Thread: Unbranded plane

Is there a makers name on the lateral adjustment lever or the depth adjustment knob?

It actually looks like it could be a type 6 (1888) to type 8 (1902) Stanley…. Like Fergiz01 says have a very close look at the lateral lever and the inside of the adjustment knob; you are looking for the Stanley name and/or some patent dates.

Picko

The American market was large with some major hardware chains. I suspect that some of these tools were made by the major manufacturers and sold through the hardware chains unbranded. Sometimes the hardware chain would have their name on the product and sometimes not. This way the likes of Stanley and others could off load cheaply without de-valuing their own named products. I don't know enough about planes, but The Chief could well be right and it is a case of comparing what you have to the catalogued products from Stanley et al to get a match.

Regards
Paul

Thanks all, there's nothing on the inside of the adjuster but I'll need to have a closer look at the lever in the morning. Some good thoughts there and I should also look at the early catalogues.

I can't tell you exactly what it is, but if you show me a picture of the frog (attached to the casting), I'll let you know if it has the potential to match a later stanley or earlier millers falls plane.

Something that I forgot to mention last night was that the frog on this plane is unusual in that it has a curved back face and no adjusting screw. I took a crappy phone photo when I noticed it but I'll get a better one when the shed thaws out later.
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The frog adjustment screw didn't appear on the normal Stanley bench planes until 1907; until then they were only fitted to the Bedrock series so I wasn't expecting to see it.

If the lateral lever has too much corrosion or pitting obscuring any stamped information then totally stripping the plane down will reveal other clues; such as the shape and machining of the frog receiver, the shape of the brass nuts holding the front knob and rear handle, the shape of the screw heads holding the frog down and any foundry marks cast into the back of the lever cap, frog and the sole where these details would normally be hidden.

Thanks CT, I just might do that later. It could do with a good clean up anyway and I might even repair that broken handle while I'm at it. All I've ever done is sharpen and use.
It belonged to my dad and his dad prior to that. It also has another owners name on it, so I assume my grandfarther was the second owner.

You lot were on the money, of course. A light brushing to remove the red/brown corrosion protection on the lateral adjuster revealed this.

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It's a Stanley!
Thanks to all for the suggestions.

Looks like a type 8; 1899-1902

Congratulations; she’s a keeper!

This thread prompted me to go and look at a cheapy I picked up in a second hand store many years ago. It has no markings at all, not just no brand but no size/type either. It is definitely a bitzer: the handle isn't right because the angle at the top doesn't match the blade and the raised mounting area on the body casting doesn't match either. The chip breaker does not suit so it can't be set close to the cutting edge and I wouldn't be surprised if the lever cap and blade are not original either. The frog with adjusting mechanisms seems to go with the body but the screws holding the frog look very dodgy to me. It's never been much good except as a fore plane and lately I've turned the blade bevel up for use on squirly grain. It might be reasonable if the chip breaker was right.

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Looks like a Made In India; possibly an early Soba or unmarked Groz. If so then the bits won’t be wrong… they’re simply that bad. I have a few Anant planes I bought while I was in Chennai several years ago; essentially they are about the same quality as the worst Stanley’s ever made and they’re probably the best of all the brands!

It might be possible to “stretch” the curve on the cap iron in order to reach the edge of the blade and get it performing better but I suspect the amount of fettling required would be onerous at best.

I automatically thought of China but now that you mention India it seems a very likely origin. I'm not well educated on planes but if the parts on this thing are all original then the makers must have been complete numpties. As for the chip breaker, it's beyond redemption for this plane.

Congrats Picko, she's a beaut. Straight from Stanley's golden era.