Bench&Brace

Unverified draft - do not rely on this page

This record has not passed review. It is published here so the gap is visible and so a reviewer can work on it, and it is excluded from search engines. Treat every figure on it as unconfirmed.

  • Confirm sole length and iron width against Stanley catalogue plates
  • Confirm this model's own production start and end years
  • Photograph the toe stamp for the identification section

Stanley

Stanley No. 26 Transitional Jack Plane

A wood-bottomed jack plane. The transitional size most often found, because it was the cheap general-purpose plane in the catalogue.

  • 1869–1943
  • Transitional Plane
  • low confidence
  • unverified draft
Specifications
ModelNo. 26
Production1869–1943
Sole length15"
Bodybeech body with cast iron top casting
Handlesbeech knob and tote

How to identify it

  • Wooden sole with an iron casting screwed to the top, carrying the frog, lever cap and adjusters.
  • The model number is usually stamped into the toe of the wooden body ahead of the knob, and is often faint or worn away entirely.
  • Check the mouth for wear and blow-out before anything else. It is the one fault on a transitional that is hard to fix well.
Photograph needed: Stanley No. 26 Transitional Jack 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

Transitionals are the cheapest way into a pre-war Stanley with a proper adjuster. Collector interest is low, so buy on the condition of the body and the iron rather than on rarity.

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.

MakerCalledMade
Millers FallsNo. 151929–1975
RecordNo. 05-1/21931–present
SargentNo. 4151887–1964
StanleyNo. 5-1/21898–1970
StanleyNo. 605-1/21898–1943

Every size, every maker

Sources

Others in this family