A Couple of Small Finds

[Mark Godlesky]

I don't know if I'm just not looking in the right places, but there don't seem to be too many old tools in the Phoenix area. I stopped in at the Habitat for Humanity restore and found these on the shelf. All they usually have are a few chewed up screwdrivers with plastic handles. They weren't marked with a price so I offered the checkout guy $10 for the pair.

The plane is a Stanley 3C with the usual paint spatters, grime and surface rust. The levercap has a chunk taken out of the edge, probably from being used as a screwdriver. (Does any one have a spare lever cap they'd like to part with?) The brace is a Stanley 945 with a 10" swing. Except for wear on the wooden parts it seems to be in good shape.

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[Jim Koepke]

The image doesn't show the lever cap damage.

It looks like an older model than any of the lever caps I have. The ones I have of that size came out of a high school shop so they are likely beat up just as bad.

If it is not too deep of a chip, it could be ground away.

A few more pics of the plane and it would be easy to put a date on it.

BTW, that is a good deal. I like to stop at our local Restore when in town.

jtk

[Mark Godlesky]

Thanks Jim. I'll take some more pics when I go out to the oven - I meant gagage- later.

[Mark Godlesky]

Here are the puictures.

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It says Bailey No. 3 by the knob.
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It says PAT'd MAR-25-02 AUG-19-02 in front of the tote.

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You can see about 1/3 of the edge on the levercap has been chewed up.

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There are no markings on the blade, chip breaker, or levercap.

Thanks,

Mark

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

I've seen that kind of damage before; a relative says that's what happened when he tried to use the lever cap to loosen the chipbreaker screw. Makes sense, I know sometimes when you're the lever cap in one hand and the blade assembly in the other, it seems tempting, but that old cast iron doesnt' take well to those kinds of forces. . .

[Bill Houghton]

I've seen that kind of damage before; a relative says that's what happened when he tried to use the lever cap to loosen the chipbreaker screw. Makes sense, I know sometimes when you're the lever cap in one hand and the blade assembly in the other, it seems tempting, but that old cast iron doesnt' take well to those kinds of forces. . .

Seems to me my shop teacher taught me to use the lever cap that way. I've never broken one, and have no desire to know how the experience feels, so I've stopped doing it long ago.

To return to Mark's original question, I bet Clarence Blanchard at Fine Tool Journal (Google it, and e-mail him) could provide one for you, particularly if you're not picky about matching type (that is, production years) exactly.

Lots of folks love their No. 3s for small work smoothing.

[Dave Ring]

Yup! That's what I was taught in 8th grade shop class too. If the plane was mine I'd grind the edge back til it's straight, which shouldn't cost more than a sixteenth of an inch or so. If necessary you could bring the edge forward again by extending the slot of the "keyhole". This would cost nothing more than a few minutes of your time.

[Mark Godlesky]

Bill - Thanks for the tip on Clarence. I may try grind it out as suggested by Jim, or use it as is to see if the chipping is an issue. I'm not concerned if I mix types (or even manufacturers). I'd just like to tune it into a decent user.

[Jim Koepke]

That looks like it will make a great user plane.

I like type 10s, they aren't as common as type 11s, but they are usually less sought after by collector/users.

It looks like a little grinding on the lever cap will make it work fine.

jtk

[Mark Godlesky]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge, Jim.