Can you help me identify the manufacturer of this duplex shoulder plane?

Could it be a custom build Lee? Never seen one like it.

Interesting, it is set up with two angles for cutting. Wonder if it originally came with two wedges and cutters?

I agree with Shane, it may be a custom made unit, I have quite a few shoulder planes, never saw one like that.

-- Randy "You are judged as much by the questions you ask as the answers you give..."

Good observation Randy—I had missed that. There are two parallel lines there, but one is the front and the other is the back!

I sharpened it up and flattened the sole and it cuts pretty nicely as shown. I’m not certain the iron is good metal though. Time will tell.

The front position looks oddly steep to me.

Kindly,

Lee

-- "...in his brain, which is as dry as the remainder biscuit after a voyage, he hath strange places cramm'd with observation, the which he vents in mangled forms." --Shakespeare, "As You Like It"

Pretty interesting there Lee. Ya think the holes were drilled to reduce the weight? Or maybe it was an off cut of some sort of metal fabrication?

-- "there aren’t many hand tools as awe-inspiring as the #8 jointer. I mean, it just reeks of cast iron heft and hubris" - Smitty

Chris, I don’t think it’s any kind of offcut. I think the holes make it easier to handle and hold. I’m not sure they’re essential though.

Randy, the angles appear different in the image but they are the same—49.3o.

Note the two holes on the leftmost end in the first image. They overlap, kind of sloppily. Note also the Sharpied number on the side.

So here’s my theory: It’s a school project. Metals 205 maybe. The student was required to cast a part and machine it and machine additional parts to a certain degree of precision when installed. (The iron and wedge both have machining marks on them, not visible in the images.) The chamfering of the holes is pretty sloppy and the overall texture of the casting is quite inconsistent.

Given the general standards of plane making over the years, this falls short of even a cheaper homecraft type tool.

The 519 is a student number or a project number.

What do you think? Are we holding water yet?

-- "...in his brain, which is as dry as the remainder biscuit after a voyage, he hath strange places cramm'd with observation, the which he vents in mangled forms." --Shakespeare, "As You Like It"

Everything about this plane says “handmade” to me. If the chamfers are as sloppy as you say (it’s hard to tell in the photos), I would agree that it’s cast.

If you had the right equipment, it wouldn’t be terribly hard to make one of these in an afternoon in a metal shop. Heck, if it would save me the >$150 for a new Veritas/Lie-Nielsen shoulder plane, I’d do it for me too.

-- -=Pride is not a sin=-

pattern makers plane perhaps ??

I saw all kinda of wierd one function tools come out of the pattern makers shop in the local shipyards (now sadly all long gone)

pattern makers apprentices made nearly all of their own tools

-- ... Never Apologise For Being Right ...

BitYin, that’s a nifty theory too. Would the apprentices have had access to the metalworking equipment necessary to do this from scratch?

Kindly,

Lee

-- "...in his brain, which is as dry as the remainder biscuit after a voyage, he hath strange places cramm'd with observation, the which he vents in mangled forms." --Shakespeare, "As You Like It"

Lee
pattern makers in foundrys made wood molds for casting in iron, steel, brass, bronze whatever and made the tools they needed to do their job. Making the toolkit for the job taught them the job. (like carpenters apprentices making a chest, square, grannys tooth router etc.
I was taken to Swan Hunters as a kid and had a tour of the yard. fascinating place

-- ... Never Apologise For Being Right ...

Ah, BigYin, my question was ill conceived. (Dumb, actually.) Thanks for painting a slightly larger picture for my little mind.

I think your theory is better than mine.

The plane may even have been made a specific width for some patterns they were making at the time, perhaps?

Kindly,

Lee

-- "...in his brain, which is as dry as the remainder biscuit after a voyage, he hath strange places cramm'd with observation, the which he vents in mangled forms." --Shakespeare, "As You Like It"

I really like how the guy who cast this made one tool for two angles of attack, pretty ingenious.

-- Brian