My dad recently sent me some old tools that belonged to other members of my family. I'm looking for help identifying these tools.The first is a steel plane with no markings except "MADE IN USA". The shoe is 9.5" by 2.5".
[OP]
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My dad recently sent me some old tools that belonged to other members of my family. I'm looking for help identifying these tools.The first is a steel plane with no markings except "MADE IN USA". The shoe is 9.5" by 2.5".
[OP]
Member
The second is much smaller. It is 6.5" by 2" and has a sticker that says Stanley Handyman.
[OP]
Member
The third has a wooden shoe and measures 14.5" by 2". It also has no markings on it that I can see.
[OP]
Member
The final plane is a metal shoe plane that is about 16" by 2.5" and has a gooved bottom. It also says "UNION" on the blade holder.
By the looks of the construction and pieces on each of the planes, they all seem to be similar (exception Stanley Handyman) which leads me to believe that they are all Union planes.
These planes are in rough shape but they were free and were apparently used by my grandparents back in the day. I figure restoring these and then learning how to actually use a hand plane will give me a project for the next few weeks. I'm more of a power tool guy, so this will be something new. Any help you can provide will be much appreciated!
Last edited by Chris Ambroson; 06-25-2010 at 7:06 PM.
Member
first one is a Sargent No. 409 smoother, equivalent to a stanley No. 9
third is a transitional union jack plane, probably a no. 26
last is also a union corrugated jack plane equivalent to a stanley 5C.
There are lots of discussions around here about rust removal. I prefer using evaporust since its so easy and fast.
Contributor
The first plane looks like a Defiance by Stanley, one of their less expensive lines of planes. It should have Defiance or Made In USA stamped at the top of the iron (blade). I second the use of Evaporust for rust removal. It is fairly fast and safe. It will be a little work, but you should be able to get the planes cleaned up and put to work. Search the posts of this forum for advice, there are many threads on plane cleaning and tuning.
[OP]
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Wow, the knowledge base from this website never ceases to amaze me... Thanks!
Member
hi chris,
you should be able to identify most of the planes with a bit of a cleaning. a lot of the times, the maker put their name on the top portion of the cutter. i find that a fine wire wheel mounted in a bench grinder works well at removing rust. lubricate the piece with a little wd40 before you attack.
the longer all metal union plane looks promising, they usually had thicker blades than stanley.
the first plane you pictured might be an eclipse. it is a plane that matches the defiance. again, a wire wheel on the upper portion of the cutter (above the center slot) will reveal who made it. if you disassemble it, it should have a number on the bed, under the frog, that starts with a C.
in my opinion the best plane you have there is the union all metal plane, and it might be good to put the most effort into that one. Union made outstanding planes and i am certain that you can get that one to work quite well.
[OP]
Member
I just finished working on the first plane from the series. After cleaning the pieces, I found a few defining marks. C73 is stamped under the frog. 4 is stamped at the back of the base under the tote. 116 is stamped on the underside of the lever cap. The iron just says MADE IN USA but it's probably a replacement iron. From everything I've looked up online, I think this is a Stanley Defiance No. 4.
I think this plane turned out fairly well for my first attempt. I think the small red plane is next and then on to the big steely. My dad heard about what I was doing with this and now he wants me to attack his collection.
Member
it looks great!
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