Flat Back Molder Wedges

Cesar Chelor

(1754-1784 working dates)

Chelor's flat back wedge and the chamfer stop with its tipped step followed by a shallow elongated gouge cut/ turnout (shown above) are the defining elements of what has been described as the late phase of Cesar's work. 

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A question which follows is whether other regional, period craftsmen used these traits, either through direct contact or by a copy-cat dynamic. IE, ... are there craftsmen whose work follows that of Cesar Chelor late in his career? This question was posed amongst a group of plane researchers, including the contributors cited above, who discussed this question and considered which of the early NE planemakers/craftsmen might be included in such a group. The list of craftsmen in the title section are those which most strongly utilized these molding plane elements and thus provide a working list to consider. The men comprising this list include E Taft, S Partridge, Charles Dupee, L Metcalf and G Hawes, all from the area of southeastern Worcester Co. and southwestern Suffolk Co., Massachusetts. (John Nicholson will be treated separately.)

It should be noted that the wedge elements are most closely followed by these craftsmen, and the chamfer stops, less so. Instead, these craftsmen tended to use a more simplified chamfer stop composed of a flat step and simple turn-out. (Not everything is clear cut and simple ... as Charles Dupee is more complicated with his wedges and George Hawes is more complicated with his chamfer stops. Nonetheless these generalities seem to hold.) (A second list of craftsmen who partially follow the flat back wedge design include U Clap, I Holmes and A Brown. These craftsmen might be addressed in a follow-up study.)

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The initial study started with a review of Chelor's planes in Williamsburg's online collection. The first finding is that Chelor's late work formed a distinct minority of his planes (14 of 54). The second finding is that Chelor's late work seems to fall into two phases, one preceding the other. The "earlier" phase, evidenced by one plane, has a blocky heavier profile to his flat back wedge finial outline and importantly, has an earlier chamfer stop form ... that of a narrow lamb's tongue style. This Chelor plane, the first shown below, seems to bridge the middle period of Chelor's work and the late period of his work ... a transition piece. The second Chelor plane (one of 11), also shown below, has the more typical late form elements defined by a late wedge finial (with a more uniform sweep/curvature than the earlier blocky form) as well as the late chamfer stops. (Note: The maker mark has been removed from the first plane (2016-380), but the plane is attributed to Cesar by Williamsburg.)

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