A plane question..

[steven c newman]

Latest plane to hit my shop, is "Companion" #4....The Question? Why does it look like a Handyman #4? The main difference so far is in the adjuster wheels..SDC14051.jpgCompanion wheel is on the left, Handyman is on the right. Painted wood handles are the same..SDC14059.jpgSDC14058.jpgBases are the same. Did "Handyman" brand get phased out, only to become Sears' Companion brand? I did notice that the mouth on the Companion plane can close up very tight..SDC14055.jpgI can also make some decent shavings in old QSWO..SDC14056.jpg Twins?? Or, just the "next generation"???SDC14057.jpg

[steven c newman]

Ok, by the numbers on the "Companion #4" plane:Under the frog is "C73", Frog has two sets, a "C44" and a U5, Levr cap is a bit complicated there is a "Main Number' of C373A, with a "1" below the "C", and an "X" below the "A". Iron is stamped with an oval, with the word "COMPANION" insuide it. There is also a Sears part Number, 137.37053 followed by a "DD". The adjuster wheel can interchange with the handyman wheel. handles are the same. plane does have a nice solid ( not loose, like a "Corsair") feel to it. Very little back lash, either. begining to wonder which was the "better" plane....

[Jim Koepke]

They both seem to have the Stanley look to them. It may just be copy cat work.

Here is what a quick search found:

http://vintagemachinery.org/mfgindex/detail.aspx?id=222

jtk

[Jim Koepke]

The 137 at the beginning of the number indicates it was made by Rexon.

Not sure how accurate the list may be, here is the source for the list:

http://vintagemachinery.org/Craftsma...rs.aspx?sort=1

jtk

[steven c newman]

Maybe a Rexon iron? The rest of the parts i can switch back and forth with the #4 handyman. Even the threads match. I can get the mouth closed up fairly tight on the Companion , though. maybe same assembly line? base also looks like what Stanley was selling as a Victor line, just with a Gray paint for the Handyman/ Victor, and Black for the Companion? Would like to find out IF there was any paint in the logo on the lever cap? Blue? Red? ( nah, that was for Handyman logos) Black?


If the Companion line ended in 1941 ( other than the revived JUNK of today) would this be at least that old?

[Jim Koepke]

Maybe a Rexon iron? The rest of the parts i can switch back and forth with the #4 handyman. Even the threads match. I can get the mouth closed up fairly tight on the Companion , though. maybe same assembly line? base also looks like what Stanley was selling as a Victor line, just with a Gray paint for the Handyman/ Victor, and Black for the Companion? Would like to find out IF there was any paint in the logo on the lever cap? Blue? Red? ( nah, that was for Handyman logos) Black?


If the Companion line ended in 1941 ( other than the revived JUNK of today) would this be at least that old?

Can't be sure of anything in the private badge world of retailing. You may have a case of a plane someone else put together from parts on hand. Some of my Stanley planes have arrived with a Sargent lever cap.

Do you have a thread gauge to see if the threads are common pitch or Stanley odd?

My knowledge of planes outside of the Stanley/Bailey line is very limited. My intent was not to be a plane expert on all of the makers products. This is one of the reasons almost all of my planes are made by Stanley. Except for a few odd parts, almost all of my spare parts are for Stanley planes. The more brands of planes one has, the more odd ball spare parts one will eventually end up with in their accumulation.

jtk

[steven c newman]

These are Stanley threaded bolts. I tried these out on a couple of my other, known to be Stanleys, yep, they fit. As for the wheel in back, I have a Handyman style wheel, and can exchange that for the "Millers Falls" style one. Or, did Stanley go to a solid style wheel late in life.

[steven c newman]

My handplanes fall into two makers, right now ( sold off everything else) in that they are either by stanley or Union for the Bench planes. Block planes are a different matter, all together...

[Jim Koepke]

Or, did Stanley go to a solid style wheel late in life.

My mind is a blank on this.

jtk

[Randal Stevenson]

Vintage machinery started out as old woodworking MACHINES. Personally, my experience has been that their prefix's may be correct on machines, but not so much hand tools.
Stanley, and Sargent are both known for making planes for Sears at different times, and I think they weren't the only ones (remembering a post that showed the blade adjustment levers for id purposes). Sears contracts people to make things for them and they use names they owned, like Companion. It wouldn't surprise me for them to want a different knob, just because they could (could have been slightly cheaper, product differentiation, etc). Handyman's, were a lower end Stanley line, AFAIK, that you were likely to find in the neighborhood hardware stores, etc.
Just my $.02

[steven c newman]

Thinking about a colour to add to the lever cap, just to set off the name a bit. Craftsman were either a dark blue on the lever cap logo, or they were all red. Companion tools? I might just add a black colour in the logo. The iron is very good on this plane, and I can close up the mouth quite tight. See through shavings with this plane are very possible. I was using it as a small (Very small) jointer on some old, dry QSWO the other day. Made some very nice thin shavings the full width of the board I was using as a test track. I think Stanley may have called these a "Budget line" but the quality is still there. Since the "old' Companion Line" went out about 1941, would that "date" this plane? Yes, Craftsman/ Sears has a Companion Line of tools now, but they are NOT the same as back then, what is sold now........J.U.N.K.! I can get the same "class" of toys at Odd Lots Stores...