Esoteric Question: Bevel Gauge Type Study?

[Jared McMahon]

I picked up a bevel gauge at an antique store, and it's cleaning up nicely. But the trick is, it has absolutely no markings anywhere on it except where the owner dimpled their initials into it. Clearly the gauge won't magically stop working simply because I don't know its make and model... but that doesn't stop me from *wanting* to know its make and model.

From the looking around I've done, it appears to be a Stanley #25 or a flagrant knock-off of one. Their gauges look to have gone through a number of changes across the years, and I'm wondering if anyone has bothered to do a type study on them, or more generally if there are any good resources out there for Stanley's non-plane tools.

[David Gendron]

i can't help you, but I think a photo or two would help the one who could.

[Jim Koepke]

There is very little that can be done to help without photos.

I have one with nothing but a patent date stamped in the wood. Some have a particular lever action or other part that can identify the general time period in which it was made.

One problem is the information stamped in to the wood can wear away with time.

jim

[Jared McMahon]

I'll take a few pics this evening.

But I don't like solving a problem once when I could solve it in a more permanent manner. I'm game to do a type break-down on Stanley bevel gauges if people are willing to feed me pics and tidbits of information they may have. Even just having a breakdown of the different permutations would be an excellent start.

If anyone has a Stanley bevel gauge and they're willing and able to provide me pictures/description/etc., they can do it via PM or email. I made a SMC-specific GMail account for myself, I can post the address if that would be easier. I can take the info, sort it out and pretty it up.

[Jared McMahon]

Here we go. My garage is my workshop and the lighting is pretty awful, pardon the color balance. I tried getting a few detail shots but they didn't come out good enough to be of any real use.

[lowell holmes]

Woodworking magazine did a piece on bevel gauges you might find interesting.