Hi guys and ladies I plead total ignorance since I work with steel in my private time. The plane lived on the coast for an unknown time and was rusty. I started to remove rust and old paint and discovered that there was … Read more ». I was about to add this question on my posting that i just put on here. I have the same plane and i too am wanting to know the date as well. Hope we both can get our planes dated. They then incorporated bailey into their naming. Correct Nick, Mr. Bailey came to work with Stanley, along with his patent for the Bailey handplane.
I just got a wooden either jointer or smoothing pane. Its pretty beat up but I am going to try and restore it. Have you ever heard of them? Is that now the going rate for these even though there are a ton of them for sale?
Yikes, I hope not! A friend recently picked up a nice No. M-WTCA tool swaps are another good source for good deals. And old wooden jack planes work just as well, and are much less expensive. He has a lot of Stanley tools, but he has 2 tools that look a lot like hand planes, but have 2 knobs instead of 1 and neither end is raised.
Also, the opening at the bottom is I have a 4 type 10 bailey that i found out on the listing from this site. However, there is a W machined mark on the right front side with 2 notches on the hump half way up.
A old man gave it to me after i tore down a termite infested car port when i was I am wanting to start using hand tools more and teach … Read more ».
Be warned: there follows a bit of an investigation. Was excited to find a corrugated base though, so first thing I did when I got home … Read more ». My Father was Apprentice in I have the same plane. Very nice. Hi, I very recently got into hand plans when I picked up a No. Today I got seven more planes, and dated them all from here except one.
My question would be if … Read more ». It sounds like the iron is cambered. You just need to learn to properly sharpen it. It has three triangular notches on the left side of the body when looking from the toe beside the frog, above the mouth. Are there better types than others? Is a flat bottom better than corrugated? I personally feel like Type 13 was the height of the Stanley Bailey handplane quality and innovation.
But a couple types before and after that are also really good. Source 1. Source 2. Source 3. Hey everyone, I have a Stanley, 4 with a Type-4 machined base. That is the broad, flat machined area with no sunken reliefs. That is, I can attach it to the plane, and the iron protrudes from the bottom, but cannot be moved because the frog is as far back as it can be.
The frog has a … Read more ». Hi All, New subscriber here. I wonder if I might ask a question and make a comment. I have some planes which are smooth all the way through and … Read more ».
They have patent dates behind the frog, have a blue body, etc. I even noticed on Home Depot that Stanley is still producing the 5 jack plane. This guide makes it seem like the No 5 Stanley plane was only made from Any … Read more ». Hi Matthew, any 5 before World War 2 is of descent quality. Just sharp, with a cambered iron. February 26, at pm. Type 13 or 14, to Like Like. Steve says:. March 18, at am. March 19, at pm. Dave Hodgson says:. March 29, at pm. I have a Stanley No. Bruce says:.
April 9, at am. Hedleypicton gmail. May 7, at pm. Is it possible to get replacement hardwood handles for a Bailey 5?
Ebay is your best bet for replacement parts. September 24, at pm. October 14, at pm. Not likely, the transition planes are neither rare nor particularly valuable. Martijn van der Plas says:. March 24, at pm. Martijn The Netherlands Like Like. March 25, at am.
March 27, at am. Thanks a lot! That was exactly what I was looking for! Channon Teague. June 12, at am. A large No. Does anyone know what this means? Cole says:. March 10, at am. March 10, at pm. Almost certainly random pattern numbers. Has no relevant meaning today.
Miguel Aguirre says:. December 10, at pm. Joe Lesko says:. January 29, at pm. Caps prior to had no logo. Ben says:. February 1, at pm. February 3, at pm. Scott Irwin says:. June 13, at pm. Tim says:. July 6, at pm. These are very common. Stanley made millions of them.
Restoring it is encouraged. Thank You for the information! Michael Berens says:. September 8, at pm. September 10, at pm. Type studies are approximate. Most likely a no. Jason Easdon says:. January 25, at pm. Perhaps someone else here has. The total lack of brass has me wonderi Like Like. February 2, at pm. Sounds like a typical Type 17 war era plane to me. Kenneth Manley says:. July 5, at pm. July 6, at am. Jim says:. Post model. Check ebay for recent sold prices.
Charles H Morgan says:. August 17, at am. August 18, at pm. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Enter your comment here Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:. Email Address never made public. Virginia Toolworks Facebook Page. Scrape That Rust Away! Follow Blog via Email Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Email Address: Follow. Some were showered with attention by their former owners, others suffered the worst possible abuse.
Some owners worked them so hard that they had to replace one or several parts. It's attached to the top of the frog with a small, peened over pin. Through hard use, the pin can wear out, detaching the lever from the frog. If the hole is not present, the plane is an earlier model that dates prior to the introduction of the lateral lever which made its debut in the first lateral has a bent up edge that engages the cap iron, while the later style, first introduced in , has a circular disk to engage the cap iron.
Don't retrofit your plane with a lever, if it never had one. Sell it to a collector, then take the proceeds and buy a model that is equipped with the lever. Most of the models have rosewood for the knob and tote WWII years, and from the mid's on, had stained hardwood.
