Stanley (?) plane, type 4 - restoration advice

[mondo]

That ain't a cheapo plane, close to a bedrock in terms of build, which is more expensive
Solid frog face also, suggests it's a hundred years old anyways.
I tried a few searches using keywords like gunmetal or plane kit with no luck.
Have you tried "the other place" for an answer, a lot of old the hand tool enthusiasts seem to be hanging about there now.

Tom

Who is "the other place"?

 

[Picalilli]

I had a look and it seems to be a forum - doesn’t seem to be any specific categories though, just general

 

[Argus]

I had a look and it seems to be a forum - doesn’t seem to be any specific categories though, just general

It does have a section devoted to 'Hand Tools'.
It would be 'bad form' to post a direct link here, I think!

 

[Picalilli]

any other recommendations of other forums or sites I might find an answer from? I had a look at woodwork UK but it seems fairly quiet over there. Only a couple of hand tool section posts this year!

i suppose even US sites would work, just really keen to see if I can find out more about this now

 

[Vann]

Thats not a production Stanley, Record, Woden, Marples, or WS.
The handle, and Lateral lever will eventually identify the maker.

As Bod says, that's not made by any of the regular British makers. And it's not a Stanley USA/Canada/Australia product either. As Europeans tended to stick with wooden planes, I'd suggest it's most likely American. Try an American forum.

Cheers, Vann.

 

[Peri]

The last thing I can suggest is links from the site I put up in my original post

www.recordhandplanes.com/links.html

It's got links to such places as "The Hand Tool Preservation Association of Australia", " The Traditional Tools Group" and "New Zealand Vintage Tool Collectors Club".

Sounds like some of those could be worth a punt - someone must know something

 

[Dave65]

any other recommendations of other forums or sites I might find an answer from? I had a look at woodwork UK but it seems fairly quiet over there. Only a couple of hand tool section posts this year!

i suppose even US sites would work, just really keen to see if I can find out more about this now

try asking here, a lot of American collectors post on here.

https://m.facebook.com/groups/thevintagetoolpatch/?tsid=0.47669080607116054&source=result

 

[Ttrees]

I think I would attempt making a bronze, brass, alumnium or steel of some description plate which
could be tapped so the tote is secured like on regular Bailey's.
And I'd also do something about that front knob, as even a wee bump can cause a blister.

Now the question is metric or imperial thread,

Will be interested to see if one of the Andy's have an idea.
Good luck

Tom

 

[Orraloon]

Another place to try for information.
About Us – Jim Bode Tools
Regards
John

 

[IWW]

I think I would attempt making a bronze, brass, alumnium or steel of some description plate which
could be tapped so the tote is secured like on regular Bailey's....

Personally, I wouldn't do anything too radical or irreversible to it. My guess is that the original 'tote' had a metal plate screwed to the bottom of it, which slid into the dovetailed receiver on the sole. Or the wood of the tote was just dovetailed to make a very tight fit.
[Edit: I should have looked at your original pics more closely! I just looked at them again now & saw that the tote was fixed directly by a sliding D/Tail. Don't know how I missed it. Anyway, that should be easy enough to copy, though my idea od a dovetailed brass plate screwed to the bottom of the tote (which is what TTrees is suggesting?) may be more durable in the long haul...]

It would appear it relied on nothing more than the tightness of the fit to keep it in place since there is no evidence of anything else to retain it. Whatever method they used, it eventually failed & the tote went AWOL before anyone decided to fix it.

It would seem the north-eastern US was a hive of inventors in the latter half of the 19thC, all working feverishly away on building better mouse-traps. This plane is perhaps someone's idea of the plane that was going to blow the Stanley/Bailey out of the water. Looks like it didn't quite do that, but it just might be some "missing link" that collectors have been searching for for decades.......

Cheers,
Ian

 

[heimlaga]

Both Stanley and Ohio tools and maybe Sargent as well used that type of frog seating for a while. The frog tends to nod forward when the blade hits a hard knot and the concept was abandoned except on the cheap Stanley Handyman line.

I suspect that plane may maybe be an east bloc product. I have seen brass depth adjustment yokes on planes of such origin.