Results 1 to 10 of 10

Thread: Length of Stanley #3 planes?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Location
    Edmond, Oklahoma
    Posts
    1,749

    Length of Stanley #3 planes?

    As mentioned in the earlier post by Peter Joseph , I mentioned that I have 3 bases for #3 Stanley planes, all just happen to be Bedrock planes. The lengths are 8&5/8" for two of them and 8&3/4" for the other one.

    However, "the Superior Works, Patrick's Blood and Gore" site lists the length of a Bailey #3 as 8." My #3 planes are Bedrocks not Baileys, so I have no #3 Baileys to measure. (Other Stanley planes I have are Baileys, but not my #3s.)

    My question is "what lengths are the Stanley #3 Bailey's and 603 Bedrocks you have. Are any of them actually 8"s long? I have read that the length of the Stanley planes varied from time to time.

    For what it's worth, all of them are nearly as long as my #4s. Also, for what it's worth, my understanding is that you do not count the length of raised area at the heel that supports the back end of the Tote. You only measure the length of the area that is all on the same flat.

    Please understand I am not casting any doubt on the Blood and Gore site, it is one of my favorite ones on Stanley planes, what I am saying, however is that the planes seem to vary in length over the years.

    Thanks and regards,

    Stew
    Last edited by Stew Denton; 11-14-2017 at 9:21 PM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Longview WA
    Posts
    27,347
    Blog Entries
    1
    Yes, the planes did vary in length.

    Let me go out to the shop and measure mine.

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

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Longview WA
    Posts
    27,347
    Blog Entries
    1
    All my #3 Stanley/Bailey planes measured 8-3/4" except one measuring 8-11/16".

    My Millers Falls plane of the same size measured approximately the same.

    This was measured from toe to heal and not counting the extension on the casting for the tote. All the Stanley/Bailey planes had this slightly elevated from the sole. The Millers Falls plane had this at the same level as the sole.

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

  4. #4
    My #3 Stanley-Bailey is 8-3/4", "measured from toe to heal and not counting the extension on the casting for the tote", as Jim said.

    Fred
    Last edited by Frederick Skelly; 11-15-2017 at 6:38 AM.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Shorewood, WI
    Posts
    897
    My sweetheart era #3 Bailey is also 8 3/4" toe to heel excluding casting extension for the tote. If I measure it corner to corner along the edge, it's 8 1/16". A #3 sized Sargent has the extension for the tote down at the same level as the sole, so the length is 8 7/8" overall (and precisely 8" along the edge).
    Last edited by Alan Schwabacher; 11-15-2017 at 6:12 PM.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    twomiles from the "peak of Ohio
    Posts
    12,120
    Anyone else notice that the bases on Stanley planes grew a bit longer over time? Say a type 2-5, vs a type 11 onwards?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    Dublin, CA
    Posts
    4,119
    Quote Originally Posted by Stew Denton View Post
    Please understand I am not casting any doubt on the Blood and Gore site, it is one of my favorite ones on Stanley planes, what I am saying, however is that the planes seem to vary in length over the years.
    Blood and Gore can't be wrong. As we all know, people with its author's name always speak infallibly.

    P.S. As others have said Stanley planes varied like crazy. Also, B&G can be wrong. IMO it's impossible to produce a reference that comprehensive without messing *something* up.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Location
    Edmond, Oklahoma
    Posts
    1,749
    Steven,

    I have never looked at the lengths of my other size planes. I only measured the #3s, because one of the books on planes mentions that the #3s can get in and plane low spots that the #4s cannot reach due to the larger size of the #4s. So I bought another brand of plane that was supposedly a #3 size, and it did have a 1&3/4 inch wide iron, but was almost as long as my Stanley Bailey #4s. Then I bought a Stanley size #3, and it too was not markedly shorter than my #4s.

    After buying the #3s, I found myself wondering how a plane only 1/4 inch to at most MAYBE 1/2 inch shorter than the #4s could get into low spots to smooth them that the #4s could not do. I am now thinking the author of the book may have been referring to the width of the #3s, not the length, but can't check the book because it is with my younger son in law. What ever the reason, I trust the author completely because of his long experience and believe that he is writing the truth, but because of the close sizes of the two sizes of planes it didn't seem reasonable to me, and i wondered how it was the case.

    This, and the other post I alluded to above, is what brought up the topic in my mind. From what you are saying, maybe this should have been a wider topic, and have made it about the length of Stanley planes of every size versus the type number of the plane.

    I don't know, but I too am thinking that a while back someone else has mentioned that the lengths of all of Baileys vary some.

    At any rate, good comments. I am not sure of the significance of the lengths on the planes, but because of interest of people like yourself, Jim, me, and others, in the old Stanley and other brands of planes, I think the changes in lengths are interesting to us.

    At any rate, again, good point.

    Thanks and regards,

    Stew
    Last edited by Stew Denton; 11-15-2017 at 11:35 PM.

  9. #9
    One significance of length is handle size. My Clifton is longer than my Lie Nielsen with the tote a little further from the frog. The Clifton tote is a little taller and fits my hand. The Lie Nielsen tote is a little too small for my average hands.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    twomiles from the "peak of Ohio
    Posts
    12,120
    Not just changes in length, there were changes in width over the years. Like the Stanley #5-1/2 that went from using the 2-1/4" wide iron, to the later ones with a 2-3/8" wide iron. Some of the #4 planes were getting pretty close to 10" in length. Millers Falls No. 9 was 9" long....but so was the #8, even though it was a Stanley #3 sized plane. ( have one of each in the shop) and they are both shorter than the Stanley #4s I have.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •