Hand Plane Questions

[thiggy]

I have recently developed an interest in hand tool woodworking.  As the result of this I have started taking a closer look at the numerous antique tools which I have collected over the years.  I plan to sharpen and tune up some of the hand planes and learn to properly use them.  One of the items which has hung on my peg (with a price tag of $3) is what appears to be a knock-off of Stanley 48, tongue and groove plane.  There is no marking on the body of the plane, but both of the irons are marked “Fulton”.  Is it likely that this is a plane manufactured by the Fulton Tool Co?

Along similar lines, I am attaching photos of a Randall & Cook.  Does anyone know during what time period this company was making these tools?  How is the best way to sharpen this type of iron?  The iron, by the way is marked  what appears to be “Weash & Co. 

Thanks for any information.

[jimwrench]

 Pollak's Third edition lists Randall & Cook of Albany as 1835-1839. Not my area of expertise so don't have any other info.

[Bill Houghton]

Most of the knockoffs were actually made by a limited number of major companies - Stanley, Millers-Falls, Sargent, for instance - often whoever was the lowest bidder during a contract period.  Often, the only reliable marking on such a knockoff is on the plane iron.  So, absent other information, you can assume you've got a Fulton.  No big thing if the quality's there.

As to sharpening the molding plane iron: there are slipstones available, shaped to fit the iron; for a simple pattern like that one, though, you can probably get the job done with wet-or-dry sandpaper wrapped around a suitable dowel, lubed with mineral spirits, kerosene, or the like.  Just pay close attention to the shape of the iron and don't inadvertently change it.

[lptools]

Hello, Is there a Patent date stamped under the rear handle? A Stanley 48 would have a swinging fence on a pivot with a spring loaded lock pin. The Stanley 49 looks a lot like the 48, but only has a swinging fence. Fulton made hand planes, I don't know their model number for a tongue & groove plane. There were a lot of similarities between manufacturers, so on occasion blades were interchangeable, not uncommon to find a Sargent with a Stanley iron, or vice versa. The width of the cutter will also determine if it is a 48 , or, a 49, if it is a Stanley.Regards, Lou

[mikeswrenches]

I'm pretty sure that is a Stanley made plane, based primarily on the shape of the hold down screws. Regardless you didn't get "hurt" any if you got it for $3.00, regardless of who made it.

Mike

[lptools]

Hello, I found this on an Old Tool Archive page. They were talking about a plane that looked like a Stanley 48 with Fulton irons. Regards, Lou


It is probably a Union No. 41 plane that was made for the Fulton Tool
Company, which was a house brand for Sears-Roebuck. You'll also find
similar planes with blades marked "Lakeside", which was Montgomery Wards
brand. A typical Union 41 has "Union" cast into the handle and "No 41"
and "Union" cast onto the side, but these markings are not present on
the Fulton and Lakeside models. The Union 41 is functionally identical
to the Stanley 48. The plane that you have probably dates to the early
part of the 1900's, maybe as late as the 1920's when Stanley bought out
Union.

[dowdstools]

"FULTON" was also the house brand of the old Union Hardware Co. They used the brand in the late 1800s and early 1900s, before Sears did.

Lynn