Hi, Casey,

I was assistant and then associate curator of mechanical arts at Colonial
Williamsburg for almost 20 years, which has a very large collection of
antique wooden planes. Your inclination to keep them together is, in fact,
the correct one.

Wooden planes are designed to have the plane irons and wedges (the correct
name for the parts) remain in the body of the plane. Please, do not
separate them! Once you remove the wedge and the plane iron and keep them
apart from the body of the plane, it will be difficult to get them to fit
properly because the wood swells and shrinks, and the wood of the wedge and
the wood of the body of the plane will shrink and swell at different rates.
It is much safer to just store them upright, with the sole (bottom) of the
plane resting on ethafoam or another inert material. Do not store them
upside down, because the iron and wedge can fall out and you'll have more
problems fitting them all together again.

However, I would number all three pieces just in case something happens and
the pieces get separated. Once they are numbered, reassemble the planes. We
did have a very large collection of wooden planes in which the irons and
wedges of the planes became separated, and it was almost impossible to put
match them with the plane bodies.

Hope this helps.

Martha Katz-Hyman
Curator
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
Williamsburg, Virginia




>
>  *From:* Casey Seger <[log in to unmask]>
> *Sent:* Tuesday, March 17, 2015 3:28 PM
> *To:* [log in to unmask]
> *Subject:* [MUSEUM-L] Carpenter Planes
>
>  Happy St. Patrick's Day Everyone!!
>
> I am looking for some input on storage considerations for some objects I
> found. I have come across some carpenter planes and I have a question I
> would like to pose and see what response I get. My question is would you
> store the planes and their pieces together or separate? The reason I ask is
> because the body of the plane is wood and there is a metal chisel insert
> with a wooden wedge the fit into the plane and I wonder if leaving them
> together would create problems latter on. My inclination is to keep them
> together as one to help ensure that the planes don't loose any pieces
> during future moves and general handling. I look forward to hearing what
> everyone has to say.
>
> Best,
>
>   Casey Seger
>
> --
>      Casey Seger MA
> Registrar
> Deadwood History-Days of '76 Museum
> 18 Seventy Six Dr.
> Deadwood, SD 57732
> [log in to unmask]
> 605-578-1657 ext. 213
>
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