I'm working on a slab of Maple for a project and I needed to plane some raised parts down. I grabbed my small Stanley plane that I got at a garage sale eons ago and went to town. Hmm, the cutting blade wouldn't adjust very well and chips weren't coming off nicely, so I took the plane apart and figured I'd put the plane parts together wrong in the distant past. The blade bevel should go down and I'd had it facing up, so I turned it around and put the plane back together. It worked much better now. But then that got me thinking of Dad's plane I inherited from him years ago. I wondered how old it might be, and how it might work on my project. It took me several minutes of hunting in the basement to find it, as I always use the cheapo garage sale plane. I'm not sure why I didn't use Dad's. I do remember using it when I was a kid and didn't own my own plane.
I took the plane apart and unfortunately had to clean up rust that had accumulated. I then went online to see what year it might be. There are several sites that walk you through the process.
The first question is, how many patent dates are cast into the plane base, of which there are none on mine. Second question: does the front round wood knob sit on a raised ring? Mine does. Third question: is the plane bed painted dark blue? Mine isn't. Fourth question: is there a cast raised rib on the toe and heel of the plane bed? Yes on mine. Fifth question: is Stanley imprinted vertically on the lateral adjustment lever? Mine isn't. Sixth question: does the depth adjustment nut have diagonal knurling? Mine doesn't. Seventh question: do you see wartime features like a painted handle or non-brass adjusting nut? Yes, mine looks to have painted handles, although they are very worn, and it has a steel adjusting nut. Ok, drum roll, Dad's plane is a Stanley Bailey Type 17 No. 5 plane manufactured between 1942 and 1945. Dad was discharged from the war in 1945, so maybe he purchased it shortly after that. He passed away in 2010 so I can't ask him, and I'm sure my 90 year old mother doesn't know.
I took the plane apart and cleaned it up a bit. Yes, it's unfortunately got some rust...
After getting the plane back together, I gave it a try on the piece of Maple I'm working on. Wow, it cuts a thin, clean shaving. I guess I'll have to use it more often since it's such a pleasure to use.
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