Antique British Metal Planes & Infill Planes at The Best Things

Infill Planes

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Infill & Other British Metal Planes

British Metal Planes, commonly referred to as infill planes, represent the pinnacle of refinement in cabinetmaking planes. These planes came into vogue during a time when industrialization allowed products of remarkable precision to be made for a wide market, but at the same time fine hand work was still being done. Infill planes proliferated in the second half of the nineteenth century. While production lingered on until the early 1950s in a few isolated cases, The Great War really sounded the death knell for this type of tool. Today, these tools are avidly sought by both users and collectors. Their elegant lines and unequaled performance stimulating interest in both groups. When perusing the planes in this section, it must be remembered that the very nature of these planes meant that production would be relatively small. Today, the supply of good examples is very limited. We do sell quite a few Norris and Spiers planes, but it must be borne in mind that these planes are far too scarce to maintain a constant stock of good planes at a reasonable price. Planes by lesser known makers, while often of similar quality, are typically much easier to acquire, simply due to their lessor fame.

A Discussion of Infill Planes

Click here to view the Power Point slides from a presentation Lee gave at the Patina tool collector's club.

Explanation of Our Condition Grading System

Frequently Asked Vintage Tool Questions

BM230119 Unmarked This is a London pattern panel plane, probably around 1850 give or take a bit. It is not signed, but I feel confident in saying that this is a professionally made plane. The quality is just superb. This style of plane with the wedge held by cast iron ears on the side of the plane, doesn't have a bridge on which to mark it. Otten they were only marked on the cap iron. The iron and cap iron on this plane are by Ward & Payne and look original to me, with about 60% remaining. The rosewood infill has lovely grain and color. The wedge has a striking streak of contrasing grain that really sets it off. The plane is 14 1/4" overall. The mouth is very tight, as expected from a first quality cabinetmakers plane like this. The only issues with this plane are with the tote. The primary issue being that the spur was broken off and is now short. The other typcial of all similar planes, where they have a closed tote make from rosewood. The forward part of the tote has a tight crack in it. This is very common as this was a bad design. Norris later started reinforcing it with a strip of wood running the wrong way against the grain. That causes different problems. Later, they just made the tote mucy thicker in front. This is not an issue. The spur could be repaired, but I would leave it alone as it doesn't look that bad. I really like this one. It was bought from a house clearance auction in London. I personally cleaned it. All I did was wax the wood and I scraped off some light surace oxidation on the sides before waxing them. A real gem. G++ $695

BM13081 Badger, London A scarce gunmetal bullnose plane by Badger. Badger planes were usually only marked on the iron, so when the iron is used up, the mark is gone. This plane still has the original Badger marked W&P iron with about 5/16" remaining. It is a 1 1/16" wide plane. The rosewood wedge is still in nice condition and still seats properly so that the side profile of the plane is maintained. Badger was veyr particular to have a certain look from the side. His planes are very sculptural. I have even had one smoother that was filled with highly figured birch. The srike button on this plane is of a proper type, but has recently been added. It is as new, and below it, the plane shows evidence of repeated strikes. The gunmetal retains a light patina, but has been lightly polished. the sides have some tool box rasp. The sole is good and it still has a nice tight mouth. Overall this is quite respectible example of a quite scarce plane. Good $259

BM200554 Norris, London A rare early Norris smoothing plane with the cupid's bow bridge. As is the case with many early Norris planes, this one is not externally marked, but if you look under the bridge (or lever cap as the case may be), "Norris, London" is cast into bridge, clearly part of the original pattern. I have another plane that is nearly identical to this one in my collection. The only difference is the wood. It is stamped on the bridge, "Green, Pimlico", and has the same "Norris, London" under the bridge. It is much clearly on that plane than it is on this one, but I have seen this enough to know exactly what it says. The body on this plane is very similar to early Holland bodies, furthering the speculartion that Holland and Norris collaborated early on. I have noticed the same similarity in their bullnose castings and the close proximity of their workshops would certainly facilitate collaboration. Making this plane extra rare and interesting is that the wood is live oak. It is clearly the original infill and would have been special ordered from Norris, who was just a small operation at this time. The blade and cap iron are by W&P. The iron is a parallel iron. I can't say conclusively if it is original to the plane but it certain is a good fit and is probably original . The plane has a lovely untouched patina. The bottom of the wedge looks like somebody rounded it a bit. That is the only thing worth noting on this fantastic plane. This is plane is from my personal collection and before that was in the great John Wilkins collection. It is for the serious Norris collector. Fine- $1595

