Unmarked Dovetailed Duplex Rabbet Plane

While there is no maker’s mark on this plane, the style is reminiscent of early Stewart Spiers and may very well be one of his. It’s certainly made well enough to be a Spiers and there is a possibility, albeit slight, that a stamp may have worn off with use, or removed through overzealous polishing and cleaning.

Chances are though that it’s not a Spiers at all, just a very well made infill plane by a talented and unknown maker. It’s very possible that the maker used a real Spiers duplex plane as a template to make this one. Even the stopped chamfering has been well executed. The Brazilian rosewood wedge and infills are in good condition, though there is a deep owners mark on the top of the plane.

The length of this rabbet is just shy of 9-1/4″ and the width is 7/8″. The height of the plane is 2-7/16″.

The rear bed is angled at 26 degrees while the front is angled higher at 32 degrees. The cutting iron is by Ward of Sheffield, the same maker preferred by Spiers throughout their long period of manufacture.

It is not known if Stewart Spiers invented the duplex rabbet plane, but it’s most likely that he did. A “No. 2 double iron rabbet” plane appears on the earliest known Spiers brochure dated at around 1851-1858, and no known mention of similarly made planes appear prior to this date.

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