Narrow Dado Plane
Dateca.1779-1797
Maker
Henry Wetherel Jr.
1729 - 1797
MediumBirch, hickory, iron, and steel
DimensionsLength: 9 3/4"; thickness: 11/16"
Credit LineGift of Thomas Elliott
Object number2024-331
DescriptionNarrow dado plane with flat chamfers that end on left side with a long taper, and end on the right with a turn-out.Label TextHenry Wetherel, Jr. is believed to have been apprenticed to his uncle Isaac Wetherel, a blacksmith in Norton, Massachusetts. Multi-talented, Henry occupied himself as a farmer, blacksmith, shop joiner, toolmaker, and planemaker throughout the last half of the 18th century. In 1776, he purportedly served in the Revolutionary War. Wetherel moved to Chatham, Connecticut (now East Hampton) in 1779, and abandoned his earlier location stamp for another advertising his new location. In his will, dated December 20, 1793, Henry Jr. left his blacksmithing shop to his son, Henry III, including "all my trades in the different branches of it." His estate inventory, dated December 24, 1797, included a well-equipped multi-purpose shop, set up for both blacksmithing and woodworking.Mark(s)The toe of the plane marked with H•WETHEREL and CHATHAM in relief within serrated rectangles (Elliott, AWP, p.401, imprint B).ProvenanceSeptember 1990, purchased by Thomas Elliott (Westbrook, CT); 2024, given to The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA)
