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A Gunmetal Violinmakers Plane by Preston. This is a rare and distinctive 4.3 cm (1 5/8 inch) Preston plane with flat oval sole and gunmetal hinged leaver cup. Edward Preston & Sons Ltd., Birmingham, England, began manufacturing planes in 1825. Preston was one of the leading English tool manufacturers, noted for its extensive line of prestigious high quality woodworking tools. Gunmetal is a bronze alloy of copper, tin, and a small amount of zinc. Although originally used for making guns, it has been employed by Preston in casting fine violinmaker’s planes. The so-called 88–10–2 (copper-tin-zinc) alloy was the British standard for ‘government bronze,’ composed of 88% copper, 10% tin, and 2% zinc. |
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