his blog.

Another similar formed plane was found in Nydam Moor, Denmark (200-400 AD), though it is unknown to me if this plane also is a hollow moulding plane. The amount of quivers and spear-shafts found in the bog makes it likely that this plane served a similar function. Another such a ship-form plane, though dating from the 11th century, has been found in Dublin, Ireland. Only half of this plane survived; when doubling the size, the plane would have been around 46 cm long and 5 cm high (the plane is reproduced at scale 1:1 in the article).

This is a similar plane from Nydam Moor, Denmark. Image from the Nationalmuseet in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Half of a ship-form smoothing plane, excavated in Dublin, Ireland. 

Image scanned from The High Street Excavations by B. ORiordain (1976) - Proceedings of the 7th Viking congress.

 

Rabbet and rabbet-like planes

One can say that the rabbet (or rebate) plane is derived from the moulding plane or the other way around.  For the rabbet plane the iron is straight, while for the moulding plane it is curved. The blades are held similarly with a wedge and shavings are ejected from the side. Rabbet planes have their iron slightly protruding from the sides of the plane and are used to make grooves in or at the edges of wooden planks. Specialist rabbet planes are the tongue and groove planes and the plow (or plough). A large tongue plane (with the size of a try plane) is found in the illumination of Noah building the ark in the Bedford Hours (1423). The plane shows two irons, while two separate shavings are ejected from the plane, suggesting that the carpenter is shaving a tongue.

Detail of the illumination of Noah building the Ark in the Bedford Hours (1423) showing a large plane with two irons suggesting a tongue type of plane. Note that the wooden board does not yet have a planed tongue. 

British Library, London, UK. Manuscript Add. MS 18850, folio15v.

Finally there is an inventory from a Dutch joiner from the mid 15th century, mentioning a plough. This plane can be seen as an advanced type of rabbet plane, with adjustable width and depth settings. Both examples are indicative that the more simple rabbet planes also must have existed at that time.

 

Our moulding and rabbet planes

Our moulding planes consists of a set of 17 matching round and hollow planes (one is missing), of increasing width. They date from the early 20th century and were made by Peter Duessing, a German plane manufacturer from Anholt, who also supplied the Dutch market. These round and hollow planes were used to make the parchemin panels for the toolchest, in which they now rest. Our rabbet planes are from different manufacturers and adjusted to the same look of the moulding planes. They have also different widths. All planes are made of beech.

Our set of round and hollow planes. The size (in inches) is given on the head, as well as the mark PD with a crown (for Peter Duessing) and the mark ITH, with the initials of the former (unknown) owner.

The components of a hollow and a round moulding plane.

One of our rabbet planes (this one made by Nooitgedacht) that was decorated in the same style as the moulding planes.

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New costumes for some St Thomasguild members

Children grow. Which means that we continuously have to make new costumes for them to fit their new size. While my youngest son benefits from the outgrown clothes of the eldest; the eldest profits from getting new clothes each time he has grown. This time he became old enough to have his own doublet in the 1370 style, with lots of woollen buttons.  For adults, such a doublet is closely fitting the body, however for growing children more space is allowed. This is also true for the sleeves, which are not tightly fitting and .thus do not need to be buttoned at the wrist.

 My oldest son in his new costume in castle Loevestein.

Below the black doublet he wears red trousers with a codpiece (hidden by the doublet). Underneath the trousers are the first pair of shoes made for him. The shoes are based on a 14th century find in Dordrecht, the Netherlands and described in the book "Stepping through time" by Olaf Goubitz. The shoes, made by master historic shoemaker Gert Buurman of the Gelderse Roos, are toggle fastened with an additional drawstring at the bending point.

Standing on an X-chair showing the new shoes.

But not only children get new clothes... I still needed a cloak to keep warm in the evening and I thought it was necessary for our visit to castle Loevestein in March as well.  So I did have a cloak, but the weather proved to be very sunny and warm. My cloak is made in the style that appeared around 1350 and continued into the early 15th century, which means that it is buttoned (mine with eight woollen buttons) at the right shoulder. Unfortunately, there is no good description or find of such cloaks. It appears only on period miniatures or funeral brasses.  I made it 7/12th of a circle. This extra 1/12th circle was in fact unnecessary, half a circle is more than enough to cover the body and have enough room for your arms. The cloak consists of two layers of wool, making it warm and heavy.

 

An apothecary with a blue buttoned cloak from Tacuinum Sanitatis 

(fol. 87v, 15th century, BNF Nouvelle acquisition latine 1673, Paris, France).

My cloak together with a loose hood. ...

