I have parts from what I believe to be from a Stanley no. 1 plane. The plane belonged to my grandfather, who was born in 1866. He was a finish carpenter doing mostly church interiors but also worked on the Pierre du Pont mansion at Longwood Gardens at Kennett Square, PA. I have direct provenance for this item. I was going to sell this to someone who needed parts but in researching I came up with some odd questions. See the included pictures. The frog, levercap, and tote appear to be regular Stanley items. The frog and levercap have the B in the casting. The adjustment screw comes straight out the back of the frog and the tote is the old rosewood. Note on the tote the initials JRE scratched into the side. My grandfather (John Ross Ewing) always marked his tools, either with his initials or his name stamped into the tool. The blade and chip breaker are my questions. The blade has the screw hole at the top instead of toward the cutting edge. Also note that the blade seems to have been well used as there is not much left. This was a working plane. Then there is the chip breaker. Stamped in the breaker is “L. BAILEY’S PATENT DEC 24 1887”. My grandfather would have entered his trade sometime shortly before this. I looked at Bailey’s patents and could find none for 1887. Also Dec 24, 1887 was a Saturday and patents were apparently given on Tuesday. Can anyone help. Thank you.
Note: I can only post 5 photos. If you need more, let me know.
Replies
http://www.supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan1.htm
I assume those are the only parts you have? How wide, exactly, are the blade and frog?
The date you see is Dec 24, 1867, not 1887. That is likely from a Type 1 plane, not necessarily a # 1.
The frog and iron are 1 1/4 in. Wide. Your right the date is 1867. I needed a jewelers loop to see it well. I have never seen any comments about a stamp on a chip breaker, only the blade.
Here are some more pictures. These are all the parts I have. It came to me in a tool box. I have no idea what happened to the body, I assume it broke. There were other parts from tools that he hung on to.
It's most likely a Type 1, the earliest production, but you can't say for sure with the body missing. I don't know as much about the really early planes, but the blade doesn't look right. I've never seen a rounded top on a Stanley bench plane iron.
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