A few of the author's hollows and rounds, a mixed bag bought at far right is a pair of side-cutting rounds.

ting rounds. Unlike most molding

over the years—some so recently that they have yet to be recon- planes, which are named for the shapes they cut, hollows and
ditioned. At far left is a pair of English planes with skewed irons; rounds are named just the opposite, for their profiles.

O
f all the wooden molding planes that are still to be to accomplish most of the purposes I will discuss in this article.
found in antique shops, at flea markets and at the back Hollows and rounds are often represented as being the poor
of many workshops, the hollow plane, and its mate the relations in the family of molding planes. While other molding
round plane, are among the commonest. They hardly appear at planes—the ogees, the cavettos, the astragals and the beading
first glance to be among the most useful of tools, but their rela- planes, for example—all cut a distinct molding, the hollows and
tive abundance is an indication of the important position they rounds are said to be used only in lieu of a more particular
once held in many woodworkers' tool kits. I well remember, as a plane, in a makeshift effort to reproduce the desired molding.
boy in England, seeing rows of them in my school workshop and While it is true that hollows and rounds can duplicate moldings
watching with fascination as they were used for all manner of made by specialized molding planes, this is by no means their
work. Today, more than 30 of them have a place in my own only job. They are also invaluable for completing and trimming
workshop and find frequent employment in my custom-furniture moldings begun by more specific planes, for sculptural shaping,
business. The photo above shows a good range of sizes, from a and for working hollow and round shapes in their own right—of
variety of makers here and abroad. While these are by no means which perhaps the crowning example is linenfold paneling (see
a complete set of graduations, these are typical of what you FWW #36 or FWW on Carving).
might easily find for sale, and a selection such as this is sufficient Old books written at the time when machines were increasingly

March/April 1988 81
 Plane flats using fillister
or rabbet plane.

Hollows and rounds can reach places that

rotary cutters cannot allowing more design
choices. They can similarly modify shapes
cut by standard molding planes.

Using fingers as a fence, start cove at far end

of molding; this short track will guide plane through
subsequent overlapping strokes until full length is planed.

replacing planes in the production of commercial molding, and Varieties—The planes were originally sold in pairs of matching
when the fashion for moldings was decreasing anyway, often hollows and rounds, and numbered according to the width of the
advise the beginner that hollows can be dispensed with by sub- iron. Markings are not always consistent, but one of the most
stituting flat-soled planes and sandpaper. This is roughly the common systems in America was to number planes using even
equivalent, in today's terms, of suggesting that you don't really numbers only, from 2 through 30, for planes starting at in. and
need to learn joinery, because everything ought to be put togeth- increasing by increments of about in. up to 2 in. In Britain, a
er with dowels or metal fasteners. In fact, a hollow plane could frequent method was to sell sets of 18 pairs, ranging from in. to
be your most useful tool when, for example, you need to round in., rising by ths, and using both odd and even numbers—
over edges. Rather than setting up a router, or being limited by which also made possible the selling of so-called half-sets of
the size of available roundover bits, reach for the nearest-size nine pairs consisting of only the odd or the even numbers. You
hollow plane. Draw the exact profile you desire on the stock and might also find the size stated as a fractional number, such as
plane to the lines. You will find the hollow plane does not have , denoting a width of four-eighths, or in. Other numbers
to match the required profile exactly, as does the router bit; may refer to the manufacturer's catalog listing or a store code.
neither is it limited to a perfect quarter round. Most planes are stamped with the manufacturer's name and ad-
Of course, if you have any kind of footage to prepare, a router dress, and many are stamped with the owner's name, an obvious
is the method of choice. Yet even in this case, hollows and effort to keep the tools from wandering.
rounds can lend a hand, refining machine-made moldings and The most common arc for hollows and rounds is about one-
allowing the benefits of quick production without unduly limit- sixth of a circle (60° of arc), but this will vary somewhat from
ing design choices. one manufacturer to another. Therefore, you can't assume that by
Before we examine exactly what these planes can do, and how collecting a group of planes, made by different firms, stamped
they do it, let's take a closer look at the variety of hollow and from 1 through 15, for example, you will have a graduated, fully
round planes you might find. matched set. Various manufacturers indicated the exact shapes

