Stanley ABC

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Tools for Sale Tips

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B casting	Stanley used many different foundry / casting marks, the most famous ones are B and S. Those marks were used by sub-contracting foundries. If you follow Smith, S castings were used between 1893 and 1899 , replaced by B castings 1899-1902. For bench planes the often quoted early B casting really should be replaced by early S casting followed by a short period of B castings. However, this might be the case for bench planes, special purpose planes and block planes didn't follow the same pattern. A great compromise is this one, found on the throat plate of an adjustable block plane:

Chunkers	I don't know if this term is used by others, I thought it was a perfect description for a plane that is of very good quality but hard to sell. I break these planes up and sell the parts. Not to be confused with a junker, a plane that is just that. Some optimistic souls list them "for parts" after they have stripped them of anything remotely useable!

Gunmetal	Often confused with gleaming steel, especially in English infill planes. Understandable if you think about Winchester rifle barrels. Think further back to those bronze cannons. That's gunmetal, an alloy of copper, tin and zinc. Used in some Stanley planes, all of them rare and expensive!

Grading Tools	With the ever increasing popularity of buying tools without inspection i.e. absentee bidding, the need for a reliable grading system was obvious. Clarence Blanchard of the Fine Tool Journal came up with a solution that seems to be universally accepted. It grades tools according to condition from P (poor) Fr (fair) G- (good minus) G (good) G+ (good plus) and F (fine). The letters stand for a fairly complex definitions like: is the tool useable, has it been repaired, how much of the original finish is intact and so on...? One of those put-it-in-that-drawer-things a guy with a beard and glasses inevitably will come up with. It's a great system but it doesn't really work to compare tools from different sellers. All one seller can do is use the grading as comparative means to let you know the variances in the condition of his tools. The next seller might have far less experience and use altogether different standards.

Japanning	Obviously originates from Japan and describes a glossy, highly polished finish derived from natural resins, usually with a black background, found on many Japanese objects. Became fashionable in Europe late1800s/early 1900s with a "modern" concoction of gum shellac, linseed oil and a few toxic nasties like red lead. A more recent version includes the use of linseed oil and asphaltum, still used to preserve etched plates but with more warnings on the label than your child's teddy bear. When you read: fatal when swallowed on a bottle you have to be really keen to brew up a new coat for your Stanley jointer! Some tool guys swear by the use of linseed oil repeatedly burned into the plane then polished. Why bother, there are perfectly good paints available in cans. I assume it's the constantly poor results of these re-japanning attempts that keeps the alchemists trying. I don't mind re-painted tools. A paint job might interfere with the sensitivities of many collectors but never slowed down a jointer in the hands of a craftsman. Finish on planes is often estimated in percentage points. Anything over 90% adds to the price.

Nickel Plating	Stanley used nickel plating on many of their tools. Replating is not easy because the electroplating process requires at least a basic electrolysis set-up. I was told that dry nickel plating i.e. without electrolysis is available. Some of the commercial outfits that chrome plate car parts handle nickel as well and they might replate your plane for a relatively small fee. If you want to go down that path make sure you don't plate any screws, screw threads or any other opening for depth stops, rods etc. Re-plated parts won't fit any more. If the plating is flaky, rusty and ugly remove it all and polish the tool. It will look almost as good as plated.

Nickel plated trimmings	In Stanley jargon nickel plated trimmings include lever cap, (depth) adjuster nut and front knob.

Nicker	Term used for any kind of spur on a plane. Used to "nick" the surface of the wood i.e. pre-cut or scribe the wood resulting in a clean cut by the main cutter.

Prototype	Chances that you come across one are virtually nil. Don't fall for the "prototype" sales pitch to explain missing bits, missing markings or any foreign objects on a Stanley tool. By all means, take a punt but never pay top dollars for any tools sold as prototype. It's usually the prototype of all cons.


Rosewood	The majority of Stanley planes were fitted with rosewood handles and/or knobs. Like any other natural product, rosewood comes in many different colour shadings. Typically red or dark brown with black streaks running through the grain. Sometimes the streaks form attractive patterns. Variegated rosewood with light and dark patches is also very attractive. If I remember correctly Cuban and Indian rosewood was used by Stanley. Some "modern" Brazilian rosewoods are good matches but hard to find because of import bans.

Salesman's samples	A nasty virus developed by antique dealers and spread over the internet, labels everything under 6 inches as salesman's sample and worth a mint! Salesman's samples do exist but usually are in the form of display units etc. No, the Stanley # 1 was not manufactured as a salesman's sample but it's quite likely that a Stanley salesman could have carried one with him.

S casting	see under B casting

Spur	See nicker

Transitional planes	Planes with a beech wood body and metal upper parts. Few examples were made with rosewood soles as special edition/presentation planes. The name implies a transition between early wooden planes and later metal planes. I don't know why this came about. If I'm not mistaken Bailey produced the metal plane well before the transitional planes hit the sales catalogues! Must be one of those afterthoughts plane historians came up with.