Old Stanley(?)

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Jake

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I was intrigued so I probably overpaid for a load of rubbish here. But try this for a tricky plane to identify:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 6187279322

Low knob, no Stanley on the lever plate, apparently no size given on the casting, but 20" (if the seller is right!).

Any thoughts on what it might be?

Cheers, Jake
 
And is the lateral adjuster missing in action, broken, out of shot (surely not), or non-existent (can you tell I'm an optimist)?
 
Methinks your plane isn't a Stanley. The rear tote is obviously a user made replacement and moved back toward the heel but the front knob doesn't appear to be relocated. Compare its location with this picture from the B&G site
7.jpg


I don't want to get your hopes up but I suspect there might be a "No. 06 1/2" on the toe of your plane. :shock:
 
I haven't got my hands on it yet, but it doesn't look like it, and the seller doesn't mention any castings, but does mention the maker's mark on the blade.
 
And who would make those then?

Yes, I thought the rear tote looked odd, and more than a bit clumsy, but hadn't the confidence or knowledge to conclude user-made.
 
I see what you mean about the knob, too. Way too close to the toe.

Even more intrigued now - I can''t wait to have a look at the casting, frog, and so on for more clues.
 
I can't locate a reference now :x but I seem to remember Ohio Tool (or perhaps Auburn prior to Ohio acquiring them) making some sizes that Stanley didn't.

Bugbear? Alf? Help! :D
 
MVC-805F.jpg
1a_1_b.JPG


As you can see in the pictures, the toe on your plane is considerably longer than a #6.
 
You're quite right, Roger - I obviously lack the eye for detail, or rather the ability to look at one photo of a plane and remember what the one I just looked at previously was like.
 
Well, it turned up. I'll get some photos up later (if anyone is interested). No lateral adjuster is deliberate. No markings on the casting at all. In fact the only markings I can see are on the back of the frog ("LHB"), on the chip-breaker ("L. Baileys Patent Dec 24th 1867") and on the iron (Stanley, New Britain, Conn, then below that what looks like #5, the # being indistinct and could be something else). No markings on the brass adjuster (held in place by a rather bodged in nail, unfortunately). The rear tote looks like a recentish replacement, looks machine drilled underneath, where it encloses the raised tote-holding bit of the cast. What I hadn't expected was that that raised tote-bearing bit of the casting goes the full length of the tote, rather than being mostly further forward. It looks as if the handle was meant to be there, rather than having been moved further backwards. It is a different, lighter, wood than the front knob.

Researc h to do...
 
Oh and it is 20" long, which is strange in itself.

And the iron has a very clear "H" stamped in it on the reverse face, which looks as if it is more recent, certainly much deeper, sharper and more distinct than the other markings.
 
Not sure whether anyone cares, but I hope no-one minds me posting these here, I might then join the old tools list to enlist some further help in identifying this plane.

The plane


Yup, it really is a 20" jointer


Rear tote position is very odd, much further back compared to my horrible modern No6 Stanley




But it seems as if this is as the maker intended, while the tote looks like a user-made replacement, it sits on the raised part of the casting perfectly, so the handle is where it was intended to be:


As you can see from this shot, the tote casting is much further back than
on the modern No. 6 (although the No 6 is a bit smaller, it is not enough to account for the difference).


Another oddity, the rear tote is odd, but explicably so as it appears user-made, however, the tappings for the tote bolts in the body are drilled for vertical bolts, the rear one is not angled as in the standard design:


Moving to the front of the plane, no identifying marks on the toe of the casting at all:


As you can see in this photo, the front knob is further forward on the casting than on a moden Stanley (albeit the No 6 again)


Front knob itself



Lever cap, no markings anywhere



Chipbreaker, with patent mark


Iron front, with trademark, and additional "something5" marking underneath


Full shot of the 2 3/8 inch iron, unlike the modern iron this narrows in width towards the "top", although only by a millimeter or so.


Frog, clearly never any lateral adjuster


Frog receiver, looks similar to a Stanley type 2


One rough frog casting on the bottom surface, only partially cleaned up


Adjuster, not the brass stirrup and small diameter of the wheel, no markings on it anywhere


And there you go. Anyone who made it this far must have a bit of the c*******r in them. Not that I do, at all.
 
Well I can't help with much, but I can clear up the "something5" marking on the iron. It's the "S" in USA - see TmV here. Not that it's any help with the plane. Curiouser and curiouser...

Cheers, Alf
 
Ah yes, thanks Alf.

Way too late a trademark to belong with a frog without a lateral adjuster, then.

Bit of a frankenplane, perhaps.
 
Well that depends. I don't know about lateral adjusters, but certainly frog adjusters continued to be left off some makes of plane right up to, well, now in all probability.

I meant to ask; have you tried it? What's the balance like?

Cheers, Alf
 

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