Thread: Stanley Bailey No 4 1/2 identification

I'd suggest that crack, being located where it is, won't affect its performance. However, I suspect it will slowly extend with heavy work until the tote section breaks away from the rest of the sole. Hopefully you'll get several good years of use before that happens.

Funny thing - I bought several Record No.04 1/2 planes (at bottom feeder prices) and each had a fault. Cracked mouths, cracked wings, handle holes through the soles, etc.

Is it something to do with the size?

Cheers, Vann.

Originally Posted by Vann

.... I bought several Record No.04 1/2 planes (at bottom feeder prices) and each had a fault. Cracked mouths, cracked wings, handle holes through the soles, etc.

Is it something to do with the size? ....... .

Could be, Vann, but the Stanley 4 1/2 doesn't have a reputation for bodies that fall apart as far as I'm aware, which suggests it's not a structural design flaw per se. I'd think it's more likely Record had a few batches of poor castings - didn't they change their foundry at some point? Perhaps that had something to do with it?

It's a peculiar thing, the 4 1/2, you either love it or detest it, & I think the detesters have always been in the majority if the number of used 4 1/2s compared with the number of 4s available on any given day is anything to go by. I had a 4 1/2 for a while, way back, but got rid of it after a very brief & unhappy relationship - we just couldn't get on together. I read somewhere that it was Stanley's attempt to create a heftier smoother to match the British infills that were starting to get a bit of traction in the US at the time. I don't know if that has any truth to it, it seems unlikely to me since US-made Baileys of all sizes were threatening the British plane makers at the time, not the other way round!

I've always preferred smaller smoothers myself, partly, perhaps because in my early days I found a narrower blade easier to get workably-sharp than a wide one. I started with a #4 & was pretty happy with it until I tried a well-loved #3 belonging to a friend's father (an old cabinetmaker). That set me lusting after one, but old #3s in decent condition were (& still are!) a rare & threatened species, so I bought a new one (this was the 80s & I was still very naive about planes!). That turned out to be a very bad move, particularly as it was the cheap version, with frog seated on a single flat. I ended up giving it to my 8 yr old son to play with & he left it out in the weather for 6 months, which didn't improve it. Eventually, I got my #3 by building an infill around a #3 blade, & I'm very happy with that. I still like my Bailey #4 & it gets plenty of use, but I turn more & more to my "#3" for fine finishing......

Cheers,
Ian