IMPROVEMENTS IN PLANES
Year: 1857

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Thomas Ford Caldicott at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
20th June 1857.-A communication.
I, THOMAS FORD CALDICOTT, of Boston, United States of America, do
hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PLANES,"
to be as follows:-
"
This Invention has for its object improvements in planes. For these
purposes, in applying and fixing handles to the bodies of planes, in order that
the same handle may at different times be used with the bodies of several
and different forms of planes, the upper part of the body of each plane has
a groove formed in it, larger at bottom than at the top, in such manner as to
receive and have slid. therein from one end of the groove towards the other
a button or holding nut. The button or nut has a screw formed in it to
receive a thumbscrew which is passed through in a slot in a plate, which rests
on the upper surface of the body of the plane to which the handle (affixed to
the plate) is to be attached. The upper part of the button or nut is formed with
two lugs or projections, between which the plate is received. The plate to
which the handle is fixed is cranked, so as to come against the end of the
body of the plane to which it is applied. In some cases the cranked part is
made separate from the plate, which is fixed to the upper surface of the body
of a plane, and the cranked part, which comes against the end of the plane,
is made with a slot through it to admit of the point of attachment between
the upper plane and the cranked part being varied. In making a double
metal-plane it is constructed in such manner as to have the handle fixed or

page_text: formed at one end only, and a single cutter and one wedge are employed.
The single cutter at its lower edge is formed into three cutting edges,
separated from each other by spaces; one of the cutting edges is suitable for
cutting a groove, and the the other two cutting edges are arranged or formed
suitable for cutting or forming a tongue, and the under surface of the body
of the plane is formed accordingly. In fixing the irons or cutters in planes,
in order to avoid the use of wedges in front of the cutters, at the back of the
opening or throat formed for receiving a cutter or "iron" is fixed a metal plate
with a slot through it, there is also a slot formed through the upper part of the
cutter or iron; through the front plate or guage there is formed a hole, through
which a screw passes into a nut, which can pass through the slot in the cutter,
and also through the larger part of the slot in the plate fixed to the plane, but
it is too large to pass through the lower part of the slot in such fixed plate.
At the upper part and at the back of the guage or front plate of the cutter is
formed a projection into and through which a screw passes, which can be
readily turned by its head or upper end, and such screw is retained in any
position by a screw nut which is on the screw above, where it passes through
the projection at the back of the guage or front plate. By this arrangement
the cutter is fixed and adjusted in the plane without a wedge; or in place of
the means above explained for adjusting the cutter a rack and pinion are
used; the rack is applied to the cutter, and the pinion to the body of the
plane; the axis of the pinion passes transversely through the body of the
plane. Hence, by giving motion to the axis the cutter will be moved and
adjusted in place of making the upper part of the body of a plane of wood.
In some cases the body on its upper surface is made to receive a metal plate
(by preference, cast), and then in place of fixing the slotted plate above
mentioned to the wood in the throat, as above explained, the upper plate is
formed with or has fixed to it such slotted plate. The handle also is fixed to
the upper plate, and the axis of the pinion is received and carried by the
upper metal plate when a rack and pinion are used to move and regulate the
cutter; and the upper metal plate may also be arranged with a clamping
holder moved by a screw passing to the back of the plane, such clamping
holder being suitably formed to receive a flanched projection fixed at the back
of the cutter, which projection can slide freely in the clamping holder, except
when screwed tightly by its screw.