Lost Art Press

Author: fitz

Woodworker, writer, editor, teacher, ailurophile, Shakespearean. Will write for air-dried walnut.

Modern Makers of Moulding Planes

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The bead on the top skirt of my 8-year-old Anarchist’s tool chest. It’s seen some things, but it is still intact! Not only does the bead protect what would otherwise be a fragile edge, it helps me locate where the top meets the case just by feel, which makes it easy to open.

Many of my classes include the instruction to “just put a bead on it.” A bead on the edge of a board protects fragile corners from breaking off, because by rounding it over into a bead, said fragile edge is gone. A bead also creates a shadowline, which helps to make a gap (say, between backboards) look intentional. I love a bead!

But the intrinsic problem with beads is that they can get you into trouble. A beading plane is just so darn fun to use that you will quickly find yourself in want of other sizes and other moulding planes…not to mention a half-set of hollows and rounds. (There are worse vices.)

So where do you find good moulding planes these days? Maybe it’s just my bad luck, but I’ve never found vintage ones worth buying. A moulding plane must be dead straight down its length from heel to toe, and the fences and boxing must be intact. If any of these things is not true, that ex-plane is best used as Cracker Barrel decor. Then there’s the iron. Does its profile perfectly match the plane’s sole? If not, you need to know how to fix it so it does (which is not easy without ninja-level filing/grinding skills and a good set of slipstones). And does the wedge hold the blade firmly in place? Is it even the original wedge? All this is to say that if you know what you are doing plus have a modicum of good luck, you might be able to find a good deal on some old wooden moulding planes. But I never have.

And you can, of course, make your own. There are good articles available online, and Larry Williams’ video “Making Traditional Side Escapement Planes” is hard to beat.

But I recommend buying new – especially if you’re buying just one plane…say a 3/16″ beading plane like the one you might have used in my classes.

From left, beading planes by Clark & Williams (no longer taking orders), Matt Bickford, Phil Edwards (Philly Planes) and Stephen Slocum (New Heritage Woodworks).

I’m sure I’m missing a few good modern makers (feel free to comment below…as I know you will), but the modern commercial makers I recommend and from whom you can still buy (all will likely have a waitlist) are:

M.S. Bickford
J. Wilding
Red Rose Reproductions
New Heritage Woodworks
Philly Planes (caveat – Phil Edwards is in the U.K. Some might argue his planes are better suited to staying in their native environment, but I’ve been happy with my Philly beader for years and have had no trouble – but I live in a damp river valley with similar weather, different accent)

Such fun!

Yes, you could also use a Stanley No. 45 or 55, or the Veritas Combination Plane – but I’m a sucker for a good wooden moulder.

– Fitz

p.s. If You want to know how I sharpen a moulding plane blade, check out Christopher Schwarz’s “Sharpen This” – the pdf is a free download – see the first paragraph here for the link.

LAP Open Wire, February 28, 2026

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Got a woodworking question or a query about what’s happening at Lost Art Press? It’s your lucky day – it’s time for Open Wire!

You have until 5 p.m. Eastern to pose your question in the comments section below, and we’ll respond – hopefully with a informed and useful answer…but no promises on that front. Also, we stayed out late at a concert so we might not start answering until a wee bit late.

The remaining Open Wire dates for the year are:
April 18
June 20
August 8
October 19
December 12

Note: Comments are now closed for this session. See you in April.

Thanks ‘Fine Woodworking!’

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We’re delighted our 24″ Joiner’s Rules got a mention in the April 2026 issue of Fine Woodworking magazine – thank you, FWW editorial staff!

We’re also happy that our brass-bound Joiner’s Rules are now back in stock for the first time since the holidays. All of us have pitched in over the last few days to scribe and ink the lines that help your eyes more easily see quarters and eighths. (And, er, one lucky person will get the special one I stamped yesterday with the Crucible logo between 10″ and 11, instead of our usual spot between 11″ and 12″. It’s sure to be a collector’s item!)

– Fitz

Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event, Nashville, Feb. 20-21

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Join me and my dovetail saw February 20-21 at the Forge Nashville for a Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event. I’ll be working on a stepstool or a Shaker tray…or some other fun, small dovetailed project as time allows. Plus I’ll have a selection of our books available for purchase. (But if I’m away from my post, look for me at the amazing Alf Sharp’s bench!)

At the event, try out all the LN tools and get expert guidance as you learn from the LN staff, talk to guest demonstrators and hang out with a passel of fellow hand tool woodworkers. Plus, you can check out the Forge itself, a non-profit organization with wood and metal shops, a makerspace and gallery, private studios and more. You can find out more about the event here.

The Forge is at 217 Willow Street, Nashville, Tenn., and there is on-site parking. Hours are Friday, Feb. 20, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 21, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

– Fitz

‘Jefferson’s Declaration Desk’

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One of Ed’s many reproductions of the Declaration Desk.

In December of 2024, I traveled to Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, to meet Ed Zappen (and his lovely family – thanks again for the cheese curds, Kathy!) and take pictures in his shop for his book, “Jefferson’s Declaration Desk.”

We should, barring catastrophe, have the book to the printer this week or next, so look for it in about two months. In the meantime, I’ll be sharing some glimpses inside.

Below is Zappen’s introduction.

– Fitz

The baize-covered writing surface of the reproduction.

My interest in the events leading to the Colonial separation from Great Britain led me to a little writing box that Thomas Jefferson used to write the Declaration of Independence. I contacted the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., where the desk was located. They put me in contact with senior Curator Harry Rubinstein, who invited me to the museum on two separate occasions to study, measure and photograph the desk. That started me on a 15-year journey to learn more about the desk, its history and how to make the best possible reproduction. I decided I should share this information with other woodworkers and the general public rather than keeping the history and plans for the desk to myself. Hence, this book.

Known as the Declaration Desk, Jefferson’s writing box is typical of writing boxes used among the upper classes in Colonial America and England. These desks were small, portable and often had a sloping area covered with baize, a coarse woolen cloth used for gaming tables, and suitable as a writing surface. Various compartments and drawers in the desk allowed the 18th-century professional to carry correspondence, writing materials and other items similar to those that might be found in a briefcase today. I call this an “18th-century Laptop.”

This is a story about that writing box and its place in American history, and it describes in some detail how to make an accurate reproduction of Jefferson’s Declaration Desk. Failure to place the desk in its historical setting presents this piece as just another vintage writing box that can be purchased in antique stores on the East Coast or eBay for a small price. So that is where I shall begin.