The author of this post discovered an Aussie hand plane from the Turner tool company on an online auction site. Despite its plastic handles and aluminum frog, the Turner no 4 smoothing plane was well-made and had a solid body. The handles were made of celluloid acetate and were translucent. The plane was also fitted with a cutter made specifically for the Turner tool company by Erik Anton Berg. The author had read a review of the Turner hand plane on the Village Woodworker down under blog and agreed that it was well made. They were concerned about the durability of the aluminum frog but believed that it should hold up as long as the lever cap and frog screws were not tightened too much. The author loved having a Berg cutter that could be used on this plane as well as their MF no 9.
The plane was purchased from an Englishman who believed that his father had purchased it during his time working in Australia. The plane had not been used for a long time and had superficial damage from being stored improperly. The handles had not been exposed to direct sunlight, and the author added wax to keep them sound. The plane had a feature that prevented the front knob from rotating and over-tightening.
The author compared the weight of the Turner plane with that of their MF no 9 and a Stanley low knob no 4. The Turner was the heaviest, weighing in at 1750 grams, while the MF no 9 weighed 1680 grams, and the Stanley no 4 weighed 1610 grams. The author believed that this difference in weight showed how solid the Turner plane was. The author had only used the plane briefly on ash and found it promising but would need to resharpen the cutter before providing a verdict.
Posted by Finnberg68 on 2013-10-30 21:41:54