Tho Foss Jointer Plane

THo. FOSS JOINTER PLANE (SOJ 3-2)

 

Hank Allen has provided drawings and a photo of his 36” long birch jointer (floor) plane made by THo. Foss. AWP III lists Thomas Foss as a possible carpenter/joiner in Portsmouth, NH, who was born in 1728. (In GAWP5, this plane is estimated to be ca 1770.)

 

Here is Hank’s description:

 

 “The jointer is 36” long and made from yellow birch. It is 2 11/16” wide and 2 ½” high. Its ‘ the only jointer I’ve seen this small. Top chamfers are ¼” rounded except in front of the mouth on the left side, which has a 1/8” flat chamfer. The toe chamfers are a bit dinged up so it’s hard to tell if there ever were gouge cuts. Ditto the rear.”

 

“I’ve traced the handle, which is centered. There are no chamfers, but it’s rounded where you hold it of course. I’ve also traced the wedge, which has 1/16” chamfers around the top. The sides are very slightly rounded midway down the sides of the wedge, and perfectly square the rest of the way.

 

The unmarked iron is 2 1/16” wide, has an applied edge, and is tapered from 0.14” at the edge to 0.08” at the top.”