# Infill Scrub Plane?



## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

Hello.
I was doing some research on scrub planes and a question came to me. Are there any infill scrub planes? Scrub planes are generally found in the: 
wooden european style









aswell as some metal bodied planes









and other shop made planes, but I have never seen an infill scrub plane. Does anybody know if any were ever sold?


----------



## jusfine (May 22, 2010)

I have a number of older European infill planes (Norris, Spiers, etc) and have never come across one.
Some have open enough mouths that you could easy camber a blade and create your own.


----------



## Loren (May 30, 2008)

Scrub planes are less tiring to use if they are not too heavy,
so the use of infill to add mass to a scrub would make the
plane not so ideal in use.


----------



## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

You make a good point Loren. I have a wood Krenov style scrub plane that is about 12 inches long which is nice to use because it is so light. Although a heavier plane can be nice when working in harder woods.


----------



## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

I have a theory. The scrub plane originated and was used primarily by German cabinetmakers, and from what I understand, the infill plane was general made by English plane makers. Perhaps because of this the English infill plane makers never made scrub planes, and it wasn't until the late 1800's that Stanley started making their metal bodied scrub plane. Any thoughts?


----------



## Loren (May 30, 2008)

Every culture that used boards had some way to flatten them
to a rough thickness. Could be an adze, could be a scrub. The
reason old wood scrub planes didn't survive is they were used
hard and thrown away.

As a regular coffin-style plane is used, the bottom wears and the
mouth opens. Eventually it becomes usable only as a scrub plane.

The English infills developed because the English industrial revolution
was creating tremendous wealth and exports of cloth and other products
from the UK. When the ships returned they brought exotic hard woods
back to England which could be worked to a fine standard with 
planes suited to the job. The density of infill planes and the higher
pitch angles evolved due to the availability of the new exotic timbers
to the English cabinet makers.

England was pretty much deforested at that time. I don't remember
where I picked up this information about the evolution of English
planes but I am not just pulling it from my ear - I read it somewhere.


----------



## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

That makes sense, but it doesn't answer whether infill scrub planes exist or not, and why. I would imagine if any infill scrub planes were made that they would still be around because they do not wear like wood bodied planes, like you mentioned.


----------



## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

I can't say that I've ever seen an infill scrub, meaning a sleeker body and cambered iron. Perhaps you'll make the first?


----------



## Dennisgrosen (Nov 14, 2009)

I don´t think you will ever find an infill scrubplane 
since it takes so long to make a good infill plane and they were costly back then compared to
woodenplanes 
and they were designated mostly to finish work from the start of the development of infills 
and the scrubplane has more or less always been looked at as a thirdrange plane 
why I can´t understand since it realy a hardworking member of the family 
I gess it cuold have something to do with that it was the first planing job many apprentices 
did back then 
if a carpenter had an infill you can bett the new boss wuld get a glimt of it if the carpenter was to an interwiew for a new job back then 
back then the toolbox and the tools inside was his only advertising of how skilled they were and how they
cept the tools told alot about how the man work
only the best skilled cuold afford and wuold have the knowledge of what bennefits an infill wuold give him
when working with it/them

Dennis


----------



## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

Interesting comments. Perhaps because an infill plane was so expensive to buy and there doesn't seem to be any advantage to an infill scrub plane, they were never made. I know personally I would never spend a lot of money for a fancy scrub plane because they do not need to same fine qualities that are necessary in a smoother. Perhaps the infill makers foresaw there would be very little market for an infill scrub place for the same reason, and therefore never made them.


----------