 

The difference in shade of the dark grey inside and black outside of the woollen cloak is easily seen. 

The row of buttons is on my right shoulder.

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The medieval toolchest the plane part 4 metal planes

The medieval plane history is not finished yet, although it becomes more speculative here. In this part some planes made from metal are presented.

 

Medieval metal planes

There is one illumination of the John the Fearless planes that had not been shown yet. It concerns an illumination of St. Andreas in the Book of Hours of John the Fearless. On this image levels are depicted on the right side and planes on the left side. The planes appear to be made of metal (also suggested by W.L. Goodman in the History of Woodworking Tools (page 60)). The plane iron is set at a very low angle, while the grip is curved forward. Metal planes were common in Roman times, but have not been depicted elsewhere or found during medieval times. The early renaissance period (16th century), however, does have some metal planes that have survived, bearing some similarity to the metal plane of John the Fearless. Though it is, of course, possible that the metal plane in the illumination only resembles the (non-functional?) gold planes that the duke had ordered by his goldsmith.

The metal planes (including one large) are shown on the left side on this illumination of St. Andreas. 
Book of Hours of John the Fearless. Bibliotheque Nationale de France, Paris, Ms N.A.L. 3055, folio 172v.

Two of the metal planes that have some resemblance to metal plane of John the Fearless happened to reside at the Museum für Angewandte Kunst in Vienna, Austria. However, they are not on display. The only way to see them is to make an appointment with the curator (Elisabeth Schmuttermeier) to visit the depot in the cellars. I was very glad that I thus was able to see them, to hold them (with gloves) in my hands and to take photos of them. Unfortunately for you, I had to sign that the photos are restricted for private use only. Therefore, the only thing I can share are already published photos, my drawings and measurements and my experiences with these 16th century planes. Both planes are of the type vergratthobel, a plane type that resembles the modern low-angle blockplanes and was used to make perfectly fitted angled joints of frames (e.g. of paintings). The word Vergratten means to fit together in German joinery terms.

The small 16th century vergratthobel from the MAK in Vienna. The photo is scanned from Die Geschichte des Hobels by J.M. Greber. The drawing is mine based on the measurements in the MAK.

The smallest plane, and the most cute one, MAK F. 1316 is 13 cm in length (11 cm according to Greber), has a height of 4 cm and a width of 5.5 cm. The plane body is made out of three pieces of metal. The sole has a wide opening (1 by 3.8 cm) for the iron. The iron is set at an angle of 32 degrees (27 according to Greber). At one end it rests on the metal rim of the plane, where the sharp end of the iron rests is unclear. The plane looks hollow inside, however the iron has to rest against some kind of frog. The iron itself is 2.9 cm wide with a thickness of 3.8 mm. The length of the iron is almost 10 cm. The wedge consists of an irregular shaped piece of metal, 2.8 mm thick, 3.45 cm wide and 6 cm long, with a small wooden peg wedged between the iron and the metal wedge. The wedge is set against a bolt with a diameter of  5-6 mm. The front part of the plane is decorated and ends in a curl (like an opened tin of sardines). This curl also has some decoration itself.

The plane felt relatively heavy my hand, just a bit more than a Lee Nielsen 62.5 low angle plane. But it is quite comfortable to hold, and I would not mind having such a (replica) plane in my collection.

The large16th century vergratthobel with the wedge sculpted as a head from the MAK in Vienna. 

The photo is scanned from Die Geschichte des Hobels by J.M. Greber.

The second plane, MAK F. 1314, is larger and has a total length of 23.6 cm (20 cm sole length according to Greber) and a width of 5.8 cm. The sole has a thickness of 6.3 mm with a very small opening for the iron of 2.8 mm by 4.5 cm. Onto the sole, a smaller metal box - the plane body - is fixed. This box measures 18.6 by 5 cm. The height of the plane is 4.1 cm, the sculpted wedge more or less doubles it to 10 cm. The iron of this plane is set at an angle of 30 degrees and has a width of 3.8 cm and a length of 13 cm. The iron is held by the sculpted wooden wedge (carved as a mans face with a moustache). The carved wedge also serves as a handhold to push the plane forward.  Aside from the carved wedge, the plane has some simple decorations. For instance the bolt has some decorative curves. The toat consists of a curved piece of metal, extending 5.2 cm from the box of the plane body. It reaches a height of 6.2 cm. 

 My drawing based on the measurements of the large 16th century plane in the MAK, Vienna.

