Originally Posted by
Mike Henderson
I have wooden coffin planes from the 1800's and the backs of the irons were not flat (irons are laminated cast steel). I've never seen an iron from an antique plane - no matter when it was used - with a flat back. The only exception was one plane I received from another woodworker, who had flattened the back.
Mike
So what? How does this refute, in any way, what I said? Do you know when the irons were last sharpened, and by whom? If you can prove to me that the plane was made in 1800 and last used by a skilled joiner in 1820, then you've got something. Otherwise, you've got nothing.
Moreover, "from the 1800s" is meaningless, especially in the U.S. In 1810, most things of wood were still made entirely by hand. By the time of the civil war, most furniture was made in factories and most houses were framed with pre-sawn dimensional lumber. The days of people routinely thicknessing lumber by hand, as an important part of their jobs, were long gone.
"For me, chairs and chairmaking are a means to an end. My real goal is to spend my days in a quiet, dustless shop doing hand work on an object that is beautiful, useful and fun to make." --Peter Galbert