How to accurately date a hand plane?

[=Adam=]

Hi guys!

I have just bought a Stanley no 4 hand plane and it has got rosewood handles.

With my little knowledge on hand planes I know that rosewood handles usually means very old.

However is there any way to identify the rough age of the plane? Are there any markings that I should be looking for?

I can get some pics up of it later.

Cheers

Adam

 

[bugbear]

Assuming your plane is made in the USA, which older ones tend to be:

http://www.hyperkitten.com/tools/stanley_bench_plane/

BugBear

 

[G S Haydon]

Hi Adam,

I went through a similar process myself recently on an old Stanley No8 Try/Jointer plane. This site has the best info. Look for the stamp on the top of the blade and cross ref with the link. If you want to get deeper you can cross ref all your components. http://home.comcast.net/~rexmill/planes ... typing.htm
I found mine had a later blade dating from the 1930's> but the plane was a bit older.

 

[AndyT]

As BB said, but if you prefer a more pictorial approach, http://www.hansbrunnertools.gil.com.au/Stanley by numbers/Dating Bench Planes.htm is also good.

Of course, all these will only give you an approximate date, not an accurate one. There is lots of scope for confusion when makers use up old stocks of parts or a previous owner replaces a broken or worn-out part with something salvaged from an older or newer tool.

 

[Dangermouse]

This site is the bees knees for Stanley planes

http://www.supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan0a.html

 

[RogerP]

Do Made in USA and Made in England versions follow the same dating pointers?

 

[bugbear]

This site is the bees knees for Stanley planes

http://www.supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan0a.html

Not for dating bench planes - it's mainly a model reference (and a very good one).

BugBear

 

[bugbear]

Do Made in USA and Made in England versions follow the same dating pointers?

No, not at all. Stanley UK didn't even start until the 1930's.

BugBear

 

[baldpate]

Do Made in USA and Made in England versions follow the same dating pointers?

As I understand it, initial production of "Made in England" Stanley No4 planes was based on the US type 16. So all UK Stanleys have the kidney-shaped hole in the lever cap, and the ogee-shaped frog. Thereafter, the two lines (US & UK) de-coupled, although some of the changes which happened to the US line also occurred in the UK line. I'm aware of two such:
1. The word STANLEY on the lateral adjustment lever changed from being imprinted 'horizontally' (letters side-by-side in the normal orientation) to 'vertically' (letters stacked on top of one another);
2. The design of the frog receiver in the base casting changed from a 'T' shape to a 'Y'.

I don't know whether they occurred in the UK line at the same dates as the US line, although I would expect some degree of correlation. There have certainly been other changes which happened to the UK line (e.g the later stamping of the base casting with the designation G12-00x and 12-00x). To my knowledge, however, no study of the UK line has ever been made or published.

 

[Jack in Nepean]

Just to add to the confusion, there are the made in Canada and (I think) made in Australia versions. For users, the dating doesn't matter so much in that the older planes tended to be of better quality - frog design and seating, casting and machining made for better planes. Blood and Gore will give you an idea of what to look for, as will the guidance from the learned members of this forum (not me, I just learn from them).

Cheers

Jack