This plane is quite heavy, like a metal number 5 jack plane. The frontal grip is comfortable to hold, but the wedge/handhold at the back feels awkward. In my opinion it is too bulky. There are two holes in the plane: one square in the sole, and a round one in the toat. The holes were probably used for hanging the plane onto a pin on the wall.

Finally, the MAK did also have another type of  metal plane (F 1313), dating from the second half of the 16th century. The plane is a small fore plane (according to Greber) with a toat. It measures 14.2 cm (13.8 according to Greber) is 4 cm wide and 3.8 cm high (+ 4 cm for the toat). The diameter of the toat is 1.8 cm. At the end is a square metal bolt, used to loosen the iron. The blade iron is set at an angle of 45 degrees; the opening for the blade in the sole is 7.5 mm. The plane iron look very peculiar: it is shaped like the teeth of Dracula. At both ends the blade has protruding points, the reason for this is unclear for me.

The 16th century etched fore plane from the MAK in Vienna. 

The photo is scanned from Die Geschichte des Hobels by J.M. Greber.

The body of the plane is fully etched with floral designs; even the sole of the plane has these etchings! yet the sole is till quite smooth. This etching looks similar to that of two metal planes from 1570 belonging to the Kurfürst August of Saxony (now in the Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen in Dresden, Germany). The MAK plane is a bit lighter than the small Vergratthobel. For me, this plane it is too small to hold and work comfortably.

Smoothing planes made by Leonhard Danner (1507-1585) in Nürnberg around 1570 for Kurfurst August of Saxony. Top plane: Length 12.7 cm Width 3.8 cm Height with toat 8.0 cm Weight 511 g. Bottom plane: Lenght 12.7 cm Width 4.8 cm Height with toat 9.6 cm Weight 642 g. The planes are decorated with hunting scenes and floral designs. The plane iron is fixed with a screw instead of a wedge. Images from the SKD museum, Dresden, Germany.

Sources:

Goodman, W.L., 1964. The history of woodworking tools. Bell and Hymann Ltd, London, UK.

Greber. J.M. 1987. Die geschichte des Hobels – von der Steinzeit bis zur Entstehung der Holzwerkzeugfabriken im fruhen 19. Jahrhundert. Th. Schafer, Hannover, Germany. ISBN 3-88746-188-6 [In German].

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A box full of planes

While this post is not exactly medieval I found it interesting enough to share. During my furniture making course, the teacher mentioned last week that he had some boxes with old wooden planes, which he would like to give a new home. As I am the medieval man working with with old wooden planes he asked if I would like to have them. Of course I said yes, thinking that some of these planes could be used for re-enactment as well.

Two boxes full of wooden planes.

The boxes were full of planes: some hollows and rounds, a lot of moulding planes, some ploughs, a few German type block planes  (large and small with a horn). Some of these planes did bear marks of the maker on the head of the plane. As I did have a book on Dutch planemakers (Four centuries of Dutch plane makers by Gerrit van der Sterre) I looked if I could find them. The most common markings were those of the firm Nooitgedagt (JN under a crown) and Peter Duessing (PD under a crown) which were produced somewhere between the end of the 19th century and the start of the twentieth. Also a few planes did have HW under a crown. This is the mark of Heinrich Wolsing, a plane maker who was the son of a former employee of Peter Duessing. The production of his planes started in 1836 and they are less commonly found. Few other planes did have the mark SVE under a crown at the head of the plane and S. van Embden, Amsterdam at the side. This was a mark of a plane dealer, who resold planes made by others.

The PVD mark under a figure of an angel.

The last mark, PVD under an angel was found on one of a set of three similar planes equipped with a toat. This proved to be a spectacular find! The mark belonged to the Rotterdam plane maker Pieter van Duijl, who together with his brother Gijsbrechtus van Duijl, produced planes between 1755 and 1766. This plane was around  250 years old! The other two planes are very similar in appearance and construction, but do not bear a mark of the maker.

The view of the marked round plane from above. 

The side and sole view of the marked round plane.

The mark on the blade of the marked round plane.

The marked plane is a round, the others are a hollow and a round with a later added fence. I have no idea if the planes are still completely original or if they have been adapted for another role during time. For instance, hollows and rounds could be made later from a plane with a flat sole. And for the unmarked round plane, it looks like the fence was added more recently with some nails to the plane body. As regards to the plane blades, two have a hard to discern mark (a name?). Also the blades could have been replaced somewhere in time. 

  The set of three planes: round with fence (above), hollow (middle) and the marked round (below).

 

The wedges of the three planes. The right one has a different form and patina, perhaps a later replacement?

 The three blade of the planes: marked round (left), hollow (middle) and round with fence (right)..

 Side and sole of the fenced round plane.

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