In what has to be an error, the catalogue states that cocobolo was used for the totes and knobs on all the bench planes, except for the 1 , 1C , 2 , and 2C. I have never seen a Stanley bench plane with cocobolo used, and the mention of a fictitious 1C offers some proof that something may have been rotten in New Britain. A cracked tote isn't anything to get bothered over, provided it's tight and glueable. The 'horn' of the tote is often sheared off on many of the bench planes.
When the tote is gripped, its horn should extend about an inch beyond web of skin between your thumb and forefinger. Many of the horns are repaired with nails, screws, glue, or scarfs. Look them over carefully. Totes are also prone to cracking near their bases, just above where they extend forward to meet the main casting. The totes on these larger planes sit over a raised tote receiver into which the screw and threaded rod are screwed.
This is as good a place as any to mention that Stanley loved to use non-standard threads, and it's nowhere more apparant than the hardware used to attach the wood to the main casting. There are reproduction totes out there, and some of them are quite good. A reproduction tote isn't so much a concern on a common plane that's to be used, but it is a concern on the collectible examples of the series, like the 1 , 2 , and 2C.
During the 's, Stanley applied a brightly colored decal on the left side of the totes on many of their planes. Generally, the presence of this decal increases the value of the tool as it's indicative of the tool's condition since the decals wore off rather quickly and easily from use. Some of the reproduction totes are available with decals, which themselves are reproductions. You should be very careful when buying a collectible plane that has a decal on the tote unless you're sure you can recognize the reproduction.
The background of the original decal is an aquamarine color whereas the reproduction's background color is a darker blue green. Plus, the reproduction decal has a 'thicker', almost silk screened, appearance to it. Sometimes, you'll find a plane with a hard rubber tote with "B of E" embossed on each side. These were sold by Stanley to school systems as replacement totes for the poor planes that suffered the onslaught of destruction as wrought by the punks of yesteryear.
These replacement totes were offered during the 's's, when they were replaced with aluminum totes during the early 's. The replacement totes are most often found on the jack planes since they were the commonly used planes in the school systems across the USofA. The knob can suffer chipping or cracking about its base. This is most commonly found on the earlier planes, with their squatty, mushroom-shaped knobs. The damage is caused during the plane's use, when the plane is pushed at the knob; the knob leans forward, putting stress at its leading portion, making it split.
Many folks found the low knobs difficult to grip, especially on the shorter planes. A taller knob, called the "high knob" in the tool collecting circus, was offered starting ca.
This knob, being taller than the low knob and thus having the force on it applied higher up from its base, suffered the same chipping at its base, but only more so than the low knob. Good idea, Stanley, but you didn't quite get it right. Some 10 years later, the solution to knob chipping was discovered - a raised ring was cast into the bottom casting to receive the knob.
This solution really did work, and knob chipping became but a distant memory. If you're into originality, there is a minor, but important, detail about the high knobs - the later high knob is turned so that its base tapers slightly to fit into the raised ring, while the first high knob is turned so that its base doesn't diminish where it seats onto the main casting.
The degree of the sole's flatness is a personal preference frankly, I think the current notion of perfect flatness on a bench plane is simply hype , but definitely stay away from those that are badly twisted along their length.
You may need to file nicks out of the plane's sole, if they project - these will leave scratches on the wood, which defeats the plane's purpose. The bottom casting not the sole proper, but its leading and trailing edges should be slightly convex at its toe and heel. I've seen some planes, especially jack planes, that have had their toe and heel ground off so that they are squared across the width of the plane.
You'll also stumble across many bench planes that have a hole drilled through their bottom castings. This was done so that the plane could be hung from a hook when not in use. This 'feature' does nothing to the plane's use, but it does kill it as a collectible, especially on the scarcer planes. Similar holes can be found along the sides of the planes so that they could accept one of the many fences ones that can be adjusted to bevel an edge that were offered over the years.
The Stanley bench planes are equipped with irons that are very thin when compared with the thick irons used on the older wooden planes. Leonard Bailey was the first to use these thin irons prior to Stanley purchasing his patents. Stanley made it a point to mention the iron's thinness in their marketing propaganda by claiming that: 1 They are easier to grind; 2 They require less grinding "as a thin cutter can be kept in condition by honing"; 3 There is "less tendency to 'stub off' the cutting edge when honing, hence the original bevel is kept much longer"; and 4 It "seats firmer on the frog.
While these irons are high quality, they are also often too thick for the plane to accept them without having to file the mouth wider, and that's something you should think long and hard about as it's a modification that can potentially affect the value of the tool in the long term. Make sure there is enough meat on the iron and if it is pitted, your best bet is to toss it. You'll probably find some amount of corrosion on the face of the iron where the cap iron makes contact.
This corrosion is often black in color and can be lapped out quickly. The corrosion occurs from the plane sitting idle where moisture is trapped between the two irons. Inspect the iron, even on its backside, for any cracks. The Stanley irons do crack due to their thinness, but it is not a common occurrence. I've also seen an iron de-laminate; look them over around the bevel for this flaw Stanley did equip their bench planes with laminated irons up to about WWII - click here to see the company's propaganda for laminated irons.
