Steel bolt heads on my #6 Stanley

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ZippityNZ

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Where can I find some information about the types of knob and handle bolts used on a Made in the USA #6 Stanley hand plane?

Today after I had taken apart the plane for cleaning, I discovered that both bolts had short steel heads and that the handle screw had been replaced with a cut down bolt :(

At the moment, the plane bottom and frog are soaking overnight in a vinegar bath, while the remaining parts are soaking in EvapoRust :)

The adjusting nut is not brass, but rather something? on steel.

I'm guessing I have bought a WWII model Stanley.
 
Andy,

Thanks for your reply and the links to two very informative articles.

Unfortunately, neither article makes reference to the brass nuts that were used on some Stanley planes.

I am trying to find out in what period were the brass nuts replaced or substituted with steel nuts.
 
I assume you are referring the "Adjuster Nut" which sets the depth of the blade.
Generally these were brass, until the shortage of brass, during the 2nd World War. After the war as brass supplies increased, the nut returned to brass. (It is possible to find genuine WWII planes with brass nuts.) Until the production costs made steel cheaper, when steel nuts reappeared, approx mid 1970s, along with plastic handles.

Bod
 
ZippityNZ":wr9avtvg said:
I'm guessing I have bought a WWII model Stanley.
There shouldn't be any need to guess, the features tables and dating flowcharts should allow you to identify which model you have with US-made planes. The various details of the frog and body castings are usually enough to be definitive without having to refer to the lever cap, adjuster wheel and lateral adjuster.

If you have a plated-steel adjuster you could well have a type 17, but individual replacement parts are of course always a possibility. And sometimes more than one in Frankenplanes! If your wheel is steel and it's of smaller diameter it's from wartime production. If it's steel and of normal (larger) diameter it's from later and/or from another production centre.

Handle screws, are they like the ones in this pic?
 
phil.p":212s5k3e said:
ED65":212s5k3e said:
... but individual replacement parts are of course always a possibility. And sometimes more than one in Frankenplanes!
One site I looked at refers to them as "harlequins". :D
I think I've heard that before but hadn't remembered it; I like it for factory planes made up using random pieces from inventory. Frankenplane feels a better fit for planes cobbled together by an owner from bits and pieces they've collected over the years.

Not that we can always tell which was the case!
 
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