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John Bregan
12-17-2011, 10:17 AM
I recently received a craftsman #7 plane as a gift from my neighbor. It is in excellent condition, but is missing the lever cap, chip breaker and blade. I would like to use craftsman parts, but am unable to locate any online. Can someone assist me?

Don Dorn
12-17-2011, 10:27 AM
I think that's a tall order, but do understand your wanting to keep it orginal. If it's going to be a user, I wouldn't hesitate to put a Hock iron and chipbreaker (or LV - they are great) and just pick up a Stanley lever cap for a 2 3/8" plane and start making shavings.

Mark Baldwin III
12-17-2011, 10:32 AM
Do you have some pictures? I only ask because one of the plane experts could figure out who the actual maker was. Stanley, I believe, made some of the Craftsman planes. If it's Stanley made, then stepping up to a Hock or Lee Valley replacement iron and back iron, is what I'd do (since you need new parts anyway). A Stanley lever cap could fit, but I can see why you might want to find the Craftsman one.

(ha! looks like Don and I wrote the same answer at the same time)

Bill Houghton
12-17-2011, 12:25 PM
I agree: that'd be a challenge, particularly since Sears changed the Craftsman logo several times over the course of the 20th century.

You can get some idea of the maker here: http://www.brasscityrecords.com/toolworks/graphics/plane%20id.html, although I'm not convinced it's 100% reliable indicator. Still, it seems from what I've seen that the major makers' Bailey*-pattern planes all used pretty well the same lever cap dimensions.

*Stanley's classic bench plane design was developed by Leonard Bailey. The major makers (Sargent, Union, Millers-Falls) copied the design as soon as patent expirations permitted, although with some variations. Millers-Falls came out with a two-part hinged lever cap, for instance; and at least some Union planes have a tapered iron.

Jim Koepke
12-17-2011, 1:17 PM
I agree: that'd be a challenge, particularly since Sears changed the Craftsman logo several times over the course of the 20th century.

You can get some idea of the maker here: http://www.brasscityrecords.com/toolworks/graphics/plane%20id.html, although I'm not convinced it's 100% reliable indicator. Still, it seems from what I've seen that the major makers' Bailey*-pattern planes all used pretty well the same lever cap dimensions.

*Stanley's classic bench plane design was developed by Leonard Bailey. The major makers (Sargent, Union, Millers-Falls) copied the design as soon as patent expirations permitted, although with some variations. Millers-Falls came out with a two-part hinged lever cap, for instance; and at least some Union planes have a tapered iron.

+1 on what Bill says about lever caps from other maker's planes being able to fill the job. That would be my suggestion until you can find the correct cap.

The lateral lever is helpful in identification. The biggest problem is Stanley used different levers on different models. Some of their planes use a lever like the Union lever. They bought Union Plane Co. in ~1920. They also used a lever similar to Sargent's. The "boat tiller" style was mostly used on their top lines of planes.

jtk

Archie England
12-17-2011, 2:29 PM
Just a little nudge for correct parts.... I've owned a few vintage (much older, pre 1950s) Craftsman planes that were excellent. The earlier excellent models had a blue label inset on the lever cap. Later models often had a red label inset. The one's I've used are top notch users, but there's plenty of later "junk" out there labeled "vintage," too. So, be careful. As for using it, ST. James Bay has Stanley parts that should fit the plane. By all means take the opportunity to put a quality new blade on this old plane. I'm having great success with Hock blades and the new Veritas Stanley replacement blades. One day, I'll try out a premium LN blade, too.