Stanley bench plane type study

Stanley Type 18 (1946–1947)

Return to brass depth nut and better finish. Pre-1948 lever cap and logo.

1946–1947
medium confidence

Fastest way to spot one

Return to brass depth nut and better finish
Pre-1948 lever cap and logo

Photograph needed: Stanley Type 18 - bed casting behind the frog, toe marking and knob

No image is published here until its rights are cleared. Sourcing policy.

Features in detail

Hardware	Brass depth adjustment nut returns as war restrictions lift. medium

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

reference-site
Stanley Bench Plane Type Study (Types 1-20) — Patrick Leach

Models this type applies to

Stanley No. 2 Smoothing Plane

1869–1961 · 7" · 1-5/8"

The smallest Bailey with a tote.
Stanley No. 3 Smoothing Plane

1869–1984 · 8" · 1-3/4"

A smoother one size down from the No. 4, and the size most people find comfortable once they have used both.
Stanley No. 4 Smoothing Plane

1869–1984 · 9" · 2"

The most-produced bench plane in history and the default smoother in every workshop that has one.
Stanley No. 4-1/2 Smoothing Plane

1884–1967 · 10" · 2-3/8"

A wide, heavy smoother.
Stanley No. 5 Jack Plane

1869–1984 · 14" · 2"

The jack plane - the jack of all trades, and the plane most likely to be in a box at an estate sale.
Stanley No. 5-1/4 Junior Jack Plane

1921–1975 · 11-1/2" · 1-3/4"

A narrow, short jack sold heavily into school manual-training programmes.
Stanley No. 5-1/2 Jack Plane

1898–1970 · 15" · 2-1/4"

A wide, heavy jack.
Stanley No. 6 Fore Plane

1869–1975 · 18" · 2-3/8"

The fore plane sits between the jack and the jointer.
Stanley No. 7 Jointer Plane

1869–1984 · 22" · 2-3/8"

The standard jointer, and the plane that makes hand-cut edge joints possible.
Stanley No. 8 Jointer Plane

1869–1960 · 24" · 2-5/8"

The largest Bailey bench plane: two feet of sole and the widest iron in the range.
Stanley No. 40 Scrub Plane

1896–1962 · 9-1/2" · 1-1/4"

A dedicated roughing plane: narrow, thick, heavily cambered iron and a wide open mouth, made to take deep bites across the grain and reduce a board fast.