Reply To: Stanley Plane Advice for New Member
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Steven.
I don’t think you have a type16, but rather a plane very near the end of Stanley production. The red color is a first clue, as Stanley brilliantly decided that painting planes red and blue would miraculously boost sales sometime in the 60’s. The lateral adjuster with the folded end instead of with a two piece construction and that it has an open instead of solid rivet holding it on also smacks of a type 20-21. So does the two piece wishbone depth adjuster instead of a cast one. And lastly, the totes of indeterminate wood ( birch?) stained rather light is also late.
And at the very end of production, Stanley stopped installing the frog adjuster screw ( as they did on some type 17’s during WWII).
My plane doesn’t have one either.
And the rounded cutter tops started appearing in the 1950’s.
I started building boats in 1960 at age 12, and my dad uncharacteristically bought me a brand new one of these beauties to get help me along, once it was clear I had a passion. I still have the plane and despite its somewhat crude devolvement from the Stanley norm it can be fettled into a fine working plane. I used it all through my career as a my day box plane and fettled it up a notch every few years. It functions just as well as some antiques I consider more aesthetically pleasing that never left my shop.
I did strip the odd color ( mine was blue) at some stage and painted it engine black. I just couldn’t look at the day-glo blue any longer.
( I also have a 60 1/2 block plane in that same red from the 60’s. )