Bench&Brace

Stanley bench plane type study

Stanley Type 17 (1942–1945)

Stained hardwood knob and tote instead of rosewood. Steel depth adjustment nut instead of brass. Generally rougher finish.

  • 1942–1945
  • high confidence

Fastest way to spot one

  • Stained hardwood knob and tote instead of rosewood
  • Steel depth adjustment nut instead of brass
  • Generally rougher finish
Photograph needed: Stanley Type 17 - bed casting behind the frog, toe marking and knob
No image is published here until its rights are cleared. Sourcing policy.

Features in detail

Handles Rosewood replaced by a cheaper hardwood, usually stained dark to imitate it. Look at the end grain rather than the colour. high
Depth adjustment nut Steel rather than brass, as a war material substitution. high
Finish Thinner japanning and less careful machining throughout. medium

Notes

War-production planes are honest tools and often cheap, because collectors avoid them. For a user plane the only thing that matters is the sole and the iron, and both are usually fine.

Before you trust this

Type dates are approximate and adjacent types overlap. Stanley emptied parts bins before opening new ones, so a plane can legitimately carry features from two types at once. Date the body casting, treat the iron and hardware separately, and expect a window rather than a year.

Go back to the full type study, or read the dating marks table.

Sources

Models this type applies to