How long should a Stanley no.3 smoother be?

[Jasper Homminga]

Hi

I have just received two Stanley low knob planes, a no.3 and a no.4 (no gloat, not to worry). I was expecting the no.3 to be 8" long (from Blood and Gore) but the two planes seemed so close in length that I measured them and found the no.3 to be 8.66" while the no.4 was indeed the expected 9". Obviously I'm surprised now.
The Lie Nielsen and Cliftonno.3 are also 8". Also Blood and Gore does not mention a change in length. Does anyone know what's up with this no.3 (type 10)?

Jasper

 

[Alf]

:-k Don't have nearly enough experience of enough Stanleys to say, but I believe they can vary in length a bit from the stated "norm". That much though? Dunno.

Cheers, Alf

 

[Lord Nibbo]

Hi
I measured them and found the no.3 to be 8.66" while the no.4 was indeed the expected 9". Obviously I'm surprised now.


Jasper

Don't worry Jasper, a lot of people would pay a fortune for that extra 1/2" :lol: Happy Christmas :ho2

 

[Jasper Homminga]

Lord Nibbo, I was going to ask if this was the handplane version of the stamp with the upside-down plane on it, but I have a feeling your not talking about planes at all.[-X

Alf, I can see how one casting mould could vary from the next, but since paternmakers are generally regarded as woodworking gods, I would have thought .66" was a bit too much.

Jasper

 

[Jasper Homminga]

I just thought about checking the Old Tools list et voila:

"my 1912 #3 is 8 3/4" so is my SW #3"

"All 3 of mine are 8 3/4" long"

Seems Stanley slowly but surely lengthened the no.3 until it was a full 9 1/4" long.
Odd people these patermakers. #-o

Jasper

 

[Nigel]

You can shoot me down for my ignorance but I have both Stanley #3 and #4 from the sixties
on the boxes the size of the #3 is 9 1/2 inches and the #4 is 9 3/4 inches
did the length vary that much to earlier planes

Merry Chrismas :ho2

Nigel

 

[Jasper Homminga]

the size of the #3 is 9 1/2 inches

This is starting to interest me. I'll measure all my Stanley bench planes to see what other planes differ from Blood and Gore. Anyone else care to measure their Stanley bench planes? Age and USA/GB may be interesting to compare as well.

Jasper

 

[David C]

I have two from approx 30's I think.

Both have sole length of 8 5/8".

This is the sole not including the protruding back handle support.

David Charlesworth

 

[CHJ]

I have two Stanley No 4s. Both "Made in England"

The older one is 9.7" long overall and has a brass adjustment wheel.

The younger one (1960s) is 9.3" long overall and has a plastic adjustment wheel, the reduction being at the rear of the frog, making the rear handle to close to the frog for a comfortable grip for me.

 

[Jasper Homminga]

Sole lengths (excluding the protruding back handle support) that we have so far,
including those from the OldTools list that I could get an approximate date on:

#3
~1910 8 5/8" (1x) / 8 3/4" (1x)
~1920 8 3/4" (1x)
~1930 8 5/8" (2x)
<1924 8 7/8" (2x) 8 1/16" (1x)

#4
older 9 5/16" (1x deducted 1/2 " for protruding back handle support)
~1920 9" (1x)
~1960 9" (1x deducted 1/2 " for protruding back handle support)

Jasper
ps my #7 is 21 1/2" (should be 22"), my #5 is 14" (as it should be)

edited to add the #4's

 

[Pekka Huhta]

I checked my own planes and all the #4's were just a few millimeters from each other (6 pcs varying from the beginning of 1900 till 1945) but the #3's had more variation. Old #3 (1910-ish) was identical to a 1960 Record, but a 70's Stanley was full half inch longer.

How about a #2? I just got an old #2-size plane manufactured by Kunz. The sole is about 180 mm long but the overall length is closer to 200 mm. Did Kunz have a slightly longer pattern or were the Stanleys longer than nominal as well?

Pekka

P.S: Sometimes it is frustrating to live around here with a minimal amount of quality second-hand tools around, but once in a while it turns out well having no collectors around. The price of a "uselessly small plane that no-one wants to have" was really worth a good gloat :wink: It's not a Stanley, but I like the size as I seem to grab a #3 from the cabinet far more often than a #4.

 

[Alf]

Ack, I keep forgetting about this. #-o I'll see if I can remember to do it today.

Cheers, Alf

 

[Alf]

Well eventually I remembered when I was in the workshop... not much to report:

Stanley GB #3 c.1960 8 3/4"
Stanley GB #4 c.1960 9 3/16"

not including rear handle support.

And yes, that's all I have. Couple of 4 1/2s and some Records, but otherwise that's the lot. Is that the selection of a collector? Huh? Exactly. [-(

Cheers, Alf

 

[Jasper Homminga]

The #3 smoothers seem to be fairly constantly about 8 3/4" long, while the #4 smoothers seem to be about 9 1/4".
Assuming they were really 8" and 9" back in 1867, they did grow over time.
What confuses me most is WHY? I specifically bought the #3 because it seemed a nice length for small boxes and drawers. Also why would Stanley make the difference between the #3 and the #4 smaller?

Jasper :?