Moulding plane

Also called: molding plane, ovolo plane, ogee plane, bead plane, hollow and round

A moulding plane is a hand plane built to cut one particular decorative profile into the edge of a board, shaping it rather than simply smoothing it flat.

How it works

The shape is built into the tool itself: the sole, the flat underside of the plane, is ground to the reverse of the moulding profile it will cut, and the cutting iron carries that same reversed profile at its edge, so the two work together to leave the finished profile behind as the plane is pushed along the wood. Tredgold (1871) explained that mouldings, curved surfaces used to ornament parts of a joiner's work, 'are generally made by means of a moulding plane ; but in some cases they are cut out by hand' instead.

Kinds of moulding plane

The bead plane cuts a rounded, convex profile called beading. Hasluck (1897) described it as 'a small plane with a hollow along the centre of the sole,' the hollow being the concave channel that shapes the bead. A matched pair of hollow and round moulders, planes ground to complementary concave and convex curves, can shape the curved edge of a rule joint, the joint on a drop-leaf table where the top and the hinged flap meet along a matching concave and convex curve, so that the hinge pin sits exactly at the curve's centre. A fillister is a different kind of moulder, built for cutting grooves or forming rebates, a stepped recess cut along an edge, such as the rebate that holds the glass in a sash bar, the wooden bar dividing the panes of a window sash.

Sharpening curved edges

A plane with a curved cutting edge cannot be honed on a flat stone alone. Small stones called slips are used to hone the concave cutting edges of bead and moulding-plane irons, and of other curved-edged tools such as the spokeshave.

In joinery work

A bead plane, together with plough and rebate planes, can form a loose-tongue joint, a joint where a separate thin strip of wood is glued into matching grooves in both parts, later fixed with screws and glue as well. On panelled wainscotting, a tongue-and-groove joint can be given a tongue-and-bead detail, a small decorative bead run alongside the joint line, cut with a router, a moulder, or a scratch beader, a simple scraping tool drawn along the edge. An old bead plane, reground, or a purpose-made one, can shape the thicker edge of laths, narrow strips of wood. Decorative curved profiles on joiner's work are usually cut with a moulding plane, though in some instances they are instead cut entirely by hand. Owners of a Stanley adjustable moulding plane, one tool with interchangeable cutters covering many profiles, could dispense with several of the separate moulding planes otherwise needed.