Stanley Baily made in England?

[Bjørnar Engh]

I bought a new stanley baily jack plane no.5. And when i took a closer look at it, i couldnt find the "Made i England" mark on the body of the plane, only on top of the cutter. Now what is going on, i bought a No.3 10 years ago, and this one is marked "Made in England". So i guess that the body of the plane is made somwhere else.

Does anyone know where, and when did they outsourse their products?
What about the quality of the plane, is it what it used to be?

I am thinking about buying some older planes from England, where can i get quality planes?

My english hasn't improved much over the years, hope you understand!!

Bjørnar

 

[Bjørnar Engh]

Well, i took a closer look at my stanley bailey jack plane no.5 and found out that the plane sole isn't flat, and its not in angel whith she sides at all. The sole is very rough made with deep stripes on the sides. A jack plane no.5 measures 355mm lenght. Mine is 358. The cutter should be 50mm wide, on this plane its 51,5mm. Between the front knob and the cutter (where the sign Made in England usually is) there is now a flat sort of sign. Well some of you might think that these little things reallt doesnt matter if the plane works properly.
But it does.
If you order a mercedes, and what you get is a lada then it matters. I'm taking this back to the shop, lucky for me the owner promised to take it back. They can melt it and make small fiat's of it for all i care!!

Bjørnar carpenters master

 

[Racers]

Hi, Bjørnar

The quality of stanley and record planes has fallen over the years, so your discription of the plane sounds correct.
Try to find an old one, with a small ammount of work it will out peform a new one, or look at the Lie Nielsen, Veritas or Quangsheng planes. They cost more but will work much better than a modern Stanley of Record plane.

Pete

 

[Bjørnar Engh]

Hi Pete!

I think i vill have to buy an older Stanley then, maybe a us one!!

Thanks!

Bjørnar

 

[bugbear]

Hi Pete!

I think i vill have to buy an older Stanley then, maybe a us one!!

Thanks!

Bjørnar

Those are good, but the shipping can be high. Early Record planes (say pre 1960) can be very good, and don't carry the premium cost of USA Stanleys.

The most obvious indicators of planes old enough to be better than usual are (reference: http://www.recordhandplanes.com/dating.html)

* The shape of the top end of the cutter. You want square corners, As seen next to the text "The first profile of the cutter had a straight top with angled sides".

* If you can see the bedding surface of the frog, look for "Frog Pattern #1"

The blade isn't reliable, since blades can be swapped, but it can be seen easily in eBay photos, or half way across a car boot sale ground, so it's quick and easy.

BugBear

 

[MickCheese]

Bjørnar

Have a look on eBay but as already said be aware of shipping costs. (You're English is fine by the way)

Record Planes On eBay

Regards

Mick

 

[Bjørnar Engh]

Bugbear!

Is it the same with stanley, square angels on the top of cutter is the best?

Regards Bjørnar

 

[Bjørnar Engh]

Hi folks!

I have found stanley planes at the www.oldtools.uk.

Thank you for good advice!!

Regards Bjørnar