Make sure the cap iron fits tightly against the iron; you'll have to re-grind it if it doesn't. Strangely, you'll stumble across irons and cap irons that have mushroomed ends, like the kind you see invariably on wooden planes. Stanley planes that show this 'handiwork' must have belonged to transitional woodworkers, where the line between master carpenter and ham-fisted hack was but a mere hammer away.
Why anyone would smack the heel of the iron on this kind of plane is lost on me. If your plane has this feature, a file will make short order of it. Rarely, and I do mean rarely, you might find an bench plane with a strange iron in it. It looks as if someone screwed a razor blade onto the cutting edge of the normal iron. If you see this, sell the iron to a collector, and find yourself a replacement.
What you have is another one of Stanley's boneheaded ideas - "Ready Edge Blades. Whenever the plane's cutter dulled, he could pull out a new one and screw it onto the holder. A few chips on the lever cap along its edge of contact with the cap iron are nothing to fear.
These chips are from a previous owner using the flat end of the lever cap as a screwdriver to loosen the cap iron screw prior to the sharpening of the iron.
This flaw lessens the value of a plane to a collector, but does nothing to hinder the plane's use provided the chips are not severe enough to prevent sufficient clamping pressure on the iron. The lever cap underwent a subtle design change in the hole through which the lever cap screw passes. The first hole is symetrical and shaped like a key hole.
During the early 's, the hole was redesigned and patented so that is has a kidney shape design. This change was done to address the supposed problem with the lever cap backing upward, off the lever cap screw, as the iron was drawn back while turning the adjusting screw.
The planes had been made some 70 years, and used successfully for that same time, without the kidney-shaped hole so it seems that Stanley made the design change as a gimmick to differentiate themselves from the rest of the pack. Look for stress cracks or outright chips about the lever cap's screw hole. This flaw can diminish the plane's utility since the lever cap is apt to loosen during use.
It's best to pass examples with this problem, unless you can salvage it for parts. Test the brass depth adjustment nut to see if it turns freely - a lot of times these are seized. If the knurling on the nut appears stripped or the nut is mis-shaped not a circle , it's a good indication that someone took drastic measures, like the use of vise-grips, to free it.
Chips in the bottom casting are sometimes found where the sides meet the toe or heel of the plane. These, too, have no harmful affect on the use of the plane, but they do lessen its value to a collector. Also, these chips are rather jagged so you may want to file them smooth lest they rip your hands to shreads during use. Check the depth adjustment fork, which is held captive in the frog. It resembles a wishbone, with each side terminating with a round shape to the casting. Each side engages the circular groove in the brass depth adjustment nut.
Sometimes, one of the sides of the fork breaks off, making the fork bind when it's adjusted. These forks are cast iron, but starting around the early's they became a cheesy two-piece steel construction. You might think it strange that the cast iron fork can break, but break they do, usually as a result of too little pressure from the lever cap on the iron, which then results in the iron being thrust backward during planing, putting an extreme amount of force directly on the fork, ultimately snapping it.
Stanley, in their instructions for using the planes, specifically addresses just how tight the lever caps should be - "If the Cam [of the lever cap] will not snap in place easily, slightly loosen the Lever Cap Screw. Some modern day tool authors, sure in their scholarly advice, recommend taking a pair of pliers and squeezing the 'tines' of the adjusting fork toward each other to take out some of the slop in the mechanism.
You'll snap the thing as sure as that plaid shirt and toolbelt wearing guy will use a bisquick joinah. If the fork is broken, you can pilfer one from a dogmeat bench plane by knocking out the pin that allows the fork to pivot. The pin normally pops out when driven from left to right as viewed from the rear of the frog.
There were many modifications made to the bench planes over their production. These are outlined in the type study, but the major design change, that of the frog and the way it seats on the bottom casting, is mentioned here in greater detail.
There are four major frog and corresponding receiver of the main casting designs found on the Bailey bench planes. Sure, there were some experiments gone awry and a few minor modifications, but the descriptions of the four that follow are those that were in the longest production. The first design resembles the letter "H" when viewed from the front or rear of the plane.
The frog is machined to sit on the sides, or rails, of this machined area of the main casting. The frog is screwed to the cross 'beam' that spans the rails. This design was the one Leonard Bailey finally settled upon prior to Stanley purchasing his patents.
Stanley continued this solid design for just a few years until ca. The second major design dispensed with the experimental frog ca. This design is simply a broad and flat rectangular area that is machined on the bottom casting. This machined area is rather low, and has two holes that receive the screws which are used to secure the frog in place.
Likewise, the bottom of the frog is machined flat to fit onto the bottom casting. This method of securing the frog was sound and it worked well, but the amount of machining, after the parts were cast, certainly made production more costly and slow, and they eventually cast two grooves into the main casting's frog receiver ca.
Still, this construction was too costly.
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