The Ohio Tool Co. center wheel plow plane in ebony with six ivory tips had a rosewood center wheel and stem. Bidding opened at $19,500 and it sold to the floor for $29,150. All photos courtesy of Brown Auction Services.

Although Stanley was well represented, Brown Auction Services’ 32nd annual auction of fine tools on April 5 focused on patented metallic and transitional planes. Overall results were strong and the total for 748 lots was $447,309 with an average price of $598 per lot.

An Ohio Tool Co. ebony center wheel plow plane with six ivory tips and an O.R. Chaplin No. ½ smooth plane were the high value items, but the real interest was in the broad selection of rare and collectible tools.

The rare Bridges’ patented wood bottom smooth plane, 8½ inches long with a 1¾-inch iron, sold for $6,820, and a James Silcock plow plane with a sharp brass maker’s label sold for $2,640. A Mayo plow plane went for $4,620.

A top lot was the little O.R. Chaplin No. ½ smooth plane, noticeably smaller than a Stanley No. 1. Bidding opened at $5,000 and closed at $28,600.

An O.R. Chaplin No. ½ smooth plane had a nickel plated cast iron handle and knob and the inside of the bed was finished with red-orange japanning. Bidding opened at $5,000 and after a rapid interchange of bids, it closed at $28,600.

Other standouts included the E.W. Carpenter handled plow plane that achieved $12,100, an L. Bailey Series C split frame jointer plane at $18,700, and the Ohio Tool Co. center wheel plow plane in ebony that opened at $19,500 and sold to the floor for $29,150.

A Bundy combination match and plow plane, patented November 18, 1870, by Lewis Bundy, sold for $19,800.

A rare Pike and Dean smooth plane brought $6,380, while a rare and important Rodier patented bull nose block plane, one of three known examples, sold to the floor for $11,880.

A Bundy combination match and plow plane patented November 18, 1870, by Lewis Bundy, achieved $19,800.

A Millers No. 50 plow plane, cast iron, retaining 65 percent of the light copper wash, achieved $16,500.

Among Stanley planes, a scarce long body No. 2 smooth plane, circa 1950, brought $302, and a No. 56 small core box plane, TM “V” fetched $1,375.

A bronze No. 42 Millers patent, slitter type, with the filletster bed went for $2,530. A rare Type 1 No.43 Millers 1871 patent plow plane was a good buy at $5,720.

The L. Bailey Series C split frame jointer plane, 21½ inches long, was made in Winchester, Mass., 1857‱858, and fetched $18,700.

In the levels, bevels and rules category, a rare L.L. Davis 6-inch skeletal level was a bargain at $550, a Thompson’s protractor and bevel realized $2,530, and a Stanley No. 16, 2-foot, two-fold, bound, boxwood engineers rule sold for $2,750.

All prices reported include the 10 percent buyer’s premium. For information, www.finetoolj.com or 207-688-4962.