Stanley Knobs and Totes - species of Rosewood?

[Dave Beauchesne]

I can't seem to find this anywhere - and I know it may be subjective ( we are only going to deal with the Rosewood K & Ts for now ) - but, does anyone know what species of Rosewood Stanly used on their Knobs and Totes?

Thanks;

Dave B

[Jim Koepke]

The only reference I recall is Brazilian Rosewood.

My understanding is it is no longer cut (legally) and is only available from old diminishing supplies.

jtk

[Mike Brady]

Whatever it is you can't get it anymore. I believe is was from Brazil. Definitely embargoed in the U.S., but there probably is none left anyway.

[Tom McMahon]

It was Rosewood probably Brazilian, however East Indