Bench&Brace

Dating guide

Stanley Bailey Bench Plane Type Study

Stanley never published a type study. It was reconstructed by collectors from dated catalogues, patent dates cast into the metal, and thousands of observed planes. The type numbers are a collector's convention, not a Stanley part number, and the date ranges are approximate on purpose. Stanley used up old stock: a plane assembled in 1911 from a 1908 casting and a 1912 iron is not a fake, it is a Tuesday. Date a plane by the oldest feature on its body casting, treat the iron and hardware as separately dateable parts, and expect a window of a few years rather than a year.

  • 1867–1967
  • 20 types

How to use it

  1. Work from the body casting first. Knobs, totes, irons and lever caps get swapped over a century of use; the casting does not.
  2. Read the area behind the frog. The presence and number of patent dates there is the single fastest discriminator between 1900 and 1920.
  3. Check the toe for 'BAILEY' and the bed for 'STANLEY' and 'MADE IN USA'. Each of these appeared once and never went away, so each sets a hard earliest date.
  4. Then use knob shape and the frog adjusting screw to narrow the window.
  5. Finally sanity-check the iron logo against the body date. A mismatch is common and usually means a replaced iron, not a rare variant.

The types at a glance

TypeYearsFastest tell
Type 1 1867–1869 No lateral adjustment lever
Type 2 1869–1872 No lateral adjustment lever
Type 3 1872–1873 No lateral adjustment lever
Type 4 1874–1884 No lateral adjustment lever
Type 5 1885–1888 First type with a lateral adjustment lever
Type 6 1888–1892 Lateral lever present
Type 7 1893–1899 Lateral lever with a twisted end
Type 8 1899–1902 Still no 'BAILEY' on the toe
Type 9 1902–1907 'BAILEY' cast into the toe for the first time
Type 10 1907–1909 Frog adjusting screw appears behind the frog
Type 11 1910–1918 Three patent dates cast into the bed behind the frog
Type 12 1919–1924 Patent dates still behind the frog
Type 13 1925–1928 Tall knob replaces the low knob
Type 14 1929–1930 Tall knob, flat seat, Sweetheart iron
Type 15 1931–1932 'MADE IN USA' first cast into the bed
Type 16 1933–1941 Raised ring cast around the knob seat
Type 17 1942–1945 Stained hardwood knob and tote instead of rosewood
Type 18 1946–1947 Return to brass depth nut and better finish
Type 19 1948–1961 Long post-war run
Type 20 1962–1967 Kidney-shaped hole in the lever cap

Dating marks at a glance

Every mark below appeared or disappeared once and then stayed that way, which is what makes it useful. Read them off the body casting, not the knob, tote or iron - those get replaced. "Earliest" means the plane cannot be older than that year; "latest" means it cannot be newer; "window" means the feature was only ever present between those dates.

