Orange paint / Stanley Planes

[Ron Bontz]

I have been reading and reading but have not found the answer to ....When did Stanley start painting the embossed background orange? How about that yellow? Sorry, despite doing alot of reading lately, the amount of knowledge I have on planes will still fit quite nicely in a thimble. A small one at that.:o

[Greg Wease]

I have only seen the order of appearance of the colors: first black, then orange and finally yellow (in the 50's).

[Jim Koepke]

Check the type study on Rexmill.com, (Johnny Kleso's site).

I think it lists it in the "Type 13" 1925 - 1928 period.

Not real definitive, but Stanley was making planes, not keeping track of what was in the assembly for historians.

jtk

[Ron Bontz]

Thanks Jim for the info. My "planes" bookmarks are growing.

[Jim Koepke]

Thanks Jim for the info. My "planes" bookmarks are growing.

You are welcome.

Treat type studies with a little skepticism. There are a few flaws for one. Also, some of the changes were made in between the type dates.

Also from what has been published, the type studies may have been limited in the sizes of planes used in the research.

There are also planes that turned up later that did not fit into the types already listed.

Some examples would be what John Walter calls the 6a. The base was supposedly made in about 1891 and is not a type 6 and it does not have the foundry markings of a type 7.

The next major in type difference is in the type 9. The casting changes from the early type 9 to the later type 9.

The type where the Stanley logo shows up on the lever cap, type 13, had some variation with some of the lever caps being of the older style. It would have not been prudent to throw all the extra lever caps into the trash bin to put the new lever caps on planes in production.

Type studies can be a source of enjoyment and helpful when spare parts are being sought, but what is really important is if the plane is doing what the user expects it to do.

jtk

[Ron Bontz]

Indeed. As always these forums have been invaluable for learning. Thanks

[Dave Anderson NH]

To Amplify Jim's remarks on the accuracy of type studies for #1-#8 bench planes, they are only accurate for the specific size of plane covered though people have through usage extended them to all of the other sizes of bench planes. Stanley's sources of castings and other parts were both internal and external and those sources changed based on contracts and changes in business relationships with their suppliers, no different than today really. You have to expect that there is quite a bit of variation within what is considered a "Type". The type study information can be considered only as a guide, because even to this day previously unheard of examples show up on the collectors market. Similarly, every once in a while a prototype of a previously unknown variant of a standard plane shows up. Stanley was continuously experimenting with ideas to both lower manufacturing costs and conversely get a jump up on a competitor who had introduced a new feature. Many of the prototypes were failures from a functional, cost effectiveness, or manufacturing efficiency standpoint. Most of the clunker prototypes were destroyed at the factory, but occasionally someone slipped one out to a friend or family, and less frequently a small batch was made for field testing.

[Johnny Kleso]

They started painting orange with late T13 and T17 maybe late T16s they stopped painting and then started using black paint during WWII..
I am guessing that T19-T20 they started painting with yellow