DR Barton moving fillister plane - fix or leave alone?

[Ed Barry]

Picked up a DR Barton moving fillister plane from a local antique tool dealer over the weekend. When I got it home, I noticed that the inlay (I'm not yet a plane expert - the hardwood that runs the length of the plane near the cutting edge) was cracked at the nicker and loose behind the iron. Also, the wedge doesn't appear to fit properly. Was thinking of making this into a user by replacing the inlay and making a new wedge. Any thoughts? Is that a bad move? If not, what kind of wood was used for the inlay?
Did some searching on the internet and this one has the "E" style makers mark, which I think means that it was made between 1874 and 1879.

[David Gendron]

Whit some pictures of the plane, we should be abble to help you out better!

[Dave Anderson NH]

Hi Ed,

What you are calling inlay is refered to as "boxing". It is boxwood and is used as a wear resistant surface which is also rather a bit slicker than the wood in the plane body wihich is probably beech. It will be difficult though not impossilbe to find decent boxwood these days to replace the damaged area. A closup photo would help us determine the exent of damage and what, if anything, can be done to make a repair.

It is likely that if the wedge doesn't fit right it is probably a replacement that someone threw in there to make the tool look complete. This is a common practice by tool and antique dealers. Making your own wedge is relatively easy though the fitting can be a bit time consuming and is all trial and error.

[Ed Barry]

When I find the camera, I'll post some better photos. This one is a cell phone shot.

[Joshua Clark]

Barton planes are very common so don't worry about ruining a highly collectible item. Moving fillisters are also incredibly useful in the shop. Therefore I'd encourage you to restore it, tune it, and use it.

I think that the boxing was probably English boxwood, which would be hard to find today. You can easily find Turkish boxwood which should work pretty well. I've used it to replace boxing before and it works well. There's no reason to stick to boxwood though- you can use any sort of hard, dense wood like rosewood, ebony, etc.

Josh

[David Keller NC]

Actually, if I'm correctly reading the photo, what you have is quite rare. While moving fillisters are fairly common planes, handled moving fillisters are really uncommon. I sold an A. Howland handled moving fillister in good, but not perfect, condition for $275 this summer (and still regretting that I sold it!).

[Ed Barry]

I still haven't been able to find where my son put the camera to post better pictures, but it is a handled moving fillister plane. The depth stop on the side is brass and still works freely.

[Ed Barry]

Finally found the camera. Here are some better shots of the plane.

[David Keller NC]

Ed - For some reason, I can't enlarge the pictures, so it's hard to tell the condition of the plane, but it looks like the tote is perfect. This is the place where one sees damage on these planes that significantly affects the collector value. A wrong/missing wedge is also not good, but not as much of a detraction as damage to the plane itself.

Loose or checked boxing is no big deal - as long as you don't replace it. The loose part should be glued back in place with hide glue. If you want to sell it as a collector's item and don't have any hide glue, leave it alone - the new owner will take care of it.

If you want to use it, carefully glue the boxing (the inlay wood) back in place, and then decide what you need to do to the wedge or the plane body to make it fit properly. Generally, an old but incorrect wedge is preferable to a new one from a collector's standpoint, but if you want to use the plane, the best solution would be to make a new wedge that fits and lay the old one aside in case you ever want to sell the plane.

Also - realize that to a collector, polishing the brass or (much worse) sanding/cleaning with solvents/refinishing the wood is bad news, and will significantly affect the value. That's not generally required to use the plane, so I leave mine alone unless they're covered with paint, in wich case I carefully pick the paint off.

Nice find.

[Ed Barry]

Loaded up larger size pictures. The plane itself appears to be in good shape aside from the loose boxing. The iron hasn't been abused and still has a good, sharpenable edge. I really don't think this plane has seen a lot of use.

I think I'll leave it alone for the time being, especially if it is a rare plane. Thanks so much for the responses!