Tool type

Bench Plane

The general-purpose planes used at the bench to flatten, true and smooth a board: smoothers, jacks, fores and jointers. On an iron bench plane the iron is bedded at about 45 degrees, bevel down, on a separate casting called the frog.

48 models

History

Leonard Bailey's contribution was not the iron plane - those existed - but a practical adjustment mechanism: a depth-adjustment nut acting through a Y-lever, a lateral lever to square the iron in the mouth, and a cam lever cap that clamped everything without tools. Stanley bought the patents in 1869 and the pattern became the world's default bench plane. Record in England, Sargent and Millers Falls in the US, and every modern maker from Lie-Nielsen to the Chinese copies all build a recognisable Bailey.

How to choose one

Size is chosen by the length of the sole, because the sole is what bridges the hollows in a board. A short smoother (No. 3-4) follows the surface and leaves it shiny; a long jointer (No. 7-8) rides the high spots and leaves it flat. The jack (No. 5) is the compromise everyone owns first.

Sources

reference-site
Stanley Bench Plane Type Study (Types 1-20) — Patrick Leach
book
Dictionary of American Hand Tools — Alvin Sellens

Models

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. 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.
Millers Falls No. 22 Bench Plane

1929–1975 · 22" · 2-3/8"

The Millers Falls jointer.
Millers Falls No. 24 Bench Plane

1929–1975 · 24" · 2-5/8"

The largest Millers Falls bench plane, two feet of sole and the widest iron in the range.
Record No. 03 Bench Plane

1931–present · 8" · 1-3/4"

An eight-inch smoother, the Record answer to the Stanley No. 3.
Record No. 04 Bench Plane

1931–present · 9" · 2"

The standard Record smoother and, for anyone buying a plane to use rather than collect, arguably the best value in vintage planes anywhere.
Record No. 04-1/2 Bench Plane

1931–present · 10" · 2-3/8"

The wide smoother.
Record No. 05 Bench Plane

1931–present · 14" · 2"

The Record jack, and the plane to start with.
Record No. 05-1/2 Bench Plane

1931–present · 15" · 2-3/8"

A wide jack, and the single plane a great many British joiners owned.
Record No. 06 Bench Plane

1931–present · 18" · 2-3/8"

The fore plane size.
Record No. 07 Bench Plane

1931–present · 22" · 2-3/8"

The Record jointer and the most useful long plane on the market secondhand.
Record No. 08 Bench Plane

1931–present · 24" · 2-5/8"

The largest Record bench plane: two feet of sole, the widest iron in the range and enough weight that you will notice it after an hour.
Sargent No. 407 Bench Plane

1887–1964 · 7" · 1-5/8"

The smallest Sargent bench plane.
Sargent No. 408 Bench Plane

1887–1964 · 8" · 1-3/4"

An eight-inch smoother answering the Stanley No. 3.
Sargent No. 409 Bench Plane

1887–1964 · 9" · 2"

Sargent's standard smoother and the plane most people meet first. Directly comparable to a Stanley No. 4 in size, weight and quality, and consistently cheaper.
Sargent No. 410 Bench Plane

1887–1964 · 10" · 2-3/8"

A wide, heavy smoother in the Stanley 4-1/2 mould.
Sargent No. 414 Bench Plane

1887–1964 · 14" · 2"

The Sargent jack.
Sargent No. 415 Bench Plane

1887–1964 · 15" · 2-1/4"

A wide jack for shops that wanted one plane to both dimension and finish.
Sargent No. 418 Bench Plane

1887–1964 · 18" · 2-3/8"

The fore plane size, and as usual the bargain of the range.
Sargent No. 422 Bench Plane

1887–1964 · 22" · 2-3/8"

Sargent's jointer.
Sargent No. 424 Bench Plane

1887–1964 · 24" · 2-5/8"

The largest Sargent bench plane: two feet of casting and the widest iron in the line.
Stanley No. 1 Smoothing Plane

1867–1943 · 5-1/2" · 1-1/4"

The smallest bench plane Stanley made, and the one every collector wants.
Stanley No. 2 Smoothing Plane

1869–1961 · 7" · 1-5/8"

The smallest Bailey with a tote.
Stanley No. 3 Smoothing Plane

1869–1984 · 8" · 1-3/4"

A smoother one size down from the No. 4, and the size most people find comfortable once they have used both.
Stanley No. 4 Smoothing Plane

1869–1984 · 9" · 2"

The most-produced bench plane in history and the default smoother in every workshop that has one.
Stanley No. 4-1/2 Smoothing Plane

1884–1967 · 10" · 2-3/8"

A wide, heavy smoother.
Stanley No. 5 Jack Plane

1869–1984 · 14" · 2"

The jack plane - the jack of all trades, and the plane most likely to be in a box at an estate sale.
Stanley No. 5-1/4 Junior Jack Plane

1921–1975 · 11-1/2" · 1-3/4"

A narrow, short jack sold heavily into school manual-training programmes.
Stanley No. 5-1/2 Jack Plane

1898–1970 · 15" · 2-1/4"

A wide, heavy jack.
Stanley No. 6 Fore Plane

1869–1975 · 18" · 2-3/8"

The fore plane sits between the jack and the jointer.
Stanley No. 7 Jointer Plane

1869–1984 · 22" · 2-3/8"

The standard jointer, and the plane that makes hand-cut edge joints possible.
Stanley No. 8 Jointer Plane

1869–1960 · 24" · 2-5/8"

The largest Bailey bench plane: two feet of sole and the widest iron in the range.
Stanley No. 40 Scrub Plane

1896–1962 · 9-1/2" · 1-1/4"

A dedicated roughing plane: narrow, thick, heavily cambered iron and a wide open mouth, made to take deep bites across the grain and reduce a board fast.
Stanley No. 602 Bedrock Smoothing Plane

1898–1943 · 7" · 1-5/8"

The smallest Bedrock, and after the No. 1 the most sought-after Stanley bench plane.
Stanley No. 603 Bedrock Smoothing Plane

1898–1943 · 8" · 1-3/4"

The Bedrock equivalent of the Bailey No. 3: an eight-inch smoother with the full-contact frog seat and the heavier castings of the premium line.
Stanley No. 604 Bedrock Smoothing Plane

1898–1943 · 9" · 2"

The Bedrock No. 4.
Stanley No. 604-1/2 Bedrock Smoothing Plane

1898–1943 · 10" · 2-3/8"

A wide, heavy Bedrock smoother - the 4-1/2 pattern in the premium line, and the plane to reach for on figured hardwood if money is no object.
Stanley No. 605 Bedrock Jack Plane

1898–1943 · 14" · 2"

The Bedrock jack, and the most-produced plane in the line after the 604.
Stanley No. 605-1/4 Bedrock Junior Jack Plane

1921–1943 · 11-1/2" · 1-3/4"

A narrow junior jack in the Bedrock line, introduced late and discontinued with everything else in 1943.
Stanley No. 605-1/2 Bedrock Jack Plane

1898–1943 · 15" · 2-1/4"

The wide Bedrock jack: fifteen inches of sole, a wide iron and the full-contact frog seat.
Stanley No. 606 Bedrock Fore Plane

1898–1943 · 18" · 2-3/8"

The Bedrock fore plane.
Stanley No. 607 Bedrock Jointer Plane

1898–1943 · 22" · 2-3/8"

The Bedrock jointer: 22 inches of heavy casting with the full-contact frog.
Stanley No. 608 Bedrock Jointer Plane

1898–1943 · 24" · 2-5/8"

The biggest Bedrock: two feet of sole, the widest iron, and the heaviest bench plane Stanley catalogued.