Estate Sale Hand Plane Identified as 18th-Century Original, Owner Still Flattens Sole With Belt Sander

A hand plane purchased for $15 at an estate sale in rural Vermont has been identified by the Early American Industries Association as a circa-1760 Philadelphia-made smoothing plane of 'extraordinary historical significance' — a discovery that came too late to prevent its new owner from flattening the sole on a belt sander, replacing the original iron with a Hock blade, and refinishing the tote with spray polyurethane. 'It's a user, not a collector piece,' said owner Chuck Wentworth, 56, who purchased the plane from a box labeled '$15 — OLD TOOLS' and immediately began restoration work. 'The sole had about a thousandth of concavity. Unacceptable. I lapped it flat on my belt sander in about twenty minutes.' Historian Dr. Margaret Aldrich, who examined the plane at a woodworking show where Wentworth was demonstrating its use, identified it as the work of Philadelphia planemaker Cesar Chelor, one of the first documented African American toolmakers in colonial America. 'This plane is one of perhaps twelve surviving Chelor examples,' Dr. Aldrich said, her voice notably strained. 'It was in remarkable original condition. The sole showed authentic wear patterns from 260 years of use. Mr. Wentworth has sanded those away and replaced them with belt sander scratches. The tote — which retained original linseed oil patina — is now coated in Minwax Fast-Drying Polyurethane, gloss.' Wentworth expressed surprise at the plane's provenance but maintained that his modifications were justified. 'A plane that doesn't plane is just a paperweight,' he said. 'This thing takes beautiful shavings now. I cleaned up the mouth, tuned the chipbreaker, and it's cutting tissue-thin curls. Cesar would be proud.' Dr. Aldrich estimated the plane's pre-modification value at approximately $12,000. Its current value, she said, is 'complicated.' Wentworth says he plans to use it 'every day in the shop,' which Dr. Aldrich described as 'the worst possible outcome and also, technically, what it was made for.'