Unverified draft - do not rely on this page
The research on this page is not finished. It is left visible so the gap is not hidden from you, but treat everything below as unconfirmed until it has been checked against a catalogue.
- Confirm production start and end years
- Confirm the full set of model numbers in the streamlined series
- Confirm handle material across the run
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
| 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.
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 |
Sources
- reference-site
Patrick Leach's Blood & Gore (Stanley plane model-by-model commentary) — Patrick Leach
Others in this family
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Millers Falls No. 7 Bench Plane
The smallest Millers Falls bench plane, answering the Stanley No. 2.
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Millers Falls No. 8 Bench Plane
An eight-inch smoother, one size below the standard.
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Millers Falls No. 9 Bench Plane
The standard Millers Falls smoother and the plane the brand is judged on.
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Millers Falls No. 10 Bench Plane
A wide, heavy smoother in the mould of the Stanley 4-1/2.
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Millers Falls No. 11 Bench Plane
A short, narrow jack in the manual-training mould, corresponding roughly to the Stanley 5-1/4.
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Millers Falls No. 14 Bench Plane
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.
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Millers Falls No. 15 Bench Plane
A wide jack, matching the Stanley 5-1/2.
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Millers Falls No. 18 Bench Plane
The fore plane size.