The last of my three post-retirement restoration projects was the most minor, an 80+ year old Winchester #3060, 1/4 inch wide Rabbet Plane. It was my fathers but I have no idea of exactly from where or when he acquired it. It's possible that he could have gotten it from his father as he did work for a short time in a furniture factory but that's pure speculation. Anyway, this Rabbet Plane was manufactured by the Winchester Tool Company, which was a division of the Winchester Arms Company, formed after WWI as part of a diversification effort. They produced a wide range of very high quality hand-tools including a large variety of woodworking hand-planes.

Now I've estimated the age of the tool by the fact that the Winchester Tool Company was formed in 1920 and was closed when the Great Depression hit, so that makes it at least 80 and perhaps as much as 90 years old. Now I mention that these were considered very high quality tools and you can see from the pictures that there is very fine detail and the fittings (thumb screws, knobs) are very well finished. And this is also borne-out in what Winchester hand-tools go for on today's antique market. I've seen some of larger hand planes, some of which are real works of art, selling for several hundred dollars on eBay. And while I haven't found any of this specific model Rabbet Plane on auction sites, I did find a #3061 (1/2 inch) and a #3062 (3/4 inch) Rabbet Planes selling for $250 and $300 respectively. They also made a model #3063 (1 inch) Rabbet Plane but I haven't seen yet what they're going for to collectors. It seems that there's a really big market for antique woodworking tools out there.

Note that after I finished this restoration, I again gave it to our middle son.