The Davistown Museum
Center for the Study of Early Tools
Scattered throughout The Davistown Museum are tools by important manufacturers who are also the subject of
information files compiled by the museum. This is a listing of our holdings for:
Abiel F. Walker

Status Location
Historic Maritime I (1607-1676): The First Colonial Dominion
Woodworking: Axes and Hatchets
111001T29 Broad ax photo photo DTM MH-D
Forged iron, 9 1/2" long, 8" blade, unsigned.
Distinctly and primitively forged, possibly from bog iron, this 17th century ax came in the Abiel Walker (Alna, ME) tool kit and was probably
made and used by the earliest settlers in coastal Maine. See the Registry of Maine Toolmakers (Brack 2008) for more information on Abiel
Walker.
Historic Maritime II (1720-1800): The Second Colonial Dominion & the Early Republic
Blacksmith, Farrier, and Metalworking Tools
92901T2 Hot set DTM MHC-J
Forged iron, 13" long, 1 1/2" wide and 3/8" long cutting wedge, unsigned.
A hot set is used for splitting forged iron prior to lapping and welding iron handles, strapping, or other iron hardware. This tool was once
part of the tool kit of the boat builder and planemaker Abiel Walker of Alna, Maine (b. 1808) and was probably an antique when he came into
possession of it.
Woodworking: Planes
33002T2L Beading plane DTM TT
Wood, 8 9/16" long, unsigned, c. 1790 - 1800.
The bead is damaged. This plane is from the Abiel Walker hoard, Alna, Maine. It has the same wedge profile as the three other late 18th
century planes in Walker's tool kit. Its length is unusually short.
101801T7 Molding plane bio BDTM MH
Mahogany, 9 1/2" long, signed "AFW" for Abiel F. Walker, owner.
Historic Maritime III (1800-1840): Boomtown Years & the Dawn of the Industrial
Revolution
Woodworking: Planes
101801T8 Beading plane bio BDTM MH
Mahogany with steel blade, 10 3/8" long, signed by owner "AFW" for Abiel F. Walker.
101801T6 Beading plane bio BDTM MH
Mahogany with steel blade, 8 5/8" long, signed by owner "AFW" for Abiel F. Walker.
Woodworking: Planes Made in Maine
92001T1 Double sash plane bio DTM MH
Oak and steel, 10 3/4" long, signed "AFW".
Abiel F. Walker was a very small producer of hand planes, making them only for himself and area craftsmen. These are typical of those
produced by a skilled boat carpenter and housewright who would make his own tools. The Davistown Museum obtained a collection of Abiel
Walker's planes directly from the attic of the house in which he spent most of his life. For additional information about Abiel Walker's plane
collection and its significance see his listing in the Registry of Maine Toolmakers (Brack 2008) and the essay on Walker in the Registry
introduction.
101801T1 Molding plane bio DTM MH
Wood (beech), 9 3/4" long, signed "AFW".
92001T2 Panel raising plane bio DTM MH
Wood (beech), cast steel blade, 13 1/2" long, 2" wide blade, signed "AFW".
This plane was made by Abiel F. Walker.
42602T1 Plow plane bio photo DTM MH
Birch with beach wedge and fence, steel blade, forged iron fence guide and screws, 8 3/4" long, 1 5/8" wide body, 9" wide fence arms, signed
"T & W Sorby" on blade, c. 1835 - 1840.
The plane was made by Abiel Walker, Alna, ME, following English prototypes. The blade was made by I & W Sorby of Sheffield, UK
(http://www.robert-sorby.co.uk/company_info.htm).

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