French Coachmaker's Plow Plane

I have once again returned to my shop to complete a miniature copy of a French coachmaker's plow plane. Original examples of this plane are relatively hard to find, and are usually priced to reflect their scarcity. They were commonly used in coachmaking operations during the 18th and 19th century to groove curved surfaces on horse-drawn carriages and later on early automobiles.

Examples of this plane usually have a sensual sweeping handle with brass details, presenting a very attractive modeling opportunity. A coachmaker's plane has been high on my list for some time, but I could never find a set of photographs which allowed me to obtain accurate lines of the handle. Early this year I was able to find and purchase an original plane (part of my "rental" program!) and then spent my free time during the summer documenting the design on my CAD system.


The original plane is rather small (just under 7 inches in length) so I decided to reproduce the tool in 1/2 scale rather than my usual 1/3 scale target. The resulting copy is just under 3 1/2 inches in length. The size fits nicely with my other tools, but I was better able to reproduce the details of the original design at this slightly larger scale.

Since the plane has 26 separate parts the CAD design was essential to make certain that all pieces fit together appropriately. The body is made from Chak Te Viga, an exotic hardwood selected for its tight grain pattern and warm color. Other parts were made from brass and steel. I took some liberties in my design, replacing some of the original steel parts with brass to improve the appearance of my copy. All parts were finished with museum wax to minimize discoloration due to handling.

The handle, face-plate and guide block have quite complex shapes, requiring a lot of file work. Although I didn't keep accurate records I estimate I put 40-60 hours on the CAD system creating a working design and then another 150-200 hours in the shop to produce the components and complete the assembly.

I'm pleased with the final result and expect the tool will take a front-row position in my display.

Second Limited "Production" Tool

I have now completed a second group of 14 bow drills styled after a drill which was sold by BUCK in London at the turn of the century. This drill is 2.5 inches long and is made with an ebony handle and a satin-finished brass spool and chuck. The end play of the spool is adjusted with a set screw and locking cap located under the removable handle.

I will only make 30 of these drills, and I have also reduced the maximum number of the Holtzapffel drills to 30 copies.

This BUCK drill (I have termed it the "Type A") is sold with a mount fashioned from an old ivory-like domino similar to the Holtzapffel drill. These photos also show the gift box which is provided with either drill.

If you have questions about either of these two drills, please leave a message on this site, and I will respond.

First Limited "Production" Run

As a result of the positive response at the 2008 Best In The West tool show, I have started a limited run of one of my miniature tools. This tool is patterned after a Holtzapffel Bow Drill, produced about 100 years ago. These drills were used largely by makers of musical instruments and watches.

In use, a drill bit with a tapered shaft was inserted in the chuck and the cord of a bow was wrapped around the spool. The bow was then "sawed" back and forth to rotate the drill bit.

This miniature drill is 2.4 inches long with a fluted ebony handle, a brass spool and collar, and a stainless steel shaft and chuck. The shaft spins freely in the collar, just as in the original drill.

My plan is to make up to 30 (quantity reduced on 1/31/09) of these drills, with the first 12 shown in the photo above. Each drill will be sold with a mounting base fashioned from an ivory-like domino. The underside of the domino will be engraved with the drill name, the name of the maker and the release date of 2009.

I hope to create a second bow-drill model early in 2009 which will also include the domino base, with the possibility of a third drill before the end of 2009.


If you are interested in one of these drills, leave a "comment" below with your Email address and I will get back to you with details.

Tools on Display

In August of this year I put my tools on public display at The Best In The West (BITW) tool collector's show in southern Washington. The BITW show is a national, traveling, semi-annual tool show for serious collectors. The three day event includes a judged collection display on Friday and collectible tool sales on Saturday, with collectors and dealers from the USA, Canada and the UK.

Because of the reputation of the BITW show (and the close proximity to my home) I chose this show for the first public display of my miniature tool set. Specifically, I was interested in the reaction from a community of tool collectors and suggestions which would help guide my continuing work.

The reactions were very encouraging and I was a bit surprised by the number of collectors who were both interested in my miniatures and disappointed to find that I was not prepared to sell any of the tools.

I was pleased to receive a "Best in Class" award for the display at the Saturday night banquet, and the experience has prompted me to take the tools "on the road" for a series of show-and-tells at woodworker's clubs and woodworking schools in the Puget Sound area.

Creating Authentic Surfaces

I have recently been spending extra time on my miniature tools, trying to create an authentic surface finish on the metal parts. My best success to date has been through the use of a bead-blaster which adds a micro-texture to the polished metal surface. The process and the results can be best explained through a series of photographs, beginning with the original tool which I am trying to match.

(Click on each photo to show an enlarged image.)

The first photo shows a full-size Windsor Hand Beader. This tool is 10.5" long tip to tip and it is in "as found" condition. I believe that the metal parts have their original, untouched surface finish (i.e. they have never been polished).

