The Superior Works: Patrick's Blood and Gore Fales' Patent Combination Plane

One of the most complex combination planes ever produced, this plane came equipped with bottoms that fit onto the main stock, fore and aft of the cutter. While it's a good idea and mimics the principles of the common wooden planes it replaces, the plane was doomed to failure for the simple fact that there were just too many parts. If a craftsman ordered all the possible bottoms for this plane, the number of parts would exceed 240! The vast majority of these planes are found with only one set of bottoms and their respective cutter.

The plane was patented by Amos Fales of Denver, Colorado, and was manufactured by Otis Smith, a small-time pistol manufacturer of Rockfall, Connecticut. The plane was patented in the early 1880's and was offered for sale until around World War I. It's surprising that the plane sold as well and as long as it did, but it ultimately was buried by Connecticut's largest tool giant, The Stanley Rule and Level Co.


Copyright (c) 1998-2012 by Patrick A. Leach. All Rights Reserved. No part may be reproduced by any means without the express written permission of the author.