dating a no 3

[David Christopher]

I picked up a no 3 today and need some help on what type and date it is and if it worth anything or I got bit.

I took some pics but their no very good.

first off,
knob and tote are rosewood
bailey behind knob....no 3 in front of knob
made in USA behind frog...no patent numbers
frog has screw to ajust
stanley wrote on lateral ajuster

the plane has had very little use and the little bit of rust is just surface rust...the bottom and sides are very flat..it looks like it will be a great user

all help is appreciated

[David Christopher]

a few more

[dan sherman]

assuming everything is original, I'm pretty sure it's a type 16 as it has the broad ribs at the toe & heel, but still has a brass depth adjuster.

[Phillip Pattee]

I agree it's a type 16, probably built between 1933 and 1941. Here are a couple of good links to check out your plane features and determine the approximate date it was made. http://www.rexmill.com/

http://www.hyperkitten.com/tools/stanley_bench_plane/start_flowchart.php

[jerry nazard]

Looking forward to completed pictures. The #6 turned out really nice!

[Sam Takeuchi]

It's not the most sought after type. It's that ogee shape frog. Previous types all had flat frog with differences on frog/base mating surfaces, theoretically gave wider area to provide support for the blade. In all honesty, I'm not sure exactly how much difference you can actually tell comparing with earlier types in reality. This type of frog may give negative impression simply for the fact current production models have the same ogee shaped, grid type frog.

If you want to fit earlier type 10 - 15 frog, frog/base mating surface is still the same if I remember right, so if you want, you can get a frog as a part and use that. I personally prefer flat frog. Whether it's better or not, it feels better. I automatically skip any plane with those ogee shaped frog for that reason.

P.S. Probably someone knows better on the interchangeability of frog. Maybe some slight difference I might not know.

[jerry nazard]

Sam has a point about the frog mating surface, however, a Hock (or other) replacement blade w/ chipbreaker would add extra mass, reducing any possible chatter.

[James Ogle]

I like the Plane Dating Flowchart (http://www.hyperkitten.com/tools/stanley_bench_plane/dating/start_flowchart.php) for dating planes. A little easier to navigate versus Patrick's type study.

[Pat Zabrocki]

As some one that is twice divorced... i really thought you were talking about a something else at first. anyway, +1 on the type 16
cheers
pat

[Jim Koepke]

As some one that is twice divorced... i really thought you were talking about a something else at first.

Me too on that. Why date a 3 when there are so many...

Then it hit me.

jim