http://www.woodreview.com.au 65TOOLS & EQUIPMENTThe Bailey plane
May 19, 2019 was the 150th anniversary of the day
Leonard Bailey granted the Stanley Rule & Level Company
the rights to manufacture iron and wood bench planes
under four patents granted to him between 1858 and- Each patent is an elegant solution to iron plane
problems that American toolmakers and inventors had
been wrestling with since Hazard Knowles’ (arguably) first
cast iron plane stock patent of 1827.
Leonard Bailey’s patents were for: device for adjusting
plane irons (1958), cammed levercaps (1858), vertical post
cutter adjustment – which turned horizontal immediately
on production (1867), plane lever caps (1867).Each feature added up to one of the most elegant tools
used by woodworkers over the 150 years since: the Bailey
plane. The pivoted forked lever cutter adjusts the cutter
by turning a grooved brass nut. The thin cap
iron, curved at the lower end and held by a
screw, provides even pressure to the thin
cutter which prevents chatter. Bailey
was the first to use a separable frog
and rosewood handles and knobs.Wood chisels
The chisel for working wood is a very old tool and,
compared to the plane and the saw, quite primitive;
a tool again derived from the stick.Many chisels are elegant, but for me, Japanese chisels
(nomi) have a particular grace in form and function. Modern
Japanese chisels are a cross between socket and tang
chisels and the top end of the handle is often surrounded by
a steel hoop, called a saagirawa (slide-down ring). This hoop
is tapered on the inside, so it tightens as it slides down; it
prevents the wood handle from splitting when struck and is
surprisingly comfortable when pushed by hand. Traditionally,
differently handled chisels were used for striking and hand
pushing (paring chisels without the ring).The blade is perhaps the most elegant part of a Japanese
chisel; even such inexpensive Tokyo flea market examples
such as these can remind one of the katan-kaji, the samurai
swordsmiths. Characteristically, the back of the blade is
hollowed for faster sharpening and to maintain flatness.Bevel
A bevel is a wooden and/or metal tool used to transfer
an angle from workpiece to workpiece or, say, from a
drawing or model. Many are user-made. Most bevels
use a wingnut or equivalent to allow the bevel to be
adjusted quickly and locked into position. This one
does not; I like to think it pre-dates the invention of
the wingnut. It has a 5" rosewood body and a 3-3/8"
beaten (?) brass blade which folds completely into
the body. The blade is held by a steel pin peened
over and the adjustment is a firm friction fit. Two
brass plates of the same appearance as the blade
hold the joint fast.
I still have the two Silex bevels I started my
apprenticeship with in Sydney in 1977 and
use them often. I have others, including
Stanley, but consider this one to be the
most elegant. I hope you like it too.
Duncan Nisbet is a lapsed
carpenter and joiner in his
late 50s who lives on the
NSW South Coast. He is
self-employed in education
and training and enjoys woodwork and
building in his spare time. He is a tool user
and collector with an acquisitive nature and
enjoys researching tools and their history.
His friends have been known to call him
‘Five Sheds’. This story came about through
a combination of gazing at tools as well
as actually using them. Contact him via
Instagram @bespokeshave