Thread: Canadian made Stanley 45 and 55's

The story I heard about the Canadian marked planes (and sometimes just the boxes) was so Stanley able to export to other countries in the British Empire without the tariff that a USA made plane would incur.
Well, that's what I heard anyway.......
Then Stanley just bought up Australian tool manufacturers anyway.

As for Canadian planes in NZ, a bit rare and I haven't seen either a #45 or #55 from Canada yet.

Hi Bob,

I've got a couple of Canadian Stanley braces which I think may be 20s vintage. Like Seanz, I have also heard the export to commonwealth countries theory, and suppose that may be part of the reason, but would have thought that the Canadian market would have been reason enough to set up there.
I've not read D. Heckels book, does he say what year Stanley went to Canada?

Regards,
Geoff.

Hi Geoff,

I am afraid I don't relly know when Stanley set up in Canada. I would expect the Canadian operation was likely some sort of distribution hub but I am not sure.

According to Heckel, the first 45' with the Canadian trade marks came out around 1922 when the Sweetheart logo came into use and, as far as I know, the use of the mark continued until pretty well the endof 45 production which was in the early 60's. I knew that other Stanley products were put out usind the Made in Canada marks, likely quite a range of items including braces, other models of planes and whatever and those may have been marked as made in Canada much later than when the 45,s went out of production..

I agree with you and Seanz that it had more to do with trade in the commonwealth than it had to do with Canadian nationalism. This is not to say that Canadians don't feel nationalistic at times but we used to buy a lot of products made in the USA. That was back when things were actually manufactured in the states. Now most things are made in China.

The actual vintage of your braces can be likely determined by the trademarks. If you would describe the marks to me, I could likely give a ballpark estimate. There are three sweethear marks and then everything went to the knotched rectangle.

Hi Bob,

The three Canadian Stanleys I've got are all clearly marked on the chuck shell "Made in (SW) Canada"
The SW heart extends up into the Stanley name bar, deforming the AN and L. According to Stanley Trade Marks by Bob Kaune this logo was used in USA from 1919 -1921 and Canada 1922.
The No 921 14in has a H Cook (1909) ratchet selector while the two No 945 10in and 12in use the conventional exposed pawl ratchet.
They all use Charles Mitchells (1911) improved jaws, but, as everyone knows, dating a brace by its jaws is risky, as these are frequently damaged from over tightening, and replacements were commonly available.
As far as I can see, Stanley made in USA and UK far out number the Canadian made braces here in Australia.
Without further info I've tentatively dated my three as 1922.

Regards,
Geoff.

whilst on the subject of Stanley's from Canada I have been on a bit of a buying spree looking for nice No 7's and have acquired two planes. One is pre WW2 from Canada and the other is post WW2 from the UK.

The Canadian No 7 is narrower than the one made in the UK, the other thing that is very common in Canadian Stanley's is the smaller adjustment knob compared to the bigger knobs on the UK models. My next door neighbour has a Canadian model that is in superb condition and his has a small plastic knob!??

I find this history of Stanley's facinating.

Cheers

Milo

Hi. I have just been gifted a Stanley 55 Plane. Can you tell me how to determine its age?

Cheers

David

You should be able to get a rough handle on the age from the trade mark. Apart from that I would imagine consulting a book on Stanley 45's might be of some help as there is certainly a relationship between the two. To the best of my knowledge there has never been a type study of the 55 plane or, if there is, I would appreciate being directed to it. Dave Heckel told me the reason for a lack of type study was the difficulty of assembling a large enough sample. 45's are much more plentiful than 55's and also a lot cheaper so doing a type study is practical without going broke. Dave seems to be of the opinion the the changes in the 45 were also introduced in the 55. For example, the body of the 45 was beefed up a bit starting with the type 12 45 in approximately 1915. This is also reflected in the 55 as are changes in trademarks, fence adjusters etc.

Hi Bob,
What is the title of Dave Heckels book? Is it about Stanley in general or is it confined to plane types?
Sounds like it may be worth a read.

Regards,
Geoff.

Geoff,

The precise title is THE STANLEY "FORTY-FIVE" COMBINATION PLANE by David E. Heckel. I got my copy directly from Dave but I think it is still in print. I see it on Ebay now and again. It is basically an expansion of the type study in ANTIQUE & COLLECTIBLE STANLEY TOOLS by John Walter, which is now out of print and seems to sell for considerable dollars. That particular study was done by Roger K. Smith who is well known.

Thanks Bob,

Probably not my style of book....... not BORING enough.

Geoff.

Originally Posted by Milo

compared to the bigger knobs on the UK models. My next door neighbour has a Canadian model that is in superb condition and his has a small plastic knob

My mother _told_ me not to read this forum!

The first Canadian prime minister, John A Macdonald, implemented something called the National Policy. To spur the growth of manufacturing, essentially in Ontario and Quebec, high tariffs were maintained on American manufactured goods. This goes back to the years following Canada's creation in 1867, although I can't recall the year from my history studies. It worked, with the result that American companies set up operations in Canada and we became what was called a "branch plant economy." The American companies got access to the Canadian market, and since Canada enjoyed preferential tarrifs with Commenwealth countries it was a good deal all around.

Tarrif barriers lasted a long time, contributing to a robust auto industry among others.Tarrifs were greatly eased starting in the late 1980's with the signing of a free trade agreement.

I own Canadian, American and British made Stanleys. The Canadian ones seem to be pretty close to the US in terms of type, and I believe a certain percentage of American parts were allowed.

American made Stanley bench planes used plastic knobs during WW II.

Some used small metal adjusters, usually of metals other than brass.

jtk

It seems that information on the Stanley operation at Roxton Pond, Quebec is hard to come by. If anybody has any, I would appreciate it if they would share it with me.