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It
has been said that the Inuit-Aleut people of North America have
hundreds of words for snow. However, recent research has determined
that there are not as many as once thought. In fact, many are
but an adjective-based tag added onto the original word –
snow. Yet the Sami, indigenous peoples of northern Scandinavia,
do have over 300 different words to describe the various features
of snow. What does this have to do with the current "What
Is It"? Lots. For years I had thought the tool was called
a specific name (see the last paragraph) and I was confident
of that truth when writing this article. The second is self-evident
– I am Canadian and I have an affinity for snow.
Sometimes when practicing the craft of woodworking, you cannot
see the forest for the trees. It is common for regional preferences
to dictate the naming of a favorite tool or device, and the
English language often complicates the issue by having words
that have the same spelling but different meanings. The tool
we are about to expose has the added mystery of having a name
which seems to have no origin. At various times, this tool has
been called an adjustable rounding plane, a trapping plane,
a stail engine, a turning head, a forkstaff rounder, a trenail
rounder (sometimes known as a moot, a nogg or a nugg, also known
as a rock band from the Channel Islands), a thole plane and,
finally, the North American name of witchet.
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Unlike the majority of these planes, which are craftsperson
made, this one is a commercially manufactured tool. It is marked
"T. Turner, Queen St., Sheffield". This imprint dates
from 1846 to 1858. The Turner name was long associated with
tool making, most notably wooden planes, in Sheffield from approximately
1840 to 1912. Constructed of beech and having wear plates and
perhaps repair reinforcements of brass and steel, this tool
is well suited for hard usage and shows much evidence of being
worked. It produces a straight rounding cut which, if one so
desires, can be tapered over a long section by manipulating
the threaded arms. A tool of this type could be used to cut
a sized spigot or perhaps a larger round section tool handle.
Cleaned and polished many years ago, it has now taken on a patina,
making it most attractive. |
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