# J&R Dodge Sheffield Hand Plane



## r33tc0w (Jan 27, 2017)

I've been searching but have only found limited information on this plane. The company appears to have shown up around the mid- to late 1800s: http://www.holzwerken.de/museum/haendler/dodge.phtml - can anyone shed some light on what I have? It measures 25.375" in length, is this considered a jointer plane?

I picked this up at an architectural salvage store here in New Orleans for $25 - the sole appears to be trued up and the parts are all there. I'm an infant to woodworking and I have watched Paul Sellers clean up a plane but the iron is cambered and I want to make sure I do this right. My sharpening tools are limited, sandpaper, block of 1/2" HD PVC, 1000/6000 whetstone - looking on some pointers and anything else I need to pay attention to as I bring some life back into this plane


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## Tim457 (Jan 11, 2013)

Interesting plane. I've not seen one that length with an iron cambered that much.

That's in really nice shape, I think I would just clean it and flatten the back of the iron and sharpen it. Maybe evaporust or electrolysis to remove all the rust from the iron.


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## JRsgarage (Jan 2, 2017)

looks like a jointer with a scrub plane blade. LN has a good vid on sharpening a scrub blade


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## r33tc0w (Jan 27, 2017)

So in what circumstances would I use this setup, bringing widths of boards down? I understand it can hog off a lot of material so would I avoid using this to level out the height of a board due to the radius of the iron?


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## JRsgarage (Jan 2, 2017)

usually used to for rough stock. it'll remove alot of material rather quickly off high spots, twists..etc. i find scrub planes work best taking cross cuts. mouth looks a little small but hard to tell from pics. try it out


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

Typically you won't see something jointer length with a cambered iron but obviously they're out there. I have an Alex mathiesson & sons 24" jointer with a barely cambered iron if you're interest and are ever in the Gonzales area. It's just sitting on the shelf right now gathering dust.


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## r33tc0w (Jan 27, 2017)

That's a mighty offer Fridge, I might have to fancy a short trip if you're willing to give it a new home 

fun fact of the day; The Sheffield reference in their logo is for the city in England and apparently they discovered Stainless Steel there, as well as developing an enhanced method of the crucible steel process:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Sheffield

Here's another stamp I missed on the toe:


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

The stamp on the toe may be an owners stamp?

You're more than welcome to it free of charge. It's a hoss. It was replaced with a #7 recently and I didn't use it much before then.


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

Just shoot me a pm and we can work the timing out.


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## OSU55 (Dec 14, 2012)

At 25" long, it typically would be used as a jointer/panel flattening plane. and would have a straight to slightly cambered iron. If you just want to restore, sharpen up the heavy camber. If you want to use it, regrind the edge straight and hone a slight camber to the edge. With having a chip breaker it would make a good user. Here's some info you might find useful.


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

Maybe a cooper's jointer, cambered for the inside of the Oak staves? Wedge is shaped to curl the shavings….


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## r33tc0w (Jan 27, 2017)

Cool, thanks for the info guys!


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## r33tc0w (Jan 27, 2017)

How do I go about sharpening the camber on this iron? Here's a cleaned up pic of the iron:










Looks like two pieces of metal almost?


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## Ocelot (Mar 6, 2011)

That iron really looks nice cleaned up!


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## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

You'll need a honing guide with pivot point that will allow you to follow the camber of the blade. If you use a guide of course… If you're a free-hander, well… you just do it ;-) Warning though, it can be an exercise in frustration.


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