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wood planer makers mark

Can anyone identify this? It's located inside my boyfriend's great great grandfather's wood planer. Thanks!

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    Is there enough room to put a piece of paper over it and do a charcoal rub?
    – JohnP
    Jan 2, 2019 at 20:30
  • Just out of curiosity does the plane have a single blade (called the iron) or does it have a slot down the middle of it with a second piece of metal attached with a short screw (usually in this era in a small brass mound)?
    – Graphus
    Jan 3, 2019 at 7:16

1 Answer 1

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Your boy friend is in possession of a wood plane made by the Auburn Tool Co. of Auburn, New York

This is an image of the top end of its blade.

In a semi circular arc are the words "Auburn Tool Co".

In two straight lines across the bottom are:

"Thistle Brand"

"Auburn, N.Y."

In the center is a depiction of a thistle flower. (The company also used a star in the center, but if forced to choose thistle or star, thistle is an easy option.)

It seems that the company was proud of their brand and on some blades stamped the words "Thistle Brand Warranted" in two lines and omitted the Auburn location.

The plane was likely manufactured in the late 19th century which is when the company was in its heyday and is when I suppose someone's great great grandfather might have been active (here I'm assuming something like thirty years per generation).

For more information you can do a web search on "Auburn Tool Co" and you can also find plenty of pictures of Auburn planes on EBay.

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  • Bravo! I couldn't make out anything useful from the photo. Was it the Auburn that gave it to you? I can just about read that on the bottom line now that I know to look for it.
    – Graphus
    Jan 3, 2019 at 7:06
  • Wow! Your eyeballs are significantly more discerning than mine!!
    – FreeMan
    Jan 3, 2019 at 19:24
  • @Freeman, not so discerning as a lucky guess once I figured out that Auburn wasn't in Alabama. :)
    – Ast Pace
    Jan 3, 2019 at 23:47
  • Wow, really impressed. Here's a picture of it for net stumblers: imgur.com/a/7TU1qfR Nov 26, 2021 at 1:40

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