Millers Falls

Millers Falls No. 18 Bench Plane

The fore plane size. As with Stanley's No. 6, nobody wants it and everybody should - it does most of a jointer's work at a fraction of a jointer's price.

1929–1975
Bench Plane
medium confidence

Specifications
Model	No. 18
Production	1929–1975
Sole length	18"
Cutter width	2-3/8"
Body	cast iron, japanned, frog often painted red
Handles	hardwood knob and tote

How to identify it

18 inch sole, 2-3/8 inch iron.
The model number is the sole length in inches - measure it and you have the number, with no reference table required.
'MILLERS FALLS' cast or stamped on the body or lever cap, with either Millers Falls or Greenfield, Massachusetts named.
A red-painted frog is original on many examples and should be left alone.

Photograph needed: Millers Falls No. 18 Bench Plane - overall view, plus a close-up of the toe and bed markings

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

Buying and using

Millers Falls bench planes are the value buy in vintage American planes. The castings and machining are comparable to Stanley's for the same period, and the price is not, because collector demand follows the Stanley name. Buy on condition and ignore the badge.

The same size from other makers

These do the same job at the same size. Parts do not interchange between makers, but the shaving does not know the difference - and where one maker commands a collector premium, another usually does not.

Maker	Called	Made
Record	No. 06	1931–present
Sargent	No. 418	1887–1964
Stanley	No. 6	1869–1975
Stanley	No. 606	1898–1943

Every size, every maker

What it is worth

user / incomplete $22–$47
complete, honest wear $50–$99
excellent, original iron $108–$198

Estimated USD range as of 2026-Q1, from a sample of about 30 sales. manually filtered sold listings; Millers Falls sells at a persistent discount to the Stanley equivalent Confidence: low.

These are researched estimates for a private sale in average light, not an appraisal. Condition, completeness and type move a price further than any of these bands do.

Sources

reference-site
Patrick Leach's Blood & Gore (Stanley plane model-by-model commentary) — Patrick Leach
book
Dictionary of American Hand Tools — Alvin Sellens

Others in this family

Millers Falls No. 7 Bench Plane

1929–1975 · 7" · 1-5/8"

The smallest Millers Falls bench plane, answering the Stanley No. 2.
Millers Falls No. 8 Bench Plane

1929–1975 · 8" · 1-3/4"

An eight-inch smoother, one size below the standard.
Millers Falls No. 9 Bench Plane

1929–1975 · 9" · 2"

The standard Millers Falls smoother and the plane the brand is judged on.
Millers Falls No. 10 Bench Plane

1929–1975 · 10" · 2-3/8"

A wide, heavy smoother in the mould of the Stanley 4-1/2.
Millers Falls No. 11 Bench Plane

1929–1975 · 11" · 1-3/4" · draft

A short, narrow jack in the manual-training mould, corresponding roughly to the Stanley 5-1/4.
Millers Falls No. 14 Bench Plane

1929–1975 · 14" · 2"

The Millers Falls jack, and the plane to buy first. Fourteen inches of sole does most of the work in a hand-tool shop, and this is the cheapest good one on the market.
Millers Falls No. 15 Bench Plane

1929–1975 · 15" · 2-1/4"

A wide jack, matching the Stanley 5-1/2.
Millers Falls No. 22 Bench Plane

1929–1975 · 22" · 2-3/8"

The Millers Falls jointer.