How big is a Stanley #3 plane?

[Nissan]

I've just bought a Stanley #3 at a tool sale, new-old stock as they call it. ie been sitting unused since it was originally bought. It's not that old, it's got a synthetic tote and knob. My question is what the length is supposed to be? According the usual sites for Stanley planes the #3 is 8" long as against 9" for a #4 but this is almost the same length as the #4, though it's the right width for a #3. Did Stanley change the length of the #3 in latter years?

[pmcgee]

Is it cast with the number?

The #5-1/4 is the width of a number three but longer ... I quite like it.

Cheers,
Paul

[hiroller]

Lots of dimensions here: http://supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan1.htm#num3

[elanjacobs]

Lots of dimensions here: http://supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan1.htm#num3

You beat me to it

[planemaker]

http://primeshop.com/access/woodwork...e/DataMisc.htm

[lightwood]

I've just bought a Stanley #3 at a tool sale, new-old stock as they call it. ie been sitting unused since it was originally bought. It's not that old, it's got a synthetic tote and knob. My question is what the length is supposed to be? According the usual sites for Stanley planes the #3 is 8" long as against 9" for a #4 but this is almost the same length as the #4, though it's the right width for a #3. Did Stanley change the length of the #3 in latter years?

Not certain about the dates, but the Aust made later #3 was longer, even those that had the hard wood handles.
Here are a few pics.

Regards,
Peter

[IanW]

You may be better off with the longer version of the #3 if you own average to large hands. It's been a long time since I used a straight #3, but I have both a Record 110.5 and a Stanley 10.5, which are pretty much the same size as the smaller #3. There is precious little room for fingers between the rear handle & adjustor knob. The Record in particular is a bit of a knuckle-buster if you are not careful. I know with #4s you get about 1/2" or so variation in length depending where/when it was cast, but that Australian #3 of Peter's is 1.5" longer than 'standard'. Perhaps the blokes at Titan-Stanley just decided to give us more finger room??

There is definitely a place for a 'short' smoother or two in my shed, but once you go shorter than the #4, I reckon it gets a bit too cramped to fit handles & adjusters in the space available, with the Bailey type. For short planes, solid-bodied ones like a 'coffin' woodie, or an infill with a rear bun instead of a tote, are my idea of practical. I don't have a small infill yet (it's still on the drawing board, where it's been for some years! ) but I did make a couple of small smoothers a while back and one of those has been a real winner. I also recently built a short smoother in the Krenov style using the Lee Valley kit (for a review, which should be in the next AWR, if you're interested). I'm not a big fan of the laminated body way of building planes, but it turned out to be quite a nice little plane, & quite comfy to use. If you follow the kit instructions, you end up with a plane that's about the same length as a #3, but the blade is slightly narrower at 1 5/8".

Cheers,

[bridger]

mine is 9-1/8" long including the bit where the tote overhangs the sole in back. it's 2-1/8" wide, with a 1-3/4" wide cutter.

my millers falls #4 equivalent (mf #9) is 9-1/4" long, and that bit at the back is flush with and part of the sole. it's 2-3/8" wide, with a 2" cutter.

I have a basket case stanley #4 which is 9-7/16" long, 2-5/16" wide and has a 2" cutter. it has the bit at the back raised away from the sole.

I have a craftsman/sargent #4 size that is 9-3/4" long, 2-7/16" wide and has a 2" cutter. it also has the handle bit at the back flush with the sole.

my #4-1/2 stanley is 10-1/4" long, 2-3/4" wide with a 2-3/8" cutter. it has a little of that bit at the back where the tote hangs over, but less than the #3 or #4, and that part is flush.

[Nissan]

Thanks,

Peter gets the cigar, I'd checked Superworks and a couple other sites that are usually a mine of information and all were quite specific that the number 3 was 8" long. I'd even been told I had a fake, though making a copy of a plane that could have been made in the early 1980's didn't make sense. That said the Lie Nielsen "copy" is also 9" long, which suggests Stanley decided to make room for full sized hands, at least in Oz and that's the size plane Lie Nielson based theirs on.

Thanks,

[bridger]

Yeah, those plastic handled stanley planes are fakes... made by a company called stanley, trying to fool you into thinking that they are real planes made by the stanley company....