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Thread: Did Stanley ever make red cap irons?

  1. #1
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    Did Stanley ever make red cap irons?

    I have what I think is a type 7 no. 8 and the cap is painted a fire-engine red with nothing stamped on the front. I believe the paint is factory original. Is this somethigng Stanley ever did?

  2. #2
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    To clarify: I am talking about the lever cap, not the chipbreaker.

  3. #3
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    Zach,

    As always, pictures would help. It could have been a plane made by Stanley as a private label item.

    What makes you feel it is original?

    I know workers in cabinet shops would often mark their planes and other tools so they wouldn't end up in someone else's tool box.

    jim
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  4. #4
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    I thought it was original just because of how well it is done. There is no overspray and the edges are perfect.
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  5. #5
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    I don't think it's original. For a time, Stanley produced planes with red painted frog. Many of them have paint flaking or chipped off, some of them pretty cleanly. Whilst it's not frog, same thing probably would've happened. If your plane is Stanley, that's one of the earlier ones (type 6, 7 or 8?), paint should be pretty much gone by now, especially for a part that gets touched and worked a lot like lever cap. If you look at where keyhole is, the part where lever cap screw engages isn't worn at all. It may have been done quite recently, at least as late as it was left to be stored.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sam Takeuchi View Post
    I don't think it's original. For a time, Stanley produced planes with red painted frog. Many of them have paint flaking or chipped off, some of them pretty cleanly. Whilst it's not frog, same thing probably would've happened. If your plane is Stanley, that's one of the earlier ones (type 6, 7 or 8?), paint should be pretty much gone by now, especially for a part that gets touched and worked a lot like lever cap. If you look at where keyhole is, the part where lever cap screw engages isn't worn at all. It may have been done quite recently, at least as late as it was left to be stored.
    I know Stanley used an orange frog, and Millers Falls had red frogs. I didn't know Stanley had produced red frogs.

    Never seen a red lever cap. I'm guessing that it was painted as an owners mark.

  7. #7
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    Some lazier companies painted their lever caps black, or japanned them, and some polished them. Japanning may have saved a few steps. Eclipse and Shelburne are two that come to mind. Shelburne painted their orange and black. If i remember correctly, It was painted black first, and the top third or so was dipped in orange paint.

    That orange lever cap you've got looks like it happened after the fact, but I could be wrong. Try some different solvents on it.

  8. #8
    Some of the handyman planes had red lever caps, but not of that style, and certainly not in #8 size.

    I agree with the above that someone painted it to make it obvious it was theirs.

  9. #9
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    Thanks for the insight. I got this plane on ebay for next to nothing because the seller listed no information about it. It was a gamble on my part that I think will pay off, as it seems like a good user. I went through the Patrick Leech flowchart and according to that it is a type 7 with one inconsistency--the "no." and the "8" are right next to each other, not spaced 1 inch apart. The thing I thought was weirdest about it is the curvature on the back of the frog. There are no "Stanley" or "Bailey" markings on the body, but there is a "Stanley" mark and patent dates on the lateral adjuster and I cannot imagine that any other body would fit that screwy shaped frog.

    The japanning on it is only about %75. It has definitely seen better days, but there are no cracks and only very slight pitting. The Japanning has a dull, matte texture. Is this a result of age or was it how these earlier planes were finished? I think this is the oldest plane I have ever handled and it definately has a different feel.

    Is there any reason to not re-paint and do all the things I like to do cosmetically to planes? In its condition I have to assume it has no collector value.

  10. #10
    It's common enough that you can do whatever you want to it without worrying about value.

    If you aren't certain you want to redo the japanning, you may want to try giving it a soap and water bath and brushing some shellac (the stuff you can get at home depot is fine) on it with a foam brush to see what it looks like.

    There's usually no real monetary reward for renewing the japanning on a plane unless you really do the whole plane up nice, including shining up the brass bits on it and really getting after the metal surfaces to make them look new - and that's a waste of time.

    I'd strip that lever cap, though, and just buff whatever is left with some auto polish, or if you want, brush on and rub out some lacquer like it had when it was new.

    There are a lot of ways to spend a lot of time and money on planes, and most of them don't add any real monetary value or practical use improvement.

    A quick scrub, dry and shellac is my "good and cheap" way to get them looking a little nicer, and get the bare metal on the top of the casting protected from rust. Shellac can always be taken off later without removing japanning if you want to, too.

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