Sandusky Tool Company - Jack Hand Plane #13

Today, if you make it through the blather, you will find a beautiful-to-me #13 Sandusky Tool Company Jack Plane prancing around for you.
First, lets talk unlucky number 13, and Sandusky Tool Company. The nickel tour of these guys is they were in the big five American toolmakers in the late 19th century. For a more nostalgic telling of their good years than even I could spin, see the following: wkfinetools
They fell on tough economic times, and by the roaring twenties, things were bad. As is often the case -when it rains, it pours. On Saturday, June 24th in '24, a huge tornado (or tornadoes, depending on the tale) struck the town of Sandusky and then Lorraine. It was a very bad tornado by all accounts, possibly F4, and all downtown businesses in Sandusky were damaged to some extent along with the port facilities on Lake Erie. Wikie knowz all sees all.

The great book 'A Guide to the Makers of American Wooden Planes' (hereafter AWP 4, thank god) can shed a little more light on their story and marks. As a side note, the purchase of this book can also signal your descent into a world that will have you writing a blog about a tool company that not even your mother would read. If she was from Sandusky. I'm just saying.

Back to our tale of Sandusky Tool Company, from the land of Callahan Auto Parts. Tragically, they (STC) were sold to a bunch of Hoes shortly after the tornado - American Fork & Hoe Co. in 1926.

Back to why we are here - well, closer anyway. The jack's place is somewhere between the Scrub plane and the jointing or smoothing planes. This aligns with many folks recommending a slight curve/camber to a jack plane blade, or at least nipped corners. You don't want to leave bigger gashes than the gullets you're cleaning up from the scrub (or adze, or broadaxe or froe if your Galoot is really hanging out of your shorts) by dragging the irons edges. I also find the Jack handy for the quick trims in the shop; knocking down unruly bench corners for end vise clearance.

So lets get to know her and the Sandusky Jack family! 13 was a middle kid in the house, 10-15 are her siblings. The differences are mainly about whether they have single or double irons, a regular or bolted handle, and a razee flavor. An upgrade was apparently available across all of them to get a closed handle, a nice upgrade. The also came in 3 widths of iron, starting at 2 inches.

With very minor variations in Blade and handle upgrades - the Jack line of Sandusky planes remained consistent from 1877 until  the 1925 (from a catalog perspective).  While hunting - remember, this is back when companies didn't suck and you could pick up the phone (ok, write a letter) and get them to whip up a custom Jack. So if you see a slight variation that is patinated to match you could have an original setup. Don't pay a ton for it unless it comes from a real dealer who guarantees thier product.

Ok, ok - here she comes:

 16 inches, bow to stern. You see that black nubbin peeking up there? Back in 1877 that was called a 'start', and it was made in lignum vitae. You hit it when your wife was acting up but the deacon was around. Or to adjust your plane.

2 7/8th amidships. 2 1/8th blade, the middle of 3 blade width offerings (2 and 2 1/4 being the other).

It looks like it may have been restruck, but why the lower 'warranted'? A later Iron post-1926 acquisition?

Irons could be single or doubles, and even those could be upgraded (they had us guys figured out, even back then). In 1877 a blade upgrade was 'full polished silver steel clipper irons', breaking the bank at 15 pennies. By 1925 inflation had brought the cost of  'extra sized double irons' to a whopping 20 cents! Long gone were the sexy polished silver steel clippers of the 1800's, sniff.

Did I hear a niner in there? Yikes, its a beefcake.

Whoever made it, they were not facing a steel shortage. Drop this guillotine on your toe, and you will be revisiting a scene from Harlem Nights. Tuned on a slab of granite down to some 1 micron 3m lapping paper... whoo hoo. I know it can get sharper, I'm just kind of afraid to get it there.

Sawdust time folks, and I think I heard the old lady say that steaks are marinating for dinner... Yum.

Chris