Dating tool
Stanley Plane Type Study
Twenty types, 1867 to 1967. Answer a few questions about what you can see on your plane and the finder narrows it to a range of years, then check the table below.
Type finder
What type is my Stanley plane?
Answer what you can, in any order, and skip the rest. Most questions need no tools; the frog-adjust screw and some patent dates are easier to see with the iron removed.
Based on the collectors’ type study for the Stanley No. 4. Other sizes follow it with minor differences. Not for Bed Rock or English-made planes.
Reference
The Stanley Bailey type study, Types 1–20
Each type keeps the features of the one before, except as noted. Matches from the finder are highlighted.
| Type | Years | What’s new |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1867–69 | Boston-made Bailey. Made by Bailey, Woods & Co. in Boston. Rosewood “hot-air balloon” knob with a bead at the base. Solid brass depth nut with a right-hand thread, stamped Bailey, Woods & Co. Iron stamped “L. BAILEY’S PATENT DEC. 24, 1867”. Flat lever-cap back with a banjo spring; size number incised under the frog and on the lever cap; “I”-shaped frog receiver. |
| 2 | 1869–72 | Stanley takes over. As Type 1, but the depth nut is stamped “BAILEY’S PATENT” with dates and the lever-cap spring is rectangular. |
| 3 | 1872–73 | Small frog. A small frog on a single vertical rib (the #3 frog in sizes #3–#8, and easily broken). Iron stamped “STANLEY RULE & LEVEL Co.” in an arc. Recessed depth nut and lever-cap back. No size number on the cap or frog. |
| 4 | 1874–84 | No lateral lever. The old frog style returns, on a broad rectangular receiver with an arched rear. Flat-head frog screws. Often a “73” or “71” foundry number in the bed. No lateral adjusting lever. |
| 5 | 1885–88 | First lateral lever. One-piece lateral lever stamped STANLEY “2-8-76” “10-21-84”. Flattened arch at the top of the frog. Size number cast at the toe (at the heel on #5 and larger). |
| 6 | 1888–92 | Left-hand thread. Two-piece lateral lever with a disk end, “7-24-88” added. Depth nut changes to a left-hand thread. Bead dropped from the knob. Two grooves in the frog receiver. Iron stamped “PAT. AP’L 19, 92”. |
| 7 | 1893–99 | “S” casting mark. Bailey name and dates removed from the depth nut and cap iron. An “S” foundry mark on the frog, cap or bed. |
| 8 | 1899–1902 | “B” casting mark. A “B” foundry mark replaces the “S”. Lateral lever stamped only “7-24-88” and STANLEY. |
| 9 | 1902–07 | Two patent dates. “BAILEY” cast at the toe with the size number behind the knob. “MAR-25-02” and “AUG-19-02” cast in the bed behind the frog. Rib running to the mouth; lateral lever with no date; waisted brass knob and tote nuts. |
| 10 | 1907–09 | Frog-adjust screw. Frog-adjust screw added; enlarged, arched rib. Four-line iron logo: STANLEY / RULE & LEVEL CO. / NEW BRITAIN CONN. / U.S.A. |
| 11 | 1910–18 | Three patent dates. “APR-19-10” added, so three patent dates behind the frog. V-shaped logo on the iron. |
| 12 | 1919–24 | High knob, Sweetheart. Tall front knob. Larger (1¼ in.) depth nut. Longer lever-cap cam with less rounded edges. Sweetheart logo on the iron from about 1920. Cap-iron back no longer blued. |
| 13 | 1925–28 | Logo on the lever cap. Only “U.S. PAT. APR-19-10” behind the frog. “STANLEY” in a notched rectangle on the lever cap, with japanned, orange, reddish or yellow backgrounds. |
| 14 | 1929–30 | Raised ring. “MADE IN U.S.A.” cast at the toe. A raised ring cast in the bed at the base of the knob. |
| 15 | 1931–32 | No patent dates. “MADE IN U.S.A.” moves behind the frog and all patent dates are removed. “BAILEY” now behind the knob, size number at the front. |
| 16 | 1933–41 | Kidney hole. Kidney-shaped hole in the lever cap. Broad flat raised ribs at toe and heel. S-curved frog back beside the lateral lever. Iron logo: notched rectangle with MADE IN U.S.A., the Sweetheart heart dropped. |
| 17 | 1942–45 | Wartime. Hardwood handles stained red or painted black. Smaller steel or hard-rubber depth nut. Thicker castings, little or no nickel plating, one-piece tote screw. Some lack the frog-adjust screw; some have the old keyhole lever cap. |
| 18 | 1946–47 | Post-war. Brass depth nut returns, with diagonal knurling. Black-painted hardwood handles. Lighter castings again. |
| 19 | 1948–61 | Y-shaped receiver. Y-shaped frog receiver. Heavily varnished rosewood returns, black hardwood on later planes. “STANLEY” stamped vertically on the lateral lever. Parallel knurling; round-top irons from the mid-1950s. |
| 20 | 1962–67 | Blue paint. Castings painted blue instead of japanned. Light-stained hardwood handles. One-piece lateral lever with a bent-over end and no STANLEY stamp. |
Sources vary on the frog-adjust screw: the type study and Leach’s Bailey page date it to about 1907 (Type 10); Leach’s Bed Rock page says about 1910.