82 Fine Woodworking
by charts of measurements, diagrams and printed tables. One the extremes until later. How to judge the serviceability, and if
manufacturer, the Ohio Tool Co., found it necessary, after having necessary how to effect some basic restoration, was dealt with in
merged with another plane manufacturer, to publish two tables: my earlier article, "Old Wooden Planes" in FWW #57, so I shall
one for their own planes and another for those of the company mention here just a few correctible, yet critical, points.
they had absorbed. The profile of the edge must match the profile of the plane's
To complicate matters further, there are different kinds of hol- sole, otherwise one of two things will happen: Either the high
lows and rounds. The commonest sort by far have straight irons area of the iron will take a coarse shaving, leading to tearout in
bedded at various pitches between 45° and 50°. (In general, the the cut, or, if the iron is lowered to take a finer shaving, the
45° planes are designed for softwoods and hence are carpenters' plane will bottom out after a few strokes and be unable to cut the
tools, while the 50° planes are for cabinetmakers working in full profile. In the days when hand tools were the mainstay,
hardwoods.) Then, less common, are planes with skewed irons, planes were properly maintained by their owners; but in the days
which are usually set at a higher pitch, around 55°. In addition, since, inept sharpening by bunglers is likely to have changed the
the overall family of hollows and rounds includes a number of profile of the iron. When examining a plane, you should assess
specialty planes. I'll describe some of these briefly. how much work it will take to grind and hone the iron to match
Planes with arcs comprising virtually one-quarter of a circle the sole, until the iron can be made to project through the mouth
(90° of arc) are called table hollows and rounds, and are used of the stock the same amount across its entire profile.
specifically for cutting the two halves of a rule joint—by means of If the wedge is warped, bent or split, you may have to refit or
which drop leaves are joined to drop-leaf tables. The better qual- remake it so it supports the iron evenly against its bed. If the
ity table hollows and rounds were made with fences—unlike regular wedge is blunted, it may be necessary to angle and repoint the
hollows and rounds—and this kind is the easiest to use when tip so shavings exit cleanly.
cutting rule joints. The lower grade, unfenced, table hollows are
less easy to recognize—the clue is that both sides of the plane Secret weapons—It should be obvious that hollows and rounds
body, or stock, are beveled instead of just one. If you chance can cut independent rounded-over profiles and coves of various
upon a pair (or even one) of table hollows and rounds, seize sections. It follows that they can finish up and trim similar sec-
them, for they can be very useful in conjunction with regular hol- tions of other profiles. This use is extremely valuable because of
lows and rounds. the main inherent weakness of most molding planes—they can
Yet another variety is the side round. This type can have a pro- work in only one direction. Thus, they cannot be reversed if
file consisting of a quarter round or a half round and was made grain direction changes in the middle of the workpiece.
in mirror-image pairs, as shown in the photo on p. 81. To minimize tearout due to changes of grain direction, mold-
Lastly, there is a group of planes that, while not strictly hol- ing planes are tuned to take extremely thin shavings, which re-
lows and rounds, nevertheless cut these shapes and so deserve quires many passes of the plane to finish the job. When possible,
mention. These planes, which often have wide bodies like bench the bulk of the material is removed with other planes, such as a
planes, include such exotics as ship hollows and ship rounds, rabbet plane or a fillister. Aside from speeding the work, this has
gutter planes, forkstaffs and nosing planes. For those interested, the added advantage of doing most of the job with a plane whose
all these tools are shown in R. A. Salaman's Dictionary of Tools iron is easily resharpened. Yet despite paying the best attention
(Charles Scribner's Sons, Front & Brown Sts., Riverside, N.J. to stock selection, some tearout may occur. The hollows and
08075; 800-257-5755). rounds are the secret weapons that can step in and clean up the
work by going in the opposite direction. Without these, no set of
Plane shopping—Now that you know what to look for, what are molding planes is truly complete.
you likely to find? There is a good chance of coming across The side hollows and rounds have tight arcs and the fact that
matched pairs of planes, especially if you buy from knowledge- they are made in pairs makes them reversible. They will be found
able dealers, who are unlikely to split pairs up. Occasionally a to be of great use, as will certain auxiliary planes designed for
set of hollows and rounds will turn up, often in some purpose- cleaning up quirks and fillets, such as side snipes and snipesbills,
made box or chest, and such a find would be a great pleasure. and various shaped side- and V-rabbet planes—but these planes
But do not think that a single plane is useless without the "rest take us beyond the present discussion. A little experimentation
of the set" or even its mate. It is up to you how many you collect, will amaze you with the possibilities that hollows and rounds
and use, just as it was to the original purchasers. Cabinetmakers, offer in the realm of molding adaptation and duplication—try
and those joiners who worked in shops rather than on-site, kept skewing them to alter the cut, for example.
many more sizes and types than a carpenter would have carried As to which sizes work best for any given profile, preferences
around with him, and indeed manufacturers themselves were by will vary with experience. To start with, the planes you own will
no means in agreement as to how many planes properly consti- dictate the shapes you can attempt, but improved skill will seem
tuted a "complete set." to make each plane capable of an increased range. At this stage,
I keep a list in my wallet of the particular sizes and arcs that hollows and rounds can become an extension of your eye and
are missing from my collection. But my main strategy is simply your intent. They will then compete with the Surform and rasp
to pick up all that appear on the horizon and trade any duplicates for rough shaping of sculptural forms as well as being always to
with other woodworkers or interested dealers or collectors. I hand for delicate trimming of a variety of shapes. Last, but not
find it astounding that these tools can be bought for as little as $7 least, the sound they make when properly tuned and used is infi-
to $10 in the open marketplace, for surely they represent much nitely preferable to the threatening whine of any machine.
more intrinsic value. For the price of a router bit, I can buy a tool
whose working life is longer than my own. Graham Blackburn is a contributing editor to FWW and has
When you look for a plane to use, I'd suggest that something written numerous books on woodworking and tools. His shop is
from the middle of the size range will be best to start with; leave in Santa Cruz, Calif.

March/April 1988 83