Dating

• How to Date a Stanley Plane in Five Minutes

  5 min read

  A decision procedure for dating a Stanley bench plane from the castings, adjusters and handles, using the features that actually discriminate between eras.

• Dating a Stanley Iron by Its Logo

  3 min read

  The Sweetheart, notched rectangle, V logo and Rule & Level markings, what date range each one implies, and why the logo dates the iron rather than the plane.

• Bedrock vs Bailey - How to Tell Them Apart and Which to Buy

  3 min read

  The frog seat is the whole difference. How to spot a Bedrock in a photo, how to date round-sided against flat-sided castings, and whether the premium is worth paying.

Identification

• It Isn't a Stanley - So What Is It?

  3 min read

  How to identify the maker of an unfamiliar bench plane from its numbering, castings and markings, and why the answer is usually Sargent, Millers Falls or Record.

• Which Block Plane Is This? A Field Identification Guide

  3 min read

  Bed angle, mouth adjustment and lever cap type separate almost every Stanley block plane. A short decision tree that gets you to a model number.

• Reading Casting Marks and Numbers on Old Iron

  4 min read

  What the raised letters, numbers and symbols cast into a tool actually mean - model numbers, foundry marks, pattern numbers and patent dates - and which ones can date a tool.

• The Sixty-Second Flea Market Inspection

  3 min read

  What to check on a vintage plane before you hand over money, in the order that finds the deal-breakers fastest. Written for standing in a field with one bar of signal.

• Identifying and Dating a Millers Falls Plane

  3 min read

  The length-based numbering, the red frog, the Greenfield and Millers Falls marks, and why these planes are the best value in vintage American bench planes.

• Identifying and Dating a Sargent Plane

  3 min read

  The 400 and 700 series numbering, what VBM on a lever cap tells you, and how to recognise the Sargent castings hiding under hardware-store badges.

• Identifying and Dating a Record Plane

  3 min read

  Record's leading-zero numbering, why post-war Record beats post-war Stanley, and the honest limits of dating an English plane with no published type study.

Restoration

• Restoring a Stanley Bailey Plane, Step by Step

  5 min read

  A conservative restoration sequence that gets a rusty bench plane cutting well without destroying anything that matters - dismantling, de-rusting, flattening, sharpening and reassembly.

Values

• What Is This Old Tool Actually Worth?

  4 min read

  How to read auction data without fooling yourself, what condition grades really mean in this market, and the four factors that move a vintage tool price.