June 28, 20187 yr I am trying to identify a plane I inherited from my Dad when he passed. The part on which the frog sits (is this called a boss?) is H shaped and has C 74 1/2 stamped on it. There is a 2 stamped in the base by the heel. A U is stamped on the frog on top and in the front, down close to the base. Made in USA in on the top of the base by the knob, and also on the iron. No markings on the cap iron. The sole is 14" long, with a 2" mouth. The only brass component appears to be the machine screw holding the tote to the base. The sole misses being square to the sides by maybe 1/32", but is flat along its' length, so if I am not using it on a shooting board, is this really an issue? I thought at first it might be an older Stanley, but my research indicated that the 74 was a floor plane, the only one they made for planing floors, with no mention of a 74 1/2, and actually nothing with a preceding C. Now I am thinking it is a cheaper brand that used a knock-off of the Stanley numbering system. Posting pictures now.
June 28, 20187 yr Hey Tom, typically on a Stanley series or other type of Bedrock style hand planes, the "C" would indicate a corrugated sole, is the surface of the plane corrugated, or in other words, grooves?
June 28, 20187 yr The "U" is from the casting mold. Same as the "74" Plane is from the late 1950s to about 1962, when Stanley crimped that wide "Whale's tail" down. Sometimes called a Type 21. But..this IS a Stanley #5. May be a Defiance line of planes. maybe a No. 1205 Edited June 28, 20187 yr by steven newman
June 28, 20187 yr Author Great. Thanks @steven newman and @John Morris. I appreciate the quick responses.
June 28, 20187 yr Author Popular Post This is the info I just found online. #5 Jack plane, 14"L, 2"W, 4 3/4lbs, 1869-1984. The standard jack plane that Stanley sold by the boatload. This is the most useful of all the bench planes, and it is a very good plane on which to learn technique. It is the first plane used on rough stock to prepare the surface prior to use of the jointer and smoother. Practically every John Q. Handyman had one of these planes, of one make or another, for household uses such as trimming a door or sash. Its iron is often ground slighty convex so that a heavy cut can be taken; the edges of it are rounded off so that it doesn't dig into the wood. Each and every woodworker, including the 'lectrical toolers of the world, should have this plane. The plane can serve several roles when one doesn't have all the other planes in his kit. It can do the surface preparation with its mouth set wide and a deep set to the iron, it can do smoothing with its mouth set narrow and a shallow set to the iron, and it can do jointing, although not as easily as the true jointers, the #7 and #8. Here is the website reference: http://www.supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan1.htm The author is Patrick Leach. The foreword to his website gives permission to use the info, as long as the website and he is given credit, so there it is. Thanks Patrick. Next question, given the above info, is can I grind the iron slightly convex and use it as a scrub plane, or am I better off buying a scrub plane?
June 29, 20187 yr The Woodwright's Shop.....Hand plane essentials, with Chris Schwarz...pbs. org Best 1/2 hour show showing all about planes...mainly the #5 "Fore" plane....
June 29, 20187 yr Author You already referred me to that video when I was asking about plane books. I did watch it, and it was very interesting. That is what prompted me to ask about scrub planes. But thanks again, appreciate it.
June 29, 20187 yr I have 4 jack planes, at least in the #5 size....each one is ground slightly different . From no camber to a 8" radius camber. One IS a scrub type plane, two are more for "fore plane" work..the 4th is for smooth plane work. For a single plane...I would merely round the corners just a tad, very, very shallow curve. You can then control how big of a chip it takes by how deep the cut is. Note: big, deep "gullets" across a board mean more work to flatten them out. Shallower cuts, at a diagonal to the grain work just as fast, and with less work smoothing the board. Go at a diagonal to the grain for the length of the board, come back with the plane cutting at 90 degrees to the first cuts. Then back the iron a little bit, and plane straight with the grain. Then follow up with a #3 or #4 with the grain to have the board finish ready.
March 1, 20206 yr Looking at the pics it would appear you have a later Defiance 1205, the giveaway being the lever-cap which seems to unique on Stanley's cheaper brands like the Defiance, Handyman, and Eclipse ( The Defiance line rebranded and sold by Montgomery Wards and Co. ) planes. These lacked the "springboard" under the lever-cap and had the angled edges, if you flip the lever-cap over you can see a divet where they intended? to put the rivet for the springboard. Here's my research on these particular planes, which are great because while they're not highly collectible they're perfectly in my budget.... https://idlehandsworkshop.info/resources/woodworking/stanley-defiance-planes/
March 2, 20206 yr this link https://idlehandsworkshop.info/resources/woodworking/stanley-defiance-planes/ points to this page https://thepatriotwoodworker.com/forums/topic/22803-my-dads-plane/
March 3, 20206 yr Let's try this again then... https://idlehandsworkshop.info/resources/woodworking/stanley-defiance-planes/
March 8, 20206 yr Author On 3/2/2020 at 10:33 PM, The Idle Hands Workshop said: Let's try this again then... https://idlehandsworkshop.info/resources/woodworking/stanley-defiance-planes/ Stephen, thanks for researching this, almost 2 years after my original post. And I appreciate you posting the info. The cap iron doesn't have the branding shown in your reference, but of course it could have been replaced, or the branding could have worn off. Thanks again for the info.
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