N Taber Planes

NICHOLAS TABER’S PLANEMAKING CAREER

  

New Bedford [including Fairhaven] was split from Dartmouth Ma. to become a separate town in 1787, then Fairhaven became independent of New Bedford in 1812. Nicholas Taber was born in 1761, probably in Fairhaven. In 1784 Nicholas married Desire Vincent in Dartmouth [probably Fairhaven] [1]. They had two daughters and a son named Vincent, born in 1787. Vincent, who later lived on Martha’s Vineyard, was a carpenter, and may have been the maker of the plane described in the V Taber entry in GAWP5. After Desire died in 1792, Nicholas married Rebecca Marshal in 1794. The documented details of his early life are incomplete, but Nicholas was described has a housewright in a Fairhaven deed from 1798, at the age of 37. Subsequent deeds continue to call him a housewright until he is identified as a toolmaker in an 1818 deed. His son, John Marshall Taber was born in 1796 when Nicholas was 35 years old, his daughter Desire was born in 1799 and his son Allen was born in 1800. Where Nicholas received his housewright training or whether he had any exposure to commercial planemaking are unknown.

 

There are a handful of early N Taber planes, showing a progression of styles, all of which might date to the 1780’s. The two earliest molding planes are quite similar to those marked Jo Fuller IN Providence, and may have been made around 1785, or a little before that. Also from that period are a narrow, birch, fixed panel raiser and a birch crown molder. These two planes have no flutes, flat chamfers, very offset totes and straight, flat chamfers on the escapement abutments. From the other end of his career, there is a sprinkling of planes with either his large or small imprints. It is believed that Nicholas turned his planemaking business over to his son, John Marshall, by 1820.

 

Most of N Taber’s surviving planes have the large mark, are 9.5” long, are made of beech and have pronounced, rounded reliefs to their finials and a significant turnout at the bottom of the cutout under the finials. The majority have steep pitched irons and bold chamfers that are flat or round, in about equal numbers. By themselves, the features of these planes would suggest that they were made around 1800, or early in the 19th century. It might also be surmised that there was a gap of time between the production of the earlier and later groups of planes. One plane, however, argues for a different timeframe.

 

A few years ago, Sandy Moss [2] found an N Taber beech panel raiser which is 13” long instead of the typical 14”, has round chamfers that are especially bold and a tote that is off center by only .25” [less than on most]. In addition to the imprint of its English maker [Brades Co], the iron is also marked W. S. Wall New Bedford. No other examples of this imprint are recorded, and Wall was not a merchant previously known to Sandy. Subsequently, Sandy discovered an 1802 letter in which Wm. Sawyer Wall is cited as having sold 3 scythes to a former New Bedford resident along with a discussion of other materials. Because of the scarcity of records regarding Wall as a merchant, I assume that his business was short-lived, and that the plane dates to about 1802 [of course, I could be wrong]. If this plane was made around 1802, then all of the 9.5”, flat chamfered molders would date to the 1790’s, along with some of his heavy round chamfered planes.

 

As more of N Taber’s planes are examined, his style transitions are discovered to have been less abrupt than previously thought. After his initial molding planes were made in the style of Jo Fuller IN Providence, Nicholas used a rounded finial with an intermediate sized relief on a 10” beech, flat chamfered molder with no flutes, a 9.5” birch, flat chamfered molder and at least three  9.5”, beech molders with bold, flat chamfers. All five of those planes also feature the steep pitched irons which he seems to have used exclusively until he returned to a lower pitch at some point during his period of bold, round chamfers. The cutouts under the finials on those five planes range from being straight to turning out mildly, and all turn out less sharply than on his later 9.5” beech planes.

 

Nicholas Taber’s earliest and transitional planes might date from the 1780’s and his 9.5” flat chamfered [and some of his round chamfered ] planes might have been made in the 1790’s. His planes made after that are more difficult to date, but it is a fact that some of N Taber’s large marked, late planes are essentially identical to some of J M Taber’s earliest planes. By 1800, Nicholas Taber was certainly busy. He was an active housewright, the builder and owner of an Inn, a Fire Company member and an active school Proprietor, along with being a commercial planemaker and a father raising and training several children.

 

Because nothing is presently known about the maker of surviving planes marked J Taber, they should be mentioned here with N Taber. J Taber used an imprint that is very similar to that of N Taber, and the known molding planes all have steep pitched irons, just as N Taber’s flat chamfered, 9.5” beech planes did. Because the planes are so close in style, it is easy to suspect that the two makers worked in close proximity, sometime in the 1790’s. Based on information in the GAWP5, W Taber might have a similar story.  J Taber planes are not common, but enough exist that he must have been a commercial maker.

 

[1] New genealogical data is all from familysearch.org

[2] A Nicholas Taber Panel Raising Plane—With a Story, by Sandy Moss

 

Mike Humphrey