number 7

Based on the kidney shaped hole in the lever cap, the high knob, and the fact that the knob and tote are rosewood, I'd put manufacture somewhere between 1933 and 1941. That makes it a so-called "Type 16."

This assumes that all the parts are original, and haven't been swapped out to make it a "Frankenplane."
 
With some fettling will make a great user. Congratulations on the adquisition. You will develop some muscles as well when you use it ;) I have one with flat sole and it does tire my arms if I use it a lot.
 
Looks a LOT like mine. I believe I dated mine at 1929-1931

There are details - tote, knob - base around knob and other markings.

I did fettle mine and it works GREAT.

Yes - Most Definately a sweat building workout.

You will NOT need the gym with a good workout on that plane.
 
Did a little more cleaning on the plane. Found out that the blade is a millers falls. I got it sharpened up and it is cutting well. I haven't checked the sole for flatness yet. A question about flatness. How flat is flat enough?
 
...Found out that the blade is a millers falls. I got it sharpened up and it is cutting well. I haven't checked the sole for flatness yet. A question about flatness. How flat is flat enough?

The Millers Falls blades were of about the same quality as Stanleys, so you're okay there.

As for flat - if it's cutting well, leave it alone! Too many people go straight to flattening without ever trying the plane 'as is.' If it's cutting well, it doesn't really need flattening.
 
Theoretically all those used planes were used in their time by professional woodworkers, or hobbyist with a certain degree of knowledge. So I believe that many of them do not need fettling as the previous owner may have done it already. Sometimes I think that we all have been drawn to such precise objective measures about planitude, precision in length and so forth, aren't we overdoing it?
 
Thanks Jim, I'll use it for awhile and see how she works before I try flattening the sole.

When our woodworking reaches a certain point, trying to make an old Stanley into a quality plane is basically not gonna happen. These are "everyman's" planes. When you experience using a quality plane there's no comparison.

Flatten the sole before you try to use it, John.
And good luck because about every old Stanley I've tried to restore is not only NOT flat, the sides are not square to the sole, making them hard to use for shooting.

My experience is if you can get the sole flattened enough, by the time you invest in a blade upgrade (which you should because the old stanley irons are pretty bad) you'll have $100 or more invested, not including hours spent flattening, etc.

Good luck hope I've discouraged you ;-)
My suggestion: save your money and go get a WoodRiver. I just got a no. 6 on sale for $155 and it was basically about 50 bucks more than the 6 I restored and put a Veritas blade on.
 
Thanks Robert. I'm not the most eloquent person in the world, so please don't take offense, as I took no offense in your opinion.

I did have to flatten the sole of the number 7. It took me about 30 min. I must of gotten lucky because the sides are square to the sole. Did I mind? Nope, not at all. To me that's part of the fun. I don't make my living with woodworking, so to me time isn't money.

Will I upgrade the iron and chip breaker? I haven't decided yet. I did check prices the other day on hock and veritas blades/cap iron combos. The veritas was 73.00 for v11 and 62.00 for O1 and A2. The hock was 84.00 for A2 cryo and 74.00 for O1. I have a number 4 with a hock blade and really like it. It holds an edge a long time.

If I go all out with a hock combo I'll have around 120.00 in this number 7. The way I look at it I'd rather have to fettle some old American iron and save it from the trash and send my coins to an American or Canadian company than China. I try to by North American when I can.
 
When our woodworking reaches a certain point, trying to make an old Stanley into a quality plane is basically not gonna happen. These are "everyman's" planes. When you experience using a quality plane there's no comparison.

Robert, if you had posted this on the "Creek" or Woodnet I think the response would be ferocious. People around here are too nice or better stated, correctly nice. Personally I do not have any knowledge of how well "old Stanleys" perform as I went the other direction, but much of what I have heard from very highly regarded craftsmen is that "old Stanleys" can be tuned up to high performance and without a lot of fettering. I think I will just sit back and see what happens. By the way, happy holidays. :)
 
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Based on the kidney shaped hole in the lever cap, the high knob, and the fact that the knob and tote are rosewood, I'd put manufacture somewhere between 1933 and 1941

Looks a LOT like mine. I believe I dated mine at 1929-1931

I love the fact that I can come here and get this kind of information from people I trust and respect. I am a hand tool user but, certainly not knowledgeable beyond my own plane till. That plane should make a nice user John. I've got a little corrugated Millers Falls #3 that I reach for much more often than I thought I would; I had misjudged that the corrugation would affect how I used the plane. Congrats on a great find at a good price.
 
Robert, if you had posted this on the "Creek" or Woodnet I think the response would be ferocious. People around here are too nice or better stated, correctly nice. Personally I do not have any knowledge of how well "old Stanleys" perform as I went the other direction, but much of what I have heard from very highly regarded craftsmen is that "old Stanleys" can be tuned up to high performance and without a lot of fettering. I think I will just sit back and see what happens. By the way, happy holidays. :)

Thanks for that, Bill. I was biting my tongue after reading Robert's comments. Only this site's civility kept me from responding/retorting.

