Ohio Tool Co. Jointer?

[steven c newman]

Seems I am now the proud owner of one of theseIMAG0147.jpgStamped into the toe is "OHIO TOOL CO" and the numbers "81". length is 22", and the iron is 2-1/2" wide, maybe a Stanley #7 size? Single iron is tapered. No evidence that there ever was a chip breaker. Not much cracking or splits. Eyes do have a crack in them, but I think that can be fixed.IMAG0148.jpgSome damage to the top of the toe. Toe is worn a bit, may have to plane the sole flat?IMAG0149.jpgtote is in great shape. Wedge is still in good shape, iron is a rusty mess near the top, but from the wedge to the edge, there is very little rust. Bevel is very wide, due to the taper. One or two chips in the edge, easy to get out. Hardy any cracks in the soleIMAG0150.jpgMouth is a bit ragged, maybe planing the sole flat will help that? So, think I spent too much? Paid $10 after talking it down from$15

[Cody Kemble]

Nice find. It is in better shape than the one I picked up last week. I haven't had much of a chance to fiddle around with it this week. Keep us posted on how the rehab goes.

[george wilson]

Is there a rectangular groove on the wooden ramp the blade sets on? if there is,the plane once had an iron with a chip breaker. The groove provided clearance for the head of the screw that held the chip breaker on. Frankly,I am surprised that an Ohio Tool Co. plane would not have a chip breaker. They are late period planes. But,I'm not a Ohio Plane historian.

The wedge could have been modified to take a single iron. Done that myself years ago. Hard to tell from the picture,but the wedge doesn't seem to fit snugly as it descends into the plane's escapement. Back in the 70's,I got a Nurse try plane I liked the design of,but no iron. I put in a single iron,though the plane needed a double. I just glued a piece of 1/28" veneer about 3/8" wide across the bottom of the ramp,right at the bottom. The iron rests there ONLY. A sloppy,quick fix,but the plane has always worked so well,I never got around to doing anything more to it.

Speaking of SLOPPY fixes,the Cabinet Shop had a nice looking OLD(NOT NEW!!!!!!)Sorby jointer they used for years. When I became the supervisor there(as well as the musical instrument maker supervisor),for a few years,while they looked for a new master,I decided the Sorby's iron was too soft.(What a run on sentence!!)

I took the iron out and started heating it in a forge to re harden it. 1" of the blade just DROPPED OFF!!! Someone years earlier had SOFT SOLDERED a piece of tool steel,very carefully fitted to the bevel of the Sorby ! I guess they thought it was too short. How they managed to retain the temper doing that,I have no idea(Likely it HAD no decent temper after heating it enough to solder it!) The joint had been fitted well enough,and with the oxidation of time,I had never noticed it!! I mean,WHO would have expected such a crazy repair?

[steven c newman]

Does not have the slot for the chipbreaker bolt. Have seen a couple "restores" that show a knob out front. One of which was a dead ringer for mine, except for the knob. No sign of ever had one, either. Restored one shows no screw head, or any other sign of how it is mounted.

Iron LOOKS original. 2-1/2" wide, and tapered. Top have is VERY rusty. From where the wedge sits on down, hardly any rust.

That damaged area on the toe? Way to repair it? There is a small hole dead center there, too. Maybe there WAS a screw for a knob in there???

[george wilson]

There never were original front knobs on those type planes. It it ever had one,some user put it there. Probably screwed on a wooden drawer knob or similar. Anything is possible.

I guess Ohio did offer a cheaper,single iron plane. Like I said,I haven't had much interest in Ohio tools,or the history of them. The 19th. C. English planes have more style. But,even then,it's been a long time since I used wooden planes every day. And,I was making things,not curating tools. When I made tools,I was handed originals to copy.

I have been a historian of guitars,and collected them.

[David Weaver]

It's a try plane at 22". To be honest, if it has a cracked handle, I would've let it sit. It looks like the wedge needs redone, or something funny is going on the right side of the wedge with the abutment, and it's in pretty tough shape.

If the handle is broken, hide glue repair is probably best.

[Pat Barry]

I would just plane off that front end that is all chipped out to get it level. Nothing special going on there anyway. How you planning to fix the crack in the eyes? Is it even necessary to fix that?

[David Weaver]

Ahh, damage to the toe and not sure what damage to the eye means. Hopefully the abutments didn't break and get reglued. Normally if the abutments break, they separate at the back first and then break off. hard to tell without seeing it up close. Still, I'd have probably passed at $10 because you end up with a plane that you pretty much can't get rid of because it costs more to ship it than it's worth.

I've got four planes on my shelves with good double irons that I'm going to end up just throwing the plane bodies away and selling the irons because they've had a part or two repaired and it makes them worth less than it costs to ship them.