Stanley C556MP plane blade size

[Wakahisa Shinta]

I bought an old Stanley plane off of CL for $2. It has some rust. The japanning is burgundy. The lever cap has "STANLEY" etched on it, surrounded by yellow paint. The tote and knob are old, but intact. All the parts disassemble easily. "C556MP" is stamped on the body. I plan to restore it as my first plane for wading into hand tool world. Problem is that it is missing the blade and cap iron/chipbreaker. Does anyone know what size blade this plane need? I am monitoring that large auction site, but "C556MP" doesn't come up often.

[Lonnie Gallaher]

I am pretty sure it is a #4 size stanley. Check the size of the mouth. If it is just a bit over 2" it is a #4. It uses the same blade and chip breaker as regular stanley #4.

[Jim Koepke]

Pictures always help. It took me a moment to find your plane. It looks like a #4 sized plane.

This can be verified by the frog's width of 2". If it is smaller at 1-3/4" it is a #3 size plane.

Home depot has the blade, but not sure where you can get a cap iron for less than you paid for the plane.

All of the makers who sell blades and cap irons will be a lot more than $2.

http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=66868&cat=1,41182

Looks like about $60 from Lee Valley.

jtk

[Wakahisa Shinta]

Jim, I think it's a #3. The frog is 1 3/4" width. Even Patrick's Blood and Gore does not mention this plane.

Pictures...

304401 304402

It would be ironic to invest an additional $60 for a $2 CL find.

[Greg Wease]

This is a pretty low level Stanley plane ca. 1980's. There are a lot of Stanley planes with markings such as yours, Cxxxx, that appear to be manufacturing numbers, not catalog or model numbers. I wouldn't spend a lot of time on this one.

[Lonnie Gallaher]

I think your assumption is correct in being a #3. I have one of these burgundy planes. It was the first plane I purchased, before I knew what a real plane was supposed to look like. It does work ok after some work. Mine is marked C557MP. The frog is just under 2 inches wide. I defiantly would not spend money on a premium blade set.

BTW. It looks like a crack from the mouth up the side of the plane in the second picture.

[Daniel Rode]

Probably not a plane worth investing in to restore but for $2, how can you go wrong taking a chance? There's a good possibility that the tote, knob or a bolt is worth more than that to someone trying to fix up a different plane.

[Wakahisa Shinta]

I looked around the net and found a source for blade and chipbreaker. Together, they would cost about $55 + S&H. I'll wait a bit more before I put down that amount in addition to my initial investment. I like old tools and want to learn how to restore old planes, so I bought this one to teach myself. I will go through the process of restoring it, getting it ready for a blade + chipbreaker should I change my mind and want to invest more money into it. I figured it is a cheaper Stanley plane from the lack of information I can find online, but it was probably useful to someone at some point. Therefore, I'll give it my best effort to make it useful to me. Thanks for the information.

[Jim Koepke]

I figured it is a cheaper Stanley plane from the lack of information I can find online, but it was probably useful to someone at some point.

During the years that particular plane was manufactured there wasn't a lot of hand tool work among the general population. My thoughts on the average purpose of a hand plane at that time was because a door was sticking and someone's wife was on him to fix it. Gave him an excuse to go to the hardware store, buy a plane and a six pack, come home knock a few shavings off the door and act like a hero for the rest of the day. Then the plane got put on a shelf and forgotten.

It was useful. It still can be.

Lonnie mentioned a crack in the body. If that is the case, all the rest of the parts may be of some use. Even a broken body can be used to mount handles on while they are being sanded or glued.

You may find another broken plane with a blade that fits. You may find one that needs other parts you now have.

jtk

[steven c newman]

One or two things to try...

Pick up a Stanley Handyman plane about the same size, they run ( around here, anyway) about $8-15

#3 would be a 1203/1103 on the iron....

The lever cap can be just any old plain one from a junker/ rust-bucket. Or just reuse the Handyman one.

The "Burgandy" is called Cordovan. I had a Stanley 9-1/2 that was VERY good....and it was a Cordovan.

Otherwise, go to nhplaneparts.com and see what Eric has...

[Wakahisa Shinta]

Thanks all. Regarding the crack in the body, I can't feel any unevenness running my finger over it. It doesn't show up on the japanning side. The cost was minimal so I took a chance. Funny thing is, I think I am getting a bit attached to this broken tool, wanting to bring it back to being useful again.

I couldn't find nhplaneparts.com online, but the ebay store is open. I came up with a Stanley #3 1 3/4" iron and iron cap after a bit of searching. Bought for $16 and change, making $18 so far invested. Let's see if I can make some nice shavings with this C556MP.

[Jim Koepke]

If it works well, then you have a rough diamond.

If it is difficult to get fine, even shavings it may work well as a scrub plane.

jtk

[Wakahisa Shinta]

Happy to report back that the plane has been in service for the latter part of this year. It is restored, not pretty, but functional. It makes fine, even shavings with maple, poplar, walnut, fir, and pine. The crack has so far not affect function. It is definitely not a fine woodworking tool. Adjusting the iron takes some finessing. It has been a good first plane. Thanks to all who posted!