Stanley Tools Combination Planes at the MacLachlin Woodworking Museum

 

"Sprung" Moulding Planes
When planing a complicated moulding using vertical fences to guide the tool the planing direction pressure is straight down.
The means that the part of the moulding closest to the edge of the wood gets a tremendous amount of planing before the inner portion of the moulding gets touched. This makes the planing take a long time, increases wear and tear on the long delicate parts of the plane blade and gives the plane every incentive to wander. The solution, commonly found on wooden planes is to spring the plane so you plane at an angle to the wood:
This changes the geometry of the blade but evens out the amount of wood each part of the cutter has to remove. The entire blade is quickly planing the entire profile at once. This makes the plane easier to control and improves blade longevity. The drawing only shows one fence being used. As stated in the main text two fences, one on each side of the plane help enormously.

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