C. Bayfield Skewed Cast Iron Infill Rabbet Plane

This is the first rabbet plane I’ve seen by Nottingham maker, C. Bayfield (we don’t get a lot of Bayfields down here in Australia, unfortunately), and I have to say that I’m pretty impressed by it. It’s very different from most of the other rabbet planes you see out there and the build quality is impeccable.

Another bonus is that it’s a skewed rabbet. Skewed planes of any kind are always nice to find — if they’re done well of course. The mouth of the plane may look a little wide but, as this particular plane is intended for a bevel down cutting iron, the mouth is tight enough. Indeed the only way to place the cutting iron is by inserting it through the mouth opening itself, as the throat is way too small for this purpose. In that regard the plane is much more like its wooden cousins, rather than the standard metal infill rabbet plane.

I particularly like the way the design of the cast iron metalwork around the escapement and the edges of the plane at the toe and heel, as well as how the infill has been inlaid on the sides. Another nice touch is the wide stopped chamfers on the sides. The shape of the escapement itself is also quite nice.

The top of the walnut infill is stamped “C. BAYFIELD, NOTTINGHAM” — walnut being the preferred timber of this particular planemaker (See the coffin sided smoothing plane and the joiner plane elsewhere on this site). Bayfield is listed in Goodman’s “British Planemakers From 1700″ as being a late 19th or early 20th century maker.

The plane measures 9″ in length and is 1-1/2″ wide. The height is just on 3”.

I did try to get this one when it was on eBay earlier this year (2010) but, alas, it got away from me at the last moment. Like everything in life, some you win and some you lose. I would have loved the opportunity to study it more closely and in depth however, but I’m grateful that the seller, Matthew Bellamy, took the time to snap some more photographs of it for me before he sent it off to its new owner. Many thanks for that, Matthew.

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