Stanley No. 1 Tote and Knobs

[Nicholas Lingg]

Who makes Knobs for Stanley No. 1 Planes? I may also need a Tote.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Who makes Knobs for Stanley No. 1 Planes? I may also need a Tote.

Contact LN - I assume they will sell the knob + handle separate from the plane.

[Mike Brady]

Lie-Nielsen makes them for their own planes. They could perhaps be modified and they are cherry only. If I had a #1 Stanley, I would make a set. Even without a lathe you can turn a knob in a drill press. The best solution is to purchase the wood parts from an on-line seller of plane parts. #1 original parts are expensive because the seller knows the completed plane is worth over $1000. I needed a lever cap for one once, and a replacement was around $300. at that time. I sold the plane as-is for $700.

[Bill Houghton]

Does this constitute a driveby gloat? Are you saying you have a Stanley No. 1?

[Tim Atkins]

I heard that a knob for a 98 or 99 will work for Number 1. Never had a number 1, so I really wouldn't know for sure.

[Nicholas Lingg]

Does this constitute a driveby gloat? Are you saying you have a Stanley No. 1?

Yes! And someone cut the bottom off the Knob

[Tim Atkins]

That is not nice at all. But, You could graft onto it and it would be hard to notice the repair.

[Jim Koepke]

I heard that a knob for a 98 or 99 will work for Number 1. Never had a number 1, so I really wouldn't know for sure.

Yes it will. The hardware is also the same except the nut on the side rabbets is usually nickel plated. Often a 98 or 99 can be had pretty cheaply if it is beat up and missing the depth stop.

jtk

[Moses Yoder]

I imagine if you put an ad in the classifieds a turner with the time would make one for you. You would need a good one to copy, I bet you could turn one down from a larger knob like maybe a #5. I would suggest just oiling them, wouldn't be original but it would be nice.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Lie-Nielsen makes them for their own planes. They could perhaps be modified..........

Are you saying they will not fit? OR are you saying - maybe yes, maybe no? Cherry is not an option? THen - have you asked to see if they offer other species?

Second option - Patrick Leach @ The Superior Works makes a bedrock 601 - - but the original #1 was bailey, not bedrock ....maybe those fit?

http://www.supertool.com/601.htm

THe OP asked for people that make knobs and handles - LN and Patrick do. Probably worth contacting them - I have no doubt LN will sell them as parts. Dunno about Patrick. I cannot see how hard it is for a knob to fit - tote, maybe.... That's all I got.

[Nicholas Lingg]

Thanks! ALL good suggestions. I can turn one, I just need the overall height and the diameter of the base. If someone with a No 1 would be kind enough to give me those sizes I could turn one. Then I just need to know which Rosewood Stanley used.

[Jim Koepke]

I bet you could turn one down from a larger knob like maybe a #5.

Do not put any money on that bet. The #1 has a different size mounting boss on the base of the plane. My recollection is the nut at the top of the mounting hardware is also smaller than the standard size knob and tote nut.

jtk

[Harold Burrell]

You have a #1, eh?

You majorly suck.

[Mike Brady]

Yes I had one...and sold it. Here are my two #1's together:http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee300/finefettle/1s004.jpg (http://s234.photobucket.com/user/finefettle/media/1s004.jpg.html)
The knob on the Stanley was in fact made from a larger vintage knob. Unfortunately, the corner of the lever cap was chipped off. Honestly, the mystique of owning one these planes is fleeting. They are simply shelf queens. The LN can be a functioning plane if you need a small smoother for box work, etc.

Back to the OP's question. Making, or having someone else make, a knob and handle is the best solution. You need to have to plane in front of you to do it right. Do you have the handle hardware? It is unique to the number one.

Another approach would be to part-out your plane and use the proceeds to buy a complete one.

[Jim Koepke]

I can turn one, I just need the overall height and the diameter of the base.

The knob is 1-5/16" tall and the base measures 13/32" diameter.

Good luck and post some pics when you have it done.

jtk

[Harold Burrell]

the mystique of owning one these planes is fleeting...

I would be WAY more interested in the cash I could get for selling one.

[Moses Yoder]

I was poking around and found this (Stanley totes & knobs) (http://www.drozsoldetymestanleytotesandknobs.com/index.html) they have #1 size for various prices. For a #1 it would be worth it, and you would have matched wood.

[Ralph Boumenot]

Nobody mentioned Bill Rittner. He makes replacement knobs and totes for the stanley line.

[Mike Brady]

I was poking around and found this (Stanley totes & knobs) (http://www.drozsoldetymestanleytotesandknobs.com/index.html) they have #1 size for various prices. For a #1 it would be worth it, and you would have matched wood.
The Droz wood parts are fantastic. I didn't know he was still in business.

[Stew Denton]

Hi Nicholas,

You asked about the type of wood, and I did not see an answer, so.....

The wood used in the original type of rosewood knobs and totes was Brazilian rosewood. However, it is on the cities list and it cannot be exported from Brazil even as completed projects.

I have seen it on Ebay from folks who bought it before the ban, but have not seen any stock thick enough for a knob, but only looked a little a couple of years ago. The lumber I saw was only small pieces, and it was pretty pricy, in fact I figured up what the guy wanted for the pieces he had listed, and it amounted to $300 a board foot. That doesn't mean that all of it is that high, but that was the price of the one guy who had some listed. He owned a business that had a number of old ratty sheds on his property, and found that one of that had some Brazilian rosewood in it.

The other main source of Brazilian rosewood is old furniture and lumber in finished house trim, that can be salvaged for the lumber. In some cases the rosewood is worth more than the old furniture.

At any rate, I would go for Jim's suggestion if I could. Those other types of old planes may also have Brazilian rosewood knobs. This isn't a certainty, though, because a lot of the old Stanley 71s like mine have knobs that are not rosewood.

The above assumes that the #1 you have is a very old one. Stanley used Brazilian rosewood mostly up to about WW2 for their Bailey and Bedrock planes, to the best of my knowledge. They did stop using it a little during the war, but started again for a short time after that.

If your plane is a type 16 (give a or take a type number or two) or earlier it very likely used Brazilian rosewood, but if it is a later one, a war model, or one of the odd ones while they were using something else, it is likely some other type of wood. You will need to know what type number you have. You may know that, but if you don't, then you can post pictures and one of us on this forum can figure that out.

Stew

[Stew Denton]

Hi Nicholas,

I looked on Ebay last night, and found several pieces of Brazilian rosewood for sale, primarily for guitar work. I did see a couple of turning blanks that should work for a knob. They were 2X2X6 inches for about $30, and that doesn't include shipping.

I did not read the information to see if the pieces were pre-ban, or what. At any rate, for the time being Brazilian rosewood is listed on Ebay in a size that would work for a Stanley #1 knob. I think I saw 2 such pieces listed, but don't recall for certain.

Whether it is genuine Brazilian rosewood or not, who knows.

Stew

[Nicholas Lingg]

I just want to thank everyone who helped get this plane back in working order. Especially Greg Drozdowski for working with me to get tote with the right screw angle the new knob, and Tom Christensen for making the correct length screws. The first is the before and the second is the after.