BM210439 Preston, EP, Trade Mark A matching pair of the largest size Preston violin maker's planes, one flat sole and one stooped sole (radiused and compassed). The are both in superb untouched condition. The surfaces of both planes still show the original finishing marks from the factory. Even the sole on the flat bottom planed has the original surface, making me think that it is unused, as this rubs off very quickly with use. The stooped sole plane has the original Preston marked standard blade. The flat soled plane has the toothed blade installed, which is not marked, but is original. I believe that these planes originally came with one standard and one toothed blade, but I have never seen both blades still with a plane. I bougth these two together and I assume that they started life together. They have been in my collection for years and they are the best that I have seen. For the connoisseur who must own the best. Fine $1195

BM20098 Norris, London This is a pair of 1 1/4" wide Norris Number 7 shoulder planes, one skewed, and one standard, both owned by the same owner. The standard plane has rosewood infill that retains most of its original French polish finish and at least 90% of the original Norris marked iron. There is some dried grease on the plane and some scattered staining. The mouth is super tight and the plane is very crisp. The skewed plane has been used more and the original Norris marked blade has about 30% remaining. In my experience, Norris did not number the blades on skewed planes, and this plane is no exception. Presumably there were so few made that there was no need to number parts to keep them straight. The wood is much darker and I am not sure what wood it is. Presumably it was chosen to quickly differentiate between the two planes. There is quite a lot of dried grease on this plane and some minor staining. It also has a super tight mouth. There is a tiny chip on the right side of the wedge and slightly more signs of use. This plane is also marked "Buck & Ryan, London". This is the only pair of its kind that I have seen. I acquired these planes more than 25 years ago and it is time to let somebody else enjoy them now. I have used them and they both work as one would expect for Norris planes of this quality. I tried to price them what I think is quite reasonable for what they are. The skewed plane alone used to bring this much. For the connoisseur. Fine- $1495

BM180462 Unmarked A truly wonderful little chariot plane. The sole measures 3 3/8" long by 1 1/2" wide and the blade is 1 1/16. It has a fine mouth consistent with the kind of fine work that you would need a tiny plane like this for. The wood is rosewood, including the bed. It looks to me like it was made by one of the obscure mid-19th Century London makers like Badger or Lyons. The surface has a very fine pitting overall but the plane has been nicely cleaned and it really doesn't detract. There are some dings in the top rear of the wedge were a user setting the wedge missed the back and hit the top of the wedge. None the less, this is really a special plane. The form is wonderful, the size is unusual, and the original quality is quite high, consistent with London made products. G+ $285

BM161143 Norris, London A rare skew-mouth Norris #7 shoulder plane in the original box. The box is tatty and would be a good candidate for restoration. The plane is great it has a full original iron numbered to the plane. The metalwork of the plane is very clean and untouched. The woodwork as well has its original finish and is very untouched. The sides of the wedge are missing the finish, probably because the wedge was fitting tight. John Porritt could restore this finish, but it is not very noticeable and I wouldn't bother. There are a few tiny chips on the wedge where it was hit accidentally when knocking it out, as noted by the arrow in our photo. It would be very hard to improve upon this plane, expecially considering that it is a skew mouth example. I have seen only a handfull of skew Norris shoulder planes over the years, I don't remember exacly but no more than 5 in 30 years. Fine- $1795

Irons and Cap Irons (Blades and Chip Breakers)