The history of hand planer

Melancholia Pattern

Jun 11, 1514

First recorded evidence of the 'melancholia pattern' used on the cutting edge of planers. It allowed for longer material life and less wear, and it could hold an edge fo longer. This was a smoothing plane.

Toe and Heel Design

Jun 11, 1702

This was the first introduction of the toe and heel design. The design made it very difficult to the fingers in the blade of the tool. This was a major advantage within the industry for safety reasons.

Iron Soles

Jun 11, 1820

An American tool maker named Leonard Bailey first pioneered technology. It allowed for interchangeabele blades and the user could make adjustments to the blade angles.

Patent of Iron Soles

Jun 11, 1828

The first patent was filed for iron soles. This was the first patent in the field of hand planers.

Regulating Shaving Thickness

Jun 11, 1843

A man names W. Foster patented an improvement on the iron sole. This improvement allowed the user to vary the thickness of the shaving with greater accuracy.

Screw Clamp

Jun 11, 1854

I screw clamp was introduced that allowed blades to be interchanged with ease.

Bench Plane

Jun 11, 1867

A bench was developed where the plane could be anchored to a solid top. This allowed craftsmen to work with a reference surface.

Iron Sheathing

Jun 11, 1880

First hand plane with a wooden core and an iron sheath created. The iron sheath allowed for a greater force to be applied to the tool without it breaking. This meant that harder woods could no be carved and worked with.