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Rich Harris
08-03-2011, 3:28 PM
After picking up a Stanley #4 type 13 smoother I was showing it off to my father. At 79 he doesn't do any woodworking anymore so he decided to give me his old plane he got as a young man. It's a Woden #4 and I'm guessing he bought it sometime in the late 40's or early 50's in England. Set it next to my Stanley #4 and it's really hard to tell the difference. These two planes are almost identical in every way.
I've researched the company and found that Record and the Steel Nut and Joseph Hampton company who made the Woden line had some type of merger depending on what wesite you read. One says Record bought Woden another says Woden aquired Record.
What I'm looking for is if anyone can point me somewhere that can date my plane and any insight into the planes themselves. The blade seems to be a bit higher quality steel than the Stanley. I've been working some pretty hard wood this past week and the Woden has held it's edge better.

Can anyone help? I've even googled within the .uk domain and can't find much.
george wilson
08-03-2011, 4:19 PM
I think Woden was the Norse god of planes.:) Ship builders would scream WODEN! take a large gulp from a horn of mead,and plane furiously.
Jim Koepke
08-03-2011, 4:29 PM
Pictures might help. Especially of things like the lateral adjuster.

I think at one time Record paid Stanley to make copies of Stanley planes.

jtk
Brian Deakin
01-23-2016, 12:19 PM
I hope this helps

http://wodentools.com/datingwodenplanes.html

regards Brian
Allan Speers
01-23-2016, 5:57 PM
I think Woden was the Norse god of planes.:) Ship builders would scream WODEN! take a large gulp from a horn of mead,and plane furiously.




Heck, that's what I do as well ! Sadly, it's hard to find a really good mead, these days.
William Adams
01-24-2016, 8:29 AM
If you’re ever in Virginia, the Stonewall Winery, in Concord, bottles mead using a 13th century recipe — they have to distribute it as wine though and if you can, you should drop by at springtime and purchase the early bottling, before they filter out the spices.

Props to Brian for finding what should be the right page.