Read this first
Using the type study well
- It describes the No. 4. Other sizes follow with small differences, such as where the size number is cast.
- Weigh the body most. The bed and its castings can’t be swapped; irons, lever caps and nuts often were.
- Expect overlaps. Stanley used up leftover parts, so a part from the neighbouring type is normal.
- Not for Bed Rocks or English planes. Those need their own references.
Questions
Type study FAQ
What is the Stanley type study?
A collectors’ classification of Stanley Bailey bench planes into 20 types, each with a date range and the features that changed. The version most people use is Joshua Clark and Patrick Leach’s, derived from Roger Smith’s Patented Transitional & Metallic Planes in America. Stanley itself never used it.
Which type is my plane?
Answer the questions in the type finder above. Patent dates behind the frog, the lateral lever and the lever cap are the strongest clues; the iron counts for less because irons were often swapped.
Does the type study work for every size?
It was written around the No. 4. Woodandshop calls it accurate for No. 4s and only semi-accurate for other sizes; hyperkitten says other sizes follow it with minor differences, such as where the size number is cast.
When was the frog-adjust screw added?
The type study puts it in Type 10, from 1907, and Leach’s Bailey page agrees (“starting around 1907”). His Bed Rock page says about 1910, so sources vary.
My plane matches two types. Is it a fake?
Probably not. Stanley used up leftover parts at each change, so a plane with one part from an adjacent type can be original if the wear matches (hyperkitten). Parts from widely different decades suggest later swaps.
Type dates and features: the Clark/Leach type study on hyperkitten, derived from Roger Smith’s Patented Transitional & Metallic Planes in America; woodandshop’s dates agree for all 20 types.
- www.hyperkitten.com/tools/stanley_bench_plane/type_study.php
- www.hyperkitten.com/tools/stanley_bench_plane/tl_timeline.php
- www.hyperkitten.com/tools/stanley_bench_plane/scope.php
- www.hyperkitten.com/tools/stanley_bench_plane
- www.supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan1.htm
- www.supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan15.htm
- woodandshop.com/kov1
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Bailey_(inventor)
Plane guides
Stanley bench planes No. 1 to No. 8
Stanley No. 1
Smoothing plane
- Length
- 5½ in.
- Iron
- 1¼ in.
- Weight
- 1⅛ lb
Stanley No. 2
Smoothing plane
- Length
- 7 in.
- Iron
- 1⅝ in.
- Weight
- 2¼ lb
Stanley No. 3
Smoothing plane
- Length
- 8 in.
- Iron
- 1¾ in.
- Weight
- 3⅛ lb
Stanley No. 4
Smoothing plane
- Length
- 9 in.
- Iron
- 2 in.
- Weight
- 3¾ lb
Stanley No. 5
Jack plane
- Length
- 14 in.
- Iron
- 2 in.
- Weight
- 4¾ lb
Stanley No. 6
Fore plane
- Length
- 18 in.
- Iron
- 2⅜ in.
- Weight
- 7¾ lb
Stanley No. 7
Jointer plane
- Length
- 22 in.
- Iron
- 2⅜ in.
- Weight
- 8⅛ lb
Stanley No. 8
Jointer plane (heavy)
- Length
- 24 in.
- Iron
- 2⅝ in.
- Weight
- 9¾ lb