A Multi-Plane, also sometimes referred to as a
Universal Plane or
Combination Plane
is a woodwork tool which is
capable of performing a multitude of different planing tasks.
A multi-plane is a space saver, the idea is to have one plane instead of having
10, 20, 30+ planes.
At the time of the invention of the multi-plane in the late 1800's, woodworkers
would have a massive wooden chest commonly with 30+ different wooden planes.
The multi-plane offered a woodworker the ability to reduce this down to one plane
in one place in a relatively small wooden box.
This idea still holds today.
The multi-plane design roots is an extension of a wooden plough plane with a core stock which can hold a number of different blades and a fence which is adjustable by sliding the fence along two arms.
The "daddy" of all multi-planes was the Stanley 55 Plane which was capable of the following planing tasks in various widths:
Multi-planes are the bigger brother of iron plough planes and iron combination planes.
There have only been a few different
old multi planes
over the years but they have been very successful designs given the length
of time they were manufactured for. The two most popular were the
Stanley 45 Plane
and the
Record 405 Plane.
The most recent old multi-plane was the Clifton multi-plane which ceased being
made I think around 2014. The Clifton multi-plane was based upon the long
running and successful Record 405 multi-plane.
Today, I believe there is one mainstream maker of multi-planes (at the time of
writing this), that is Veritas and their Veritas Combination Plane.
Originally the first multi-planes in the late 1800's were advertised as 'Adjustable Beading Plane'
(Stanley 45 Plane)
and 'Universal Plane' (Stanley 55 Plane). They then went on to be advertised in 1912 as 'Adjustable Beading,
Rebate and Matching Plane' (Stanley 45 Plane) and 'Universal Combination Plane' (Stanley 55 Plane).
They then went on to be advertised in 1939 as 'Stanley "45" Plane' (Stanley 45 Plane) and
'Stanley "55" Plane' (Stanley 55 Plane).
The term 'multi-plane' appears to have been first used with the invention of the Record 405
plane which was advertised as the 'Record 405 Multi-Plane' in 1933. The 405 was inspired by
the Stanley 45.
The Record 405 Multi-Plane was manufactured for about 50 years.
As with most choices, there are advantages and disadvantages to buying a multi-plane tool, the pro's and con's as we see it are:
PRO'S:
CON'S:
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for the good health of your tool and property.
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