Oh, and by-the-way, that 90° sole/cheek angle is only critical if you're gonna use the plane on a shooting board. Otherwise, it's non-critical.
 
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Thanks Robert. I'm not the most eloquent person in the world, so please don't take offense, as I took no offense in your opinion.

I did have to flatten the sole of the number 7. It took me about 30 min. I must of gotten lucky because the sides are square to the sole. Did I mind? Nope, not at all. To me that's part of the fun. I don't make my living with woodworking, so to me time isn't money.

Will I upgrade the iron and chip breaker? I haven't decided yet. I did check prices the other day on hock and veritas blades/cap iron combos. The veritas was 73.00 for v11 and 62.00 for O1 and A2. The hock was 84.00 for A2 cryo and 74.00 for O1. I have a number 4 with a hock blade and really like it. It holds an edge a long time.

If I go all out with a hock combo I'll have around 120.00 in this number 7. The way I look at it I'd rather have to fettle some old American iron and save it from the trash and send my coins to an American or Canadian company than China. I try to by North American when I can.

Guess I've just had bad luck. I've gotten rid of all but a very nice Bailey No. 4 with a Veritas blade/cap iron is pretty decent. I think there are more problems when you get into the 6,7,&8's. Maybe they are more susceptible to warping.

I derusted/restored several "deals" and most recently a no. 6 whose sides I discovered were 1/16 out of square to sole. After about 2 hours to get sole reasonably flat, I could never get the mouth area totally flat, and this is most important area. I would have had to have it resurfaced at a machine shop. Sold it on eBay and for 80 bucks more the Woodcraft is a dream in comparison.

Yeah, it's made in China, but what isn't these days. If it wasn't for Taiwan, none of us would have any power equipment at all !!

Didn't mean to offend anyone, it's just my experience (and a lot of others) that there is a point of dimishing returns in restoring these old planes.

If you ever get to try a Lie Nielsen, you'll see what I'm saying.
 
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Robert, if you had posted this on the "Creek" or Woodnet I think the response would be ferocious. People around here are too nice or better stated, correctly nice. Personally I do not have any knowledge of how well "old Stanleys" perform as I went the other direction, but much of what I have heard from very highly regarded craftsmen is that "old Stanleys" can be tuned up to high performance and without a lot of fettering. I think I will just sit back and see what happens. By the way, happy holidays. :)
I would recommend checking out someone like the Renassance Woodworker. I recently watched a Chris Schwarz video on restoring an old Stanley but his "using planes" are something different. That's for a reason. Like I said when you put a quality tool I your hand, you can tell the difference.

I don't deny the old Stanley's can be tuned up. That's all Paul Sellers uses and I would consider hi, a fine Craftsman.
 
When our woodworking reaches a certain point, trying to make an old Stanley into a quality plane is basically not gonna happen...My suggestion: save your money and go get a WoodRiver...

OK, the first part seemed like a typical lead-in for a Lie Nielsen or Veritas pitch, but then you shifted gears and brought up WoodRiver? Really? That's like saying "You'll never turn a Ford into a high-end driving machine, so I'd suggest buying a Chevy." :huh: I'm not really much of a fine handtool kind of guy, but if don't feel like fettling an old Stanley or Millers Falls to whip it into shape, I'm gonna go all out and buy something in the Lie Nielsen or Veritas class. I wouldn't settle for an intermediate Chinese plane, even though I have no doubt it's a very workable tool.

Another point to consider: Despite what Chris Schwartz, Paul Sellers, or the YouTube star du jour tells you, to a lot of guys part of the fun of owning a plane is restoring, fettling, and tuning it. ;)
 
OK, the first part seemed like a typical lead-in for a Lie Nielsen or Veritas pitch, but then you shifted gears and brought up WoodRiver? Really? That's like saying "You'll never turn a Ford into a high-end driving machine, so I'd suggest buying a Chevy." :huh: I'm not really much of a fine handtool kind of guy, but if don't feel like fettling an old Stanley or Millers Falls to whip it into shape, I'm gonna go all out and buy something in the Lie Nielsen or Veritas class. I wouldn't settle for an intermediate Chinese plane, even though I have no doubt it's a very workable tool.

Another point to consider: Despite what Chris Schwartz, Paul Sellers, or the YouTube star du jour tells you, to a lot of guys part of the fun of owning a plane is restoring, fettling, and tuning it. ;)

Don't knock a WoodRiver till you've tried one. I mentioned it because affordability and value for the money. All I'm saying is $75 for an old Stanely and add a decent blade, you're practically there for a new WoodRiver. You're not really saving money. If you like the nostalgia, go for it.

My intention is not to offend, but offer some advice to somebody looking to restore an old Stanley thinking it will save them money.

After venturing in to resurrecting several old Stanley's, I've come to realize I'd rather buy a good plane and spend the time creating something. Plus, I've also realized that no matter how well the finished product looked, I was underwhelmed by the performance.

Remember, I'm talking 6,7,&8's. One of my nicer I use all the time planes is a #4 Bailey I restored and put a Veritas blade upgrade.
 
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