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block plane

A Field Guide For Leonard Bailey’s Victor Block Planes

by Paul Van Pernis After a series of ever more contentious disputes, Leonard Bailey left The Stanley Rule & Level Company in 1874 to strike out on his own in the tool-making business. Within weeks, he set up shop in Hartford, Connecticut, as Leonard Bailey & Co. and started to produce his Victor line of …

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Justus Traut’s “Bull-nozed” Convertible Block Plane

In an April 2017 blog entitled “Justus Traut’s Bull-Nose Plane” I discussed a delightful little bull-nose plane from the Stanley Model Shop that was the product of Justus Traut’s inventive prowess (See Figure 1). The plane is based on patent No. 291,815 granted to Traut on January 8th, 1884(See Figure 2).   I wrote at that …

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#120 Model Shop Prototype Block Plane; From Evolution to Production

It’s late in the year 1875, and Justus Traut and the men in his shop at Stanley Rule & Level Company are still diligently working on a cutter adjustment mechanism for the Stanley #110 block plane. Traut and Henry Richards, one of the “mechanics” working in Traut’s  shop, produced the block plane prototype shown in …

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“What Goes Around Comes Around”

Aluminum Block Planes from the Stanley Model Shop In the first couple of decades of the 20th century, aluminum became available to manufacturers at a reasonable cost. Although aluminum comprises 8.2% of the earth’s crust, making it the most abundant metal in nature, it never occurs in its free form.  In 1825, Hans Christian Oersted, …

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The Brown 48th International Antique Tool Auction, by John G. Wells

The 48th Brown Tool Auction was held at the Abraham Lincoln Hotel in Reading, Pennsylvania on April 2, 2016.  Prices realized in this article include a 13% buyer’s premium.  A 3% discount was available for cash or a good check.  The condition of the items was taken from the auction catalog and does not reflect …

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