L: 18.3cm W: 1.6cm H: 13.9cm
a- L: 18.3cm W: 1.6cm H: 7.5cm
b- L: 12.9cm W: 2.0cm H: 0.5cm
c- L: 15.6cm W: 1.6cm H: 0.2cm
A wooden gunstocker's plane consisting of 3 parts.
a- The body is made of a dark brown hardwood. The sole is very short and rounded convexly along the length. The throat is cut at a steep angle near the toe end of the body. Ahead of the throat, only the top half of the body extends towards the toe, while the bottom half is empty. Behind the sole, the body curves upward to create a handle at the heel end. A circular hole cuts through the wood widthwise at the heel end. Stamps on the front face of the body read: "DUBLIN"; "I BLOWER". A stamp on the toe reads "D(U)?..."
b- The wedge is made of a hardwood similar to the body. It tapers to a point on one end and it rounded on the other in an oval form. A cut-out below the head allows for easy handling.
c- The iron is a narrow strip of ferrous metal. It abruptly widens on both sides near the cutting edge, then narrow very slightly before ending in an oval curve. The width of the cut is 5/8".
Gunstocker's planes are a rare type of hand tool. They were used to hollow out the barrels of rifles. They are different from hollow planes in that the cutting iron is curved beyond 180 degrees. Therefore, the sole needs to extend past the body to accommodate the varying width of the cut. In this case, the body of the plane was cut away directly in front of and behind the mouth to allow the cutting iron full range of movement.
