Thread: Unbranded plane

Record also used the exact same lateral lever construction; not turning to the cheap folded steel versions until the late 80’s

I must admit that I hadn't noticed how nicely made the lever was until I removed the surface rust.

The only two real improvements that followed your plane in the Stanley types were the addition of the frog adjustment screw (and that has marginal value) and the increase in diameter of the depth adjustment wheel (which IS an improvement). Everything else was either cosmetic and/or a step backwards; such as the introduction of the high knob (like Ian I prefer the low knob but don't worry about it sufficiently to replace all mine). The biggest real change wasn't until 1933 with the type 16; this is where they introduced the cheaper-to-manufacture recessed frog and the comma shape in the lever cap (which immediately helps to ID 16's and above). At the time the Stanley high quality was still evident in the machining and materials; this followed through to the WW2-era type 17's where they were constrained by material availability but were still able to produce quality tools. It was only after WW2 where shortcuts were identified and corners started being cut to improve the company's bottom line.

Fix the handle or replace it with a genuine rosewood one and keep it as an heirloom tool that still gets used. If it's an original blade it will have the Stanley name and some patent dates stamped in it (these are still available NOS from a few suppliers if you want to chase originality) but as a user I'd recommend either tracking down a later Australian made Titan or Stanley HSS tipped blade; or swap the blade and cap iron for a veritas PM-V11 assembly.

Yeah the blade has "Stanley made in England" on it but I doubt it's original because it's got lots of meat left on it. I'll repair the handle while I've got the plane out because it will make it better to use on the odd occassion that I do. I've got a No 6 that only gets limited use also and they both live on the back of the plane shelf.

Done. Not a perfect match, but close enough and feels much better.
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Looks good, Picko. As you say, it will greatly add to user comfort and I commend you for saving that lovely old handle.

I reckon the shape of those early rosewood handles is both aesthetically & ergonomically superb. The grip is almost oval in cross-section & sits in my hand so nicely. I've noticed subtle variation from handle to handle, as you'd expect with something that was hand-finished, and yours looks like it was a really nice one, done by a well-practiced hand. The tactile quality of polished rosewood is hard to beat too (though it's equalled (imo) by quite a few of our local species like bull-oak, for e.g.).

I guess cost-cutting and the switch to more machine production of the woodwork was the death-knell of that elegant shape. It would be a pretty difficult thing to reproduce by machine other than a very sophisticated CNC type because the profiles change as they sweep around the corners. I guess you can use a router bit to knock off most of the waste & then do the final shaping by hand, but I find it easier (& quieter & safer!) to do it all with rasps, it takes ~30 minutes to get the shape out of the sawn blank. But the finish-work takes me ages. The piece-workers of the time probably banged one out every 10 minutes!

The irony to me is that some of the plastic handles do mimic that early shape more closely, obviously, its easy enough to achieve with a mould. Pity they just don't feel as nice as the wooden ones...
Cheers,
Ian

P.S Forgot to add - I'm envious of your find - it would sit very nicely beside my type 11 #5 1/2 & #4. I have a very good (probably early post WW2) Record which has rosewood woodwork, but the grip is not shaped as nicely as the handle on yours (some rainy afternoon when I'm bored silly I will take to it with a rasp!). It's one of my workhorses and a plane I'm very fond of but doesn't have the cachet of that grand old dame of yours...

Hi P. Lovely plane and nice repair. Is the new bit rosewood or something else?

Thanks Ian, yeah I have fairly broad hands and find the black plastic handles are a more comfortable fit than any of the wooden ones. Comparing them side by side, I think the plastic ones have a slightly smaller radius curve at the bottom (where your little finger would be) and therefore more room for the fingers. Now that the No7 handle is repaired its very comfortable too, so much so that I now intend to do the same job on my 4 1/2, which has been broken forever!

Thanks MA. No unfortunately there's no Rosewood in my shed, it's a piece of Boree (Acacia Pendula). It was the closest thing I could find.

Originally Posted by Picko

......there's no Rosewood in my shed, it's a piece of Boree (Acacia Pendula). It was the closest thing I could find.

Picko, you should've squarked-up - I'm sure I could find a scrap of real rosewood big enough to fix that horn. What wood is on your 4 1/2? Maybe I can help on that one? The scraps I have left are pretty small, so I can't help with a major repair.

I've done a few handles in A. pendula, I think it makes an excellent handle wood. It polishes up beautifully & one piece I had was fiddlebacked in a nice tight repeat pattern that suited a handle perfectly - that's gone to a new home so I can't show a pic of it, unfortunately. The only whinges I have about boree is how hard it can be, I reckon I took half the life out of one of my Liogier rasps doing a pair of saw handles out of a piece I got at a wood show. It's other little vice is that it bleeds gum copiously when freshly cut, or even when its nearly dry if you make a fresh cut. I discovered this when I "saved" a nice short trunk from a tree that had been pushed over along a fence-line along the Newell highway when I was coming back that way about 10 yrs ago - I was amazed at how much gum oozed out of the fresh cuts, then again after I sawed it into pieces, & a bit still oozed out after it was dry. But once properly dry & polished up I've had no problems with it.

Cheers,
Ian

No Rosewood on the 4 1/2, not sure what it is. I think its American made and probably early 1900's. I'll find something near enough, it's no show pony but works well.
Yeah the Boree is pretty hard on cutting edges, I nearly gave up on this thing a couple of times before I finished.
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Wow!! Hope you're glad you didn't

Originally Posted by IanW

What wood is on your 4 1/2?

Beech? Pic_0630_739.jpg Sorry, shocking photo.

Originally Posted by Picko

Beech? ...Sorry, shocking photo.

Yep, it could do with a bit of focus, but it does show what looks like some medullary rays on a pale wood, so I'd take a small bet on Beech, especially as it was about the only wood used post WW2....

Cheers,

Yeah there's certainly plenty of medullary ray action, which is easy to see when you focus on it. I've got some beech, which on comparison is a bit more yellow than this. When I get a chance I'll see what I can do with it.