Posted 12 years ago
lostone777
(45 items)
I have this antique wood plane. It looks like it is stamped HHM on the side, along with the word "Ford" which is then stamped over with another name that looks like "Camuxuey". It is made of a nice heavy wood. I am having a hard time finding information on any of these names. I am looking to figure out the approx date of origin for this plane, where it was made, etc.
Great old piece! Does the metal planing blade have any names or markings on it? Give it a good look, and if it does, could you post a picture or describe it? I looked at the pictures and can see why you're having trouble with the stamps on it. It's as if it's double struck or overstruck. I downloaded your pic and enlarged it. I see Ford, and what looks to me like C. A. Moxcey. with periods after the C the A and the Y. But there seems to be a T just before the C and an S between the C and the A. This could take a while! I'll be anxious to see if there are markings on the metal blade and if anyone else can make out the markings that you have posted already.
Hello, and thanks for the response. there is a bit of rust on the blade obscuring any information. Very, very faintly, under the rest there seems to be the trace of old letters...I think I can see an A an H and a 4 but that is all...
Wow.. that's a shame that you can't make out what the markings are. It's possible that someone made it themselves, but the fact that there are markings on the wood and on the blade would most likely mean it was manufactured. Perhaps with some gentle, tender cleaning you'll be able to make out more about it. And maybe you'll get someone to see it that knows a lot more about them than I do that will know just by looking at it more about when and where it was made. Good luck and if I find anything I'll let you know. If you manage to make out any more about the markings, please post them! Best of luck on your hunt!
Oh, it may be possible for you to do a rubbing of the marks if they are deep enough but just not legible due to the rust with some paper and a soft pencil.. just a thought.
The lower name that is obscured with stamped letters, looks to read something like "T. SH...FORD". What could a potential surname be if we filled in the blanks? SHELFORD? SHEREFORD?
VolDeNuit you're going to have me up all night thinking about this now! *LOL* I think that might be a good place to start.. maybe check out makers and see if any names fit? or perhaps names of places it might have been made?
Thanks for the potential leads, everyone. I will keep on searching and see what turns up. As for the markings on the blade, they are so obscure that I am wondering if there are really any markings at all. There is not a ton of rust, but just enough to make it look like a Rorschach picture. If there are markings, they could have been etched by the previous owner (as Chinablue mentioned). They do not look to have been embossed by a machine; they are too faint, and the blade is in good enough shape that I would think any machined lettering would still remain visible, but that's just speculation.