Stanley Bailey # 5 ID

[Vann]

I'll find one later - got to go out now. Where in Wellywood are you?

Cheers, Vann.

 

[ZippityNZ]

Broadmeadows

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Both have rosewood handles.

Unlikely.

 

[ZippityNZ]

Teach me how to ID what wood the handles are made from

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I don't think either Record or Stanley used rosewood much this side of WW2 if at all - I was a school in the '60s, the 'shop had been set up in the '50s and all the planes had beech handles.

Not the best examples of colour as they've been linseeded from bare for lots of years, so they're darker than normal. The first three are rosewood, the last my one and only beech handled one - a '70s Record. The beech ones have the colour all in the finish - the wood itself isn't dyed, which means you can see the natural colour when the finish peels off. Someone may prove me wrong, but I've not seen any where the wood itself has been coloured. If you take one the darker ones off you can sand a bit of the underside to see it it's the actual colour - of course, it's alway possible parts have been changed over time.
I've always stripped mine and linseeded them, I find then more comfortable than a high gloss lacquer in use. It does make them darker, though, but I don't collect them.

 

[ZippityNZ]

Never seen a plane with webbing, which had the older style rounded top on the iron.

Tom

webbing = ribbing

 

[memzey]

Never seen a plane with webbing, which had the older style rounded top on the iron.
Not talking about the previous laminated irons, of course.

Some other questions might be useful on dating UK planes like...

When did the production of laminated irons cease in the UK?...
I think it was here, that there was mention of women producing laminated irons in Australia, or New Zealand during the war effort, but unsure if it was Stanley UK or USA.
Did these plane irons get shipped worldwide?

Can an "original box" hold a better clue to the age of a plane?

I can't get at my UK made planes until I finish painting, but think most of mine are somewhere in the 50's era,

Apart from what's mentioned allready,
I want to check for any minute differences like raised casting around the front knob,
The raised casting on toe and heel discrepancies,
Checking the frog tabs on the back of them, lateral adjuster differences, including possible differing Stanley trademark stamp on them.
Possible differing machining marks made on the slot in the irons.
Possible cap iron differences like the shape of the bend.
Stamp codes, side wall thickness and checking for irregularities.
Possible differences in raised lettering locations
The shared iron supplier, and differing stamps on them.
And probably a heap of other things that don't come to mind.

This is not impossible, and it's about time we tried to make an effort to try and get a better idea.
Surely this has been done before, so maybe an old thread on this needs to be resurrected,
or a new one made to pick up where others might have left off.
I glanced on a Record plane dating a long time ago, unsure if it was a fully comprehensive though, so it would be interesting to know more on this.

This hand tools forum is quieter now than it was before, so no harm in making a few of these
plane dating threads if need be.
Maybe we should start a discussion on what would be better to try and organise these for clarity,
possibly something along the lines of ...
Dating UK planes using the box,
Maybe, or maybe not, having separate threads of Stanley, Record, and other brands.
Dating by serial code,
Insert your better idea here, kinda thing.

Keen to know more
Tom

I agree with this. I think it would be well worthwhile.

 

[Ttrees]

Pondering some more about this, especially after Vann's comment about Stanley UK starting production in Dec 1936, which I would have guessed was far earlier. (thanks man )

I found that thread on women making laminated irons in Australia...
laminated-irons-again-t108019-75.html

Having a laminated iron on my Record no.4 plane, I seen plenty more of them with laminated irons for mere buttons, while searching on the bay..
It might be a good idea to possibly start with Record planes, as I was assuming that USA Stanley stopped production of laminated irons around this time or a decade or two beforehand.

Is there any UK Stanley planes with laminated irons?

I think I need to revisit that Record plane dating website and start there.
Knuggets of knowledge much appreciated.
Thanks folks.
Tom

 

[Vann]

Pondering some more about this, especially after Vann's comment about Stanley UK starting production in Dec 1936, which I would have guessed was far earlier...

I guess, for the sake of accuracy, I should have said: Stanley bought JA Chapman in Dec. 1936, and formed Stanley UK, in order to begin producing Stanley tools in UK. When the first Stanley UK tools actually began to flow off the production line - who knows - must have been well into 1937.

...I think I need to revisit that Record plane dating website and start there...

It's sad that David Lynch (of recordhandplanes site) died (in 2014).

He was just so knowledgeable on Record planes. I wonder what happened to his vast collection?

I don't know much about Stanley laminated irons. I'm not sure if Stanley UK made them or not. I've got a few Record laminated irons. I think they were made almost until the end of flat top irons in the late 1950s.

Cheers, Vann.

 

[Ttrees]

Thanks Vann, That is indeed sad news and a loss to the community.
It seems that your suggesting, I am wrong on my assumption,
that flat topped irons (non laminated)
are more recent than the rounded topped ones.
Have I understood this correctly what you say?
Or, are there others I have not seen, made from O1 steel, to look like the laminated style iron's of the first series?
I "thought" it was laminated irons first, followed by the rounded tops, then made more to look kinda like the originals again, and finally back to the rounded tops.
All this was just an assumption on my part though, no evidence to back anything up.
Thanks
Tom

 

[AndyT]

laminated-irons-again-t108019-75.html

Is there any UK Stanley planes with laminated irons?

Tom

Have a look at the whole of the thread you linked to, this thread

record-stanley-laminated-plane-irons-t106851.html

and Nabs' blog for much more!

https://smallworkshop.co.uk/2018/03/17/ ... nd-record/

 

[Tapsa]

I'm not saying that the statement about the ribs being a later feature is wrong, but am just wondering if anyone has any evidence for it?
Comparable planes bought new at known dates? Magazine reviews?

Bearing in mind that there must have been many sets of castings for these planes.

I have started a new thread about English Stanley bench plane type study. No dating info yet, but the order of new features, such as bed ribs, is presented.

 

[toolsntat]

I have started a new thread about English Stanley bench plane type study. No dating info yet, but the order of new features, such as bed ribs, is presented.

Good on ya Tapsa for rooting out these older threads, you forget just how much information is in here.
It may be of an advantage to you to know that the aforementioned @AndyT is now over on a different forum and is, as always, a font of knowledge.
https://www.thewoodhaven2.co.uk/viewforum.php?f=21&sid=7921cdd6c18a6d5b25771b2a5043bc69
Cheers Andy

 

[Tapsa]

Good on ya Tapsa for rooting out these older threads, you forget just how much information is in here.
It may be of an advantage to you to know that the aforementioned Andyt is now over on a different forum and is, as always, a font of knowledge.
https://www.thewoodhaven2.co.uk/viewforum.php?f=21&sid=7921cdd6c18a6d5b25771b2a5043bc69
Cheers Andy

Thanks for the info. Yes, these old threads have a lot of valuable information.