My goal was to recreate the appearance of this original finish in 1/3 scale.

The second photo shows my miniature tool after the machining work has been completed. (This miniature copy is only 3.5" long, although the photo has been enlarged so that it appears to be the same size as the original tool.) At this point, all of the metal pieces have been polished to remove tooling marks using 1500 grit "Micro-Mesh" abrasive cloth. Although the surfaces have a bright shiny appearance, I believe they lack the authentic look of the original.

Through some experimentation, I have found that the polished surfaces shown in the second photo can be given a micro-textured appearance using a small, low pressure bead- blaster. I am using a small Badger Bead-Blaster, which looks like a small air-brush system. (I bought mine from a hobby mail-order house for about $40.) My compressed air source is a small home-compressor regulated to 40 PSI, although the technique seems to work down to 30 PSI but with slower results. The bead-blaster uses a variety of abrasive materials ranging from baking soda (light surface etching) to aluminum oxide abrasive (heavy surface etching). I have had the best results using glass beads (sold by Mico-Lux) which have abrasive properties somewhere between the two other options listed above.

The results are shown in the third photo. In this case the brass and steel surfaces have been subjected to the bead-blast until the desired, uniform surface texture has been achieved. After blasting, I applied a thin coat of museum wax to provide protection during handling.

I believe the micro-textured effect more closely matches that of the original tool. Further, I have found that the textured surface also helps minimize fingerprints, often a problem on polished brass parts.

CAUTION: When using the bead blaster be sure to use a good breathing mask and eye protection. If you use the glass beads take special care to contain the over spray.

(Think of these beads as microscopic ball- bearings which bounce of the part...and any other object...and roll across any hard surfaces. Unless you use care, they will get everywhere!)

Miniature Tools - 2040 BC

Three weeks ago, I had the opportunity to tour the Danish National Museum in Copenhagen. I hadn't planned to visit the museum. In fact I didn't even know it existed until I found an information sheet at the tourist office. As a result, my tour of the exhibits followed no particular plan. I just started on the top floor of the museum, at the Near Eastern and Classical Antiquities display, intending to work down through three floors of exhibits, back to the entry.

Ten minutes into my tour I entered the second display room which included a collection of items found within one of the tombs of ancient Egypt. Sitting in the case, along with perhaps fifty other objects was a small box and six miniature tools. The box was just over 5 inches long and 2.5 inches wide, and the longest tool was just under 4 inches in length.

The items had been removed from the coffin of Nekhetkawi who died circa 1990 BC, nearly four thousand years ago! Clearly these were the earliest "miniature" tools I had ever seen. I was fascinated by the set and was able to contact a resident Egyptologist who kindly provided a scanned image of the tool set from their files along with a description of the find.

Partial Museum Description:


"Although robbers had removed the mummy, the coffin of Nekhetkawi still contained some typical finds. The six models of carpenter's tools were found in a small box with a matching lid. Above are a saw, a bow (minus string) and an axe, and below a drill, awl and adze. The blades of the axe and adze are fastened to their shafts with fine linen thread smeared with resin. The blade of the axe has clearly visible incised lines, but they do not constitute any recognizable signs. The purpose of the bow was to rotate the drill.

It would be tempting to believe that the set of tools had some professional association with Nekhetkawi - that perhaps he was a carpenter or boat builder. Such implements have, however, been discovered in a large number of tombs of the period and, in general, there is nothing to suggest that the tomb models could have any "biographical" connotations."

Later in the day I saw a second miniature tool set at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek Museum (also in Copenhagen) from approximately the same period. This set came from the tomb of Wadsethotep.

A sign in the case near the first tool set reads...."Miniature tools, like the axe, the adz, the chisel and the saw are as valuable grave goods as real tools."

These displays add an exciting new dimension to miniature tool building!

Windsor Hand Beader

This version of the Windsor Hand Beader is based upon a patent issued to Williams and Poole in June of 1885. It is an advancement over an earlier design which was patented in March of 1885. The later patent claimed the sliding cutter assembly and the movable fence below the cutter. With these features, a bead could be placed at a variable distance from the edge of a piece of stock. The handled beader had an advantage over a conventional beading plane in that it could easily follow a curved edge, so it was useful on carriage work as well as curved moldings.

In use, a cutter disk was rotated under the knurled knob to select the desired cutting profile and the assembly was moved along the slot in the body to cut the bead at the desired distance from the guide fence.


The full sized beader is 10.5" long end-to-end, and is stamped with the two patent dates shown above. My miniature is 3.5" long and is shown with a copy of the June 1885 patent (above) and also with the original beader.


The body of the miniature is made in ebony, and the face-plate and slider are brass. The knurled knob and washer are made from nickel-silver. The blade was cut from a thin piece of scraper stock and was darkened using gun-bluing solution. The brass parts have been bead-blasted to remove machining marks and duplicate the cast finish of the original.