Clico Clifton No.4 Plane Review By: I.Ball
Category: Old Smoothing Planes
Extra Info: What is a Smoothing Plane? Smoothing Plane Videos
Manufacturer: Clico (Sheffield) Tooling Ltd
Plane Type: Smoothing
Model No: 4
The old Clifton smoothing plane number 4 model was made by a Sheffield (UK)
company called Clico. Clico made this model of plane for a number of
years with a forest green finish until the Clifton tool part of the
business was taken over by Thomas Flinn and Co in 2014.
See the
new Clifton 4 plane review
for the plane produced by Thomas Flinn and Co.
The Clifton smoothing plane number 4 is a high quality, accurate tool
with smoothly operating parts which was designed to be ready to use from
the moment the plane was taken from the box.
The plane incorporates the design of the 'BEDROCK' frog and frog seating
pad, a two piece cap iron similar in design to the Record SS (Stay Set)
planes, an extra thick high carbon steel blade, a ground flat sole within
the British Standard of 0.075mm (0.003"), beautiful Bubinga rear handle
and front knob, and finished with a forest green finish.
The plane was presented in a good quality dark blue cardboard box.
The old Clifton plane blade is a hand forged high carbon steel cutter.
The forging process hammer blows the steel many times. This hammering
process gives the steel a very fine grain structure and as a result
the blade achieves the '60 to 62 Rockwell C' standard of hardness
without the usual inevitable brittleness seen with extremely hard
steel.
This process gives the blade a better edge than most blades and it
means it holds it edge for longer. There is extra peace of mind with
the Clifton blades as the hardness is individually checked on each one.
The blades are accurately ground and are 50% thicker than normal blades
resulting in a much more rigid blade.
Due to the blade containing no alloying elements, it is suggested the
blade is maintained with a thin coating of oil from time-to-time to
protect it from rust.
The Clifton two piece cap iron is extra thick with a hinged joint which
helps reduce blade 'chattering'.
This combination results in ensuring
the plane blade is very rigidly clamped to the frog as well as the blade
being strongly supported close to the mouth of the plane, across the
width.
Additional features which eliminate irritating characteristics of the
one piece cap iron are:
- the snug fit of the accurately machined edge of the lower part of
the two-piece cap iron prevents shavings being forced between the cutting
iron and cap iron, so reducing choking of the mouth.
- the two piece cap iron facilitates honing of the cutting iron, as
the lower part can be easily removed without having to lose the original
cap iron setting (for this reason, this feature is referred to in the
Record 'Planecraft' books as 'Stay-Set').
The Clifton two piece cap iron will fit most makes of traditional metal
bench planes e.g. Stanley, Record, Marples, Footprint.
Note: the photo shows a blade made by Thomas Flinn & Co.
Clico was originally started in 1983 when Clico (Sheffield) Tooling Limited was
formed after a Management buy-out from Record Ridgway Tools where they gained
rights to designs for Aerospace cutting tools including staff and machinery.
Clico went on four years later to begin a plane making department when they hired
the previous manager of the Record Plane Making Section. The first plane they
took on of the Record plane designs was the
Record 405 multiplane
which was used to create Clifton's version of the 405. From there Clico went
on to gradually increase their plane and tool range.
Width:
Length Of Sole:
Mouth Width:
Cast Thickness:
Handle and Knob: Bubinga (African Rosewood)
Plane finish: Forest green
Clifton 4 Plane Blade / Cutter
Width: 51mm
Blade Thickness: 3mm
Slot Length:
Slot Width:
Top Of Blade Shape: Slightly rounded
Material: Hand forged, high carbon steel
Hardness: 60 to 62 Rockwell C
Blade Markings: Clifton, Hand Forged, Sheffield
"No 4" - found at the front of the plane between the mouth and the front knob.
"Clifton, England" - found at the rear of the plane.
"Made In England" - found at the rear of the plane.
"Clifton" - found on the lever cap face.
2000 - 2014
....
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