As I catalog the photos of our trip to the region, my fascination with the old tools at the Sloane-Stanley Museum continues. In this entry I share some of the hand planes from Eric Sloane’s collection, a workbench from the late 19th century or early 20th century, and a few layout tools.

First up, some of the hand planes. The display of molding planes, and the Gallery of Planes Unusual follow:

While the display is striking, the illustrations are exceptional – the molding planes::

The illustration for the molding planes:

The Gallery of Planes Unusual:

The illustration helps identify the “unusual” planes:

The plow plane display:

The workbench, with a stash of hand planes on it:

The face (“horizontal”) vise on the workbench:

The box vise (tail vise):

Typical of the era, the strip containing the dog hole openings was screwed onto the top:

And, finally, some layout tools:

Acknowledgment: I thank Christopher Schwarz for his help identifying the age of the workbench, based on nothing else but these photographs. He stated that it “…is a typical workbench from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Its bolted construction suggests that it is a later bench rather than an earlier bench.”

Acknowledgment: I thank Ms. Barbara Russ of the Sloane-Stanley Museum, for allowing me to take photographs for publication on this blog.

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As we made our way through the Western parts of Vermont chasing the Fall colors, we also stopped in fabric shops identified in Sandy’s special directory of such stores as a potential stop-and-shop. Her interest in sewing and quilting has grown quite a bit; as fabric and other supplies are abundant “back East”, such stops were not only a welcome chance to stretch the legs, but very interesting, as the scenery was fantastic and the towns gorgeous.

One of the fabric stores marked for “a quick stop” in her book was The Norton House, in Wilmington, VT, on Route 9. Built in the late 1700s, it was moved to its present location by ox cart in the 1830s. The Norton House is now home to A Quilters Paradise, a veritable candy store for sewing and quilting enthusiasts. I requested and obtained permission to photograph selected areas of the interior of the building, for it shows items of structural interest, and a collection of old hand planes in a display case. These planes  are intriguing at best, as some may have been used in the construction of the House, or of some of the contents – it is not clear why they were in the house.

The following photo is found in The Historical Marker Database web site; it was taken by Michael Herrick on October 4, just a couple of days before we arrived on October 7, when rain was coming down in buckets – thanks, Michael! His photo of the outside of the building:

On my way upstairs to find the hand plane collection, I saw this photo of Miss Mildred Norton, the last occupant of the house – it was located along the stairway between the first and second floors:

The display case containing the hand planes found in the house – I was unable to avoid the reflections:

I could not help but take a close-up photo of one of the residents of the display case:

As I headed back toward the stairwell, I turned around and snapped the following photograph of the floor planks – the tilt is present, for I could feel it as I stepped on it, the result of settling of the structure over the years, I believe:

As we talked with the shop keeper, we learned that the main sales room area was (likely) an addition created on the outside of the walls of the original building. She pointed to the evidence, the roof shingles protruding into one are of the sales/display room:

As further evidence that we are indeed on the outside of the original walls to the house, the door leading to the inside of the house, just to the right of the circuit breaker box – the roof shingles lie under some of the wiring:

Before we knew it, it was time to hit the road. And the scenery continued to be terrific on a cloudy day in Vermont:

It is difficult to convey the beauty of some of the less-traveled areas of our gorgeous country. Make plans to drive around this time of year; I recommend a side trip, even around your neighborhood. You will love it!

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Several readers asked if it would be possible to show the detail in the illustration of the brace construction. Here it is:

I was unable to determine if this illustration was made by Eric Sloane. The absence of his distinct signature leads me to believe it was created by someone else, not the artist, when the Sloane-Stanley Museum displays were prepared and arranged. I am intrigued, as the lettering is done in the style used in the illustrations of his book, A Museum of Early American Tools. I will follow up with Museum personnel to try to determine the source of the illustrations.

Acknowledgment: I thank Ms. Barbara Russ of the Sloane-Stanley Museum, for allowing me to take photographs for publication on this blog.

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—— Al Navas

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