The first reference that I have about MARPLES producing Coachmakers’ Planes is in the 1897 Catalogue, although I am sure that they were introduced before then.
So in 1897 we see the following entries:
In 1909 the Item numbers have been changed and the listings follow here.
[Of note is that in 1921 the listings are exactly the same, including prices.]
Jumping then to 1928 we find another item number change and that the Compass T Rabbet Plane and Coach T Rabbet Plane are both available up to 1.1/2″. Previously there is no maximum width stated for these planes, but since I have a 2″ Coach T Rabbet plane I will assume that, prior to 1928, these planes were available up to at least 2 inches..
These planes were not produced much after 1928 as there are no listings in the 1938 Catalogue, obviously due to Coachmaking being a declining industry.
The Coach T Rabbet Plane was so called ‘T‘ Rabbet because the body shape resembling an inverted ‘T‘. [Some references state that it was because of the shape of the cutting iron, but there are a few other planes that use this shape blade, so I reject this theory.]
The Coach Compass T Rabbet plane has a convex sole in order to work concave shapes and there was never a Compass T Rabbet Plane having a concave sole. The only concave sole in the Coachmakers’ line was the ‘Smooth Plane’ as shown as #2992 in the 1928 listings.
The Coach T Rabbet shown below has a sole that is 6.5/8″ long x 2″ wide. The whole plane is 3.3/16″ tall and the vertical body is 13/16″ thick. The cutter is 7.1/4″ long and 2″ wide at the cutting edge, with no maker’s mark. [which is common to the majority of MARPLES wooden plane blades.]
The following planes , shown L to R in the photo are:
#2992 Coach Concave Smooth Plane marked number ‘2‘
#2992 Coach Concave Smooth Plane marked number ‘4‘
#2991 Coach Compass Smooth Plane marked number ‘2‘
#2990 Coach Smooth Plane marked ‘1‘
Given that the curves were ‘numbered’ we must assume that various curvatures were produced and sold, but as yet I have no information to suggest what that range may have been. At least I can say that the number ‘2‘ concave and compass planes mate perfectly. Also that a number ‘1‘ is perfectly flat. All these planes [above] measure at a nominal 6.3/4” long, so this must serve as a marker to help to separate these planes from the full size planes.
Therefore, at this time, I must conclude that these Coachmakers’ planes were only available c.1890- c.1935?
