# 14" Blue hand plane - who made this?



## gideon (May 26, 2010)

Just picked this nice piece up. a little surface grime and rust but it's in great shape and looks to be pretty nice quality. the only marking on it are "Made in USA". 

So, anybody know who made it?


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Calling Joe... Calling Joe...

lol, I have a guess but I know as soon as I answer Joe will make me feel like a dummy :laughing:

~tom "Ignorance is not a lack of intelligence - it's a lack of know-how"


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## joesbucketorust (Dec 13, 2011)

Sorry, I like/love/crave old tools, but I don't know it all. Sorry if I stepped on toes? 
As for this one - I dunno. Generic Made in USA with the folded lateral lever could be just about anyone. Maybe even a Stanley since towards the end they made a lot of stuff they were too embarrassed to put their name to. Any casting #s under the lever cap or frog might give a clue as to who made it, but that wouldn't guarantee who sold it.


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

I think Firemedic was just bowing to your breadth of knowledge.


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

joesbucketorust said:


> Sorry, I like/love/crave old tools, but I don't know it all. Sorry if I stepped on toes?
> As for this one - I dunno. Generic Made in USA with the folded lateral lever could be just about anyone. Maybe even a Stanley since towards the end they made a lot of stuff they were too embarrassed to put their name to. Any casting #s under the lever cap or frog might give a clue as to who made it, but that wouldn't guarantee who sold it.


My guess was a MF's made "Craftsman" with the wrong lever cap...

I in NO way have any contention towards ya Joe! Your the man with this stuff! I was indeed bowing to your expertise! 

I'm not quite that vain :laughing:

~tom "Ignorance is not a lack of intelligence - it's a lack of know-how"


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## joesbucketorust (Dec 13, 2011)

firemedic said:


> My guess was a MF's made "Craftsman" with the wrong lever cap...


Always a possibility, but Craftsman liked marking a # somewhere on the plane, usually on the side of the body or on the cutter. Except for that one real generic plane with the red lever cap that just says SEARS in black paint. But if the lever cap is wrong, that would explain it. 

For the rest - sorry, I am having the [email protected] day possible. All I wanted to do is remove two pieces from my new lathe - the chuck and the cross slide. 11 hours in, I'm 0 for 2, but did manage to track 50 year old lathe grease and swarf across the just-professionally-cleaned carpet.


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## joe bailey (Dec 15, 2011)

That lateral adjusting lever has "Sargent" written all over it (figuratively speaking). That does not preclude it from being a Craftsman, for whom Sargent was a manufacturer.


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## joesbucketorust (Dec 13, 2011)

Here's a folded lateral on a Stanley (with plastic handles and a tinfoil cutter).
And another one on a minty Millers Falls made for the Army (actually that's a twisted one - a lot of the MF are twisted). 
And a few others - Stanley Defiance (the newer cheaper one), just plain Made in USA, not enough info, not enough info, and a folded lateral that has a Stanley lever cap, but the bed is Sargent (no idea where the frog came from.)
Unless there's something else on the plane to say otherwise, I translate folded laterals to mean lower quality. I'm not saying it's a Pinto, just not a Rolls Royce.


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## joe bailey (Dec 15, 2011)

Joe -
Only the first of your photos shows an inverted U-shape like the original post. The rest appear to be inverted "V"s - and widely splayed at that.
Every Millers Falls plane I ever handled has only a single tab twisted downward. 
And, while trying to round up more photos for a look-see, I came across this from Walt Q over at BrassCity:
http://www.brasscityrecords.com/toolworks/graphics/plane id.html


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

joe bailey said:


> Joe -
> Only the first of your photos shows an inverted U-shape like the original post. The rest appear to be inverted "V"s - and widely splayed at that.
> Every Millers Falls plane I ever handled has only a single tab twisted downward.
> And, while trying to round up more photos for a look-see, I came across this from Walt Q over at BrassCity:
> http://www.brasscityrecords.com/toolworks/graphics/plane%20id.html


That's interesting. I'm not certain it is completely accurate though...? I think I may have a Bailey with a 'u' lever...? I'll have to look tomorrow.

It's a 6 I think...

This is all quite fascinating!

~tom "Ignorance is not a lack of intelligence - it's a lack of know-how"


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## joesbucketorust (Dec 13, 2011)

Yes you're correct - the others are more of a V. But that first pic was a stanley. Says so on the cutter, the lever cap, and the toe. (right in front of the ugliest plastic knob you've ever seen.) So once we hit the disco era all bets were off. 

MF isn't the only one to do the twisted lateral. The Keen Kutters made by Stanley have them, as do the four-square jack (#1105). I know that for certain, both are sitting by my desk right now.

Something I've found with Sargent produced planes is that even when they made them for someone else, they were too lazy to remove the model # from under the lever cap. Everytime I see a Craftsman block plane I flip over the cap to see if it says 306/307/5306 etc.


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## joe bailey (Dec 15, 2011)

Joe - your clarification re the age of the plane is most relevant -- I just automatically assume we're talking pre-1960 models.
Just a few minutes ago, while making my nightly rounds, I came across a listing on that auction site. Here's the item number:
250966303632
Note that this one says MADE IN CAN" where OP's says "USA". Note also the funky japanning color, and most of all, note that the reinforcing rib behind the front knob is scalloped like the OPs. I think you hit it with your "Defiance" guess.

It would be interesting to know the frog color on OP's plane.
Maybe red?


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## gideon (May 26, 2010)

This came in with some power tools from the 1960's from the same estate. I have the power tools listed in in the classifieds section.

Under the cap, it says "U". On the frog, it says "U7".


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

firemedic said:


> That's interesting. I'm not certain it is completely accurate though...? I think I may have a Bailey with a 'u' lever...? I'll have to look tomorrow.
> 
> It's a 6 I think...
> 
> ...


I was incorrect. I was unable to find any planes in my collection with the folded U. I must have been thinking off the dog eared Union I have.

~tom "Ignorance is not a lack of intelligence - it's a lack of know-how"


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## gideon (May 26, 2010)

any verdict on the maker of this one?


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## joe bailey (Dec 15, 2011)

A verdict, such as reached by a jury? Then, no.

But the available clues point to it being a lower-end Stanley product ("Defiance", "Victor", "Handyman")


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