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Millers Falls

Millers Falls No. 709 "Buck Rogers" Plane

One of the strangest-looking planes ever mass produced: a streamlined, two-tone Millers Falls from the 1950s that collectors nicknamed after the science-fiction serial. It planes wood perfectly well and looks like nothing else on the bench.

1950–1958
Bench Plane
low confidence
unverified draft

Specifications
Model	No. 709
Production	1950–1958
Sole length	9"
Cutter width	2"
Body	cast iron with streamlined styling, grey and red finish
Handles	moulded plastic knob and tote
Notable feature	art-deco lever cap and integrated styling unlike any other production plane

How to identify it

Unmistakable streamlined styling with a swept lever cap and moulded plastic handles.
Grey body with red detailing, both original.
9 inch sole - the last two digits of the number are still the length.

Photograph needed: Millers Falls No. 709 "Buck Rogers" 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

This is the one Millers Falls line that breaks the value rule: it is collected for its looks and priced accordingly. Plastic handles crack and are effectively unobtainable, so check them carefully.

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
Millers Falls	No. 9	1929–1975
Record	No. 04	1931–present
Sargent	No. 409	1887–1964
Stanley	No. 4	1869–1984
Stanley	No. 604	1898–1943
Stanley	No. 112	1885–1943

Every size, every maker

Sources

reference-site
Patrick Leach's Blood & Gore (Stanley plane model-by-model commentary) — Patrick Leach

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. 18 Bench Plane

1929–1975 · 18" · 2-3/8"

The fore plane size.