MERIDEN MALLEABLE IRON BLOCK PLANE

Sleeper of the month...as seen in the pictures from July 28th 2011...who knew?

broken cap, chip out of the side but still an interesting design

MERIDEN MALLEABLE IRON CO.

The Meriden Malleable Iron Company was incorporated in 1868, being successors of J. H. Canfield & Co., and Lyon, Augur & Co. The works are located near the railroad in the northern part of the city, and can be seen from the cars, which pass in close proximity to them.

looks like just about any standard block

but, the cap locks the blade to the "frog" with a screw that passes through the blade and frog from the inside

the frog has a captured knob that runs along the threaded post carrying the frog through two slots on the sides...ingenious, really

the whole blade/frog assembly is like a sandwich

you can see the slots on the sides

and the captured knob

2004 from the Maine Antique Digest: "An adjustable block plane by the Meriden Malleable Iron Company of Meriden, Connecticut, patented March 10, 1885, blew away the $400 estimate and sold for $1650, despite a missing knob on the front end. Later, as if to prove the first price wasn't an anomaly, a second Meriden block plane, nonadjustable and with a wooden knob, cruised up to $1210, easily surpassing its puny $100/200 estimate. "