USA-Made Antique Molding Plane

Decorative moldings have been used by architects, designers, and builders for millennia to bring visual interest to creations ranging from massive stone temples to small pieces of furniture. Modern woodworkers can create them with routers, but as the hand-tool revival continues to build momentum, we’ve seen a massive renewed interest in traditional molding planes, which can turn any board edge into a decorative surface in minutes with minimal setup. We were thrilled when we recently uncovered a stash of vintage U.S.-made molding planes from the 1800s, all of which are in excellent working condition. (Anyone who stalks the shelves of their local antique shops knows that wooden tools of this age aren’t always in great working order.) These tools are constructed of solid beech or maple and come with their original makers’ marks. (The Complex Profile planes are from the Auburn Tool Co. in New York, while the more minimal U.S. Plane was made in Philadelphia by TK.) While they might make wonderful decorations for anyone with a taste for handcrafts and the Victorian era, these are working tools, most likely from professional cabinetmakers’ shops, and they’ve got decades of work left in them. Use them individually or in combination to create a personalized look for your next project.