RAE handplane

[WiebeLC]

Has anyone ever heard of a handplane marked RAE? My dad picked one up about a year ago and I haven't been able to find any info on it online or on the forum. The blade has the letters RAE surrounded by an oval and the front of the body is marked N 3.

[Brophy]

It's a Canadian made plane manufactured by 'National'.  RAE is a second company up here that must have occasionally supplied blades to National....their planes are found with Rae blades as often as their own trademarked irons.

...Rob

[lbgradwell]

Good info, Rob; I've never been able to find out anything about RAE apart from they were located in Hamilton...

Here's my woodworker's vise. The decal was mostly intact, but crumbled shortly before this photo was taken.

[Brophy]

Thanks LG, I wish I knew more but info is kinda scarce on National/RAE.

National Power tools were made in St Thomas,  Ontario (a division of National Woodenware I think) and were sold at Crappy Tire (Canadian Tire Corp for the uninitiated).

National planes were made in a good selection of sizes #3 to #7 and 4 1/2 & 5 1/2. I have heard that they offered a #2 size but haven't seen one. The fractional sizes I have had in my collection at one time or another.

I'll dig around in my files and see if I can find any more info.

...Rob

[Brophy]

Whoops...had it in my files all along, sorry.

"National Machinery and Supply Co. Limited Hamilton Ontario"

also forgot to mention they made transitional planes and a small variety of block planes, 103, 110 etc.

...Rob

[lbgradwell]

New info to me; I am not familiar with National. Where they sold as National at CTC? Do you know what era?

Was there a formal ownership/control connection between National and RAE?

[Brophy]

National Power tools supplied CTC with electric woodworking tools in the 50s/60s.  I have CTC catalogs going all the way back to the early fifties so I can probably be more specific with a little digging.

National M&S Co is a different company that manufactured the handplanes and I haven't found any reference to them in CTC books or any CDN catalog....I wonder if they were sold only through industrial supply houses in the 'golden horseshoe'. It might be worth digging up some old Eatons or Aikenhead catalogs.

RAE is confusing. I've found an obscure Orillia reference....
http://www.orilliaheritage.com/orillia-companies/details/2/234

....and have noticed a similarity between some of the larger RAE and GRAY vises.

Still digging,

...Rob

[rusty]

Putting those together got me this tidbit from Moodys, 1972

" OTACO LTD.
Division Sold:
Co. has sold Its Rae Vise division to Harcox Holdings Ltd. of Orillla, Toronto for undisclosed terms"

[lbgradwell]

Very interesting, boys! That is already more info than I'd found in several attempts at researching RAE...

This OTACO outfit is new to me too (Orillia Tudhope Anderson Co.), but they seem to have been quite a significant player. Who knew?

I have CTC catalogs going all the way back to the early fifties so I can probably be more specific with a little digging.

You do?! I've been looking for access to a CTC catalogue collection for years! Even considered driving to London, where Western apparently maintains a Canadian Tire collection. You can count on a visit some weekend, Rob!

[WiebeLC]

Do you have any idea what time period National would have been making planes?

[Brophy]

Do you have any idea what time period National would have been making planes?

Between 8am and 5 pm.


:-)


Just a wild assed guess but I would say sometime between the German wars and into the Sixties.

...Rob

[Brophy]

\ You can count on a visit some weekend, Rob!

I look forward to it!

If you are here on a Sunday we can hit the local flea markets.


...Rob

[WiebeLC]

Found this thread on Canadian Woodworking forum
http://forum.canadianwoodworking.com/showthread.php?22216-National-Bench-Planes-Canadian-Made

[Branson]

Found this thread on Canadian Woodworking forum
http://forum.canadianwoodworking.com/showthread.php?22216-National-Bench-Planes-Canadian-Made

Thanks.  That was a bunch of interesting information.

[JeremyManning]

I have a couple RAE bench vises as well.