FeatureWhereYears BoundsWhat it means
No lateral adjustment lever at all Behind the frog, above the depth adjuster 1867–1884 latest The lateral lever arrived in 1885 and never left. Its absence is the single strongest early indicator on a Bailey. high
Lateral adjustment lever present Behind the frog, above the depth adjuster 1885–1967 earliest Introduced 1885. Present on everything afterwards, so it rules out the four earliest types. high
'BAILEY' cast into the toe, ahead of the knob Top of the casting in front of the knob 1902–1967 earliest First appears in 1902 and stays. If the toe is blank, the plane is 1901 or earlier. high
Toe is blank - no 'BAILEY' Top of the casting in front of the knob 1867–1901 latest Sets a hard ceiling of 1901. high
'MADE IN USA' cast into the bed Cast into the bed, usually behind or beside the frog 1931–1967 earliest Appears in 1931 and stays. Its absence puts the plane at 1930 or earlier. high
Frog adjusting screw behind the frog Small screw at the rear of the frog, engaging a fork 1907–1967 earliest Introduced 1907 so you could close the mouth without unseating the frog. Present on everything afterwards. high
No frog adjusting screw Rear of the frog 1867–1906 latest Sets a ceiling of 1906. Combined with 'BAILEY' on the toe it pins a plane to 1902-1906. high
Three patent dates cast into the bed behind the frog Bed casting behind the frog 1910–1918 window Usually read as APR-19-92, MAR-25-02, AUG-19-02. A Type 11 signature and the quickest way to spot a 1910s plane. high
Low, squat front knob Front of the plane 1867–1924 latest The tall knob replaced the low knob in 1925, so a low knob caps the plane at 1924 - provided the knob is original to the plane. Knobs are swapped more often than any other part. Confirm against the body castings. high
Tall front knob Front of the plane 1925–1967 earliest Introduced 1925. Knobs are swapped more often than any other part. high
Raised cast ring around the knob seat Where the knob meets the casting 1933–1967 earliest Appears in 1933 and stays. 'MADE IN USA present but no raised ring' is the tight 1931-1932 window. high
Flat knob seat, no raised ring Where the knob meets the casting 1867–1932 latest Caps the plane at 1932. high
'SW' inside a heart (Sweetheart logo) on the iron Stamped or etched on the cutting iron 1920–1935 window The Sweetheart trademark, in use roughly 1920 to 1935. It dates the iron, not the body - a Sweetheart iron in a 1950s plane just means someone fitted a better iron. high
'STANLEY' in a notched rectangle on the iron Stamped on the cutting iron 1922–1935 window Overlaps the Sweetheart period. Dates the iron only. medium
'V' logo on the iron Stamped on the cutting iron 1909–1912 window A short-lived iron marking, useful for confirming a Type 11 body has its original iron. medium
'STANLEY RULE & LEVEL CO.' on the iron Stamped on the cutting iron 1867–1920 latest Stanley Rule & Level merged into The Stanley Works in 1920, so this name on an iron caps it at roughly then. Dates the iron only. high
Kidney-shaped hole in the lever cap The lever cap 1962–1990 earliest 1962 onward. The conventional end of the collectable era and the easiest single feature to spot in a photo. high
Stained hardwood knob and tote, not rosewood Knob and tote 1942–1967 earliest War material substitution from 1942. Rosewood does not come back for general production. Judge by end grain and weight, not colour - stain fooled people then and still does. medium
Steel depth adjustment nut (not brass) The knurled wheel below the frog 1942–1945 window A war substitution. Brass returns afterwards, so a steel nut with otherwise pre-war features is a strong Type 17 signal. medium
Blue or grey paint rather than black japanning Inside the body casting 1962–1990 earliest Japanning is a hard, slightly glossy black lacquer that chips; later paint is flatter and thinner. Once you have seen both they are easy to tell apart. medium
Plastic knob and tote Knob and tote 1962–1990 earliest Tap them - plastic sounds and feels obviously different from wood, and shows mould seams. high
'STANLEY' cast into the bed Cast into the bed, behind the frog 1888–1967 earliest Appears around 1888 and stays. medium
'BED ROCK' cast into the toe Top of the casting in front of the knob 1898–1943 window Identifies the plane as a Bedrock rather than a Bailey. The Bedrock line ran 1898-1943, so this alone brackets the plane. high
Bedrock with rounded sides at the top edge Side profile of the body casting 1898–1911 window Bedrocks changed from rounded to flat-topped sides around 1911. Round-sided examples are earlier and worth more. medium

Caveats that matter

  • Type numbers are a collector convention. Stanley never used them and no Stanley document defines them.
  • Overlap between types is normal. Parts bins were emptied before new parts were used, so a plane can carry features of two adjacent types.
  • Every date in this study is approximate to within a couple of years, and the very early types (1-4) are the least certain.
  • Patent dates cast into the metal set the earliest possible date of manufacture and nothing else. A 1902 patent date can appear on a plane made in 1918.
  • The type study describes standard-production bench planes. Bedrocks, transitionals and specialty planes have their own sequences and only partly follow this one.

Sources