Talk about a dumb ?.....

[Bill White]

I have the small old Stanley bull nose plane. Yeah, right....good paper weight, etc.
Is it bevel up or down? DUH!!!!!
Bill

[Bill Houghton]

There aren't dumb questions, of course.

Two rules of thumb:

1. If the manufacturer's mark is visible on the (cutting) iron ("blade," "cutter," etc.), at the top, it should be visible when the iron is properly installed.

2. Planes on which the iron is installed/bedded at 45 degrees or higher are bevel down*. Planes on which the iron is bedded at a lower angle, like 20 degrees or lower, are bevel up. There are very few modern planes with bedding angles in the range between 45 degrees or so and 20 degrees; if you find an older one like this (I have a miter plane on which the iron is bedded at 35 degrees), you'll have to experiment and use your best judgment.

If you think about it, this makes sense. You can't sharpen an iron much more acutely than 25 degrees, or the edge will crumble in use. When you get down to 20-degree bedding, if you put the iron in bevel down, the heel would drag and you couldn't cut.

I take it you own an example of the infamous Stanley 75. These planes are mostly useful for inspiring people to buy better bullnose planes; but, if you use it infrequently, and get the iron atom-splitting sharp, you might find it adequate. My problem in using mine (which I bought new, for a price that, had I but known, would have purchased me a Stanley 90J, a far better plane) was/is that I couldn't find a way to grip it that didn't hurt. Specifically, the top of the iron jabbed into my hand, however I gripped it. I made a palm rest for the back - cut a chunk of maple to fit the back of the plane body, rounded and sanded a shape on it, and fastened it on with a woodscrew through a hole I drilled in the body. It does not improve the plane's looks, but it's now tolerably usable.

Stanley 75 with palm rest.jpg

*A few high-end makers of wooden planes are designing their planes now so that the iron can be flipped over and the plane used as a scraper. These are exceptions to this rule; but, if you owned one of these planes, you would already know that.

[Bill White]

Bill, that's the one, and thanks. It is now showing the maker's mark up.
Actually, I have used the little feller on a couple of projects with pretty good results. Not a barn burner, but it will work (better now).
I like your mods. Any more pics about the palm rest possible?
Thanks.
Bill

[Bill Houghton]

That was the only picture I ever took. The rest's not that complicated: trace the shape of the body onto a piece of paper, draw the angle to accommodate the iron; transfer that to a chunk of 4/4 (3/4" or 7/8" actual) hardwood of some kind, and cut it out. Rasp and sand the shape on the back.

[Bob Jones]

One of those was the first plane I ever bought. It was terrible. It is a wonder that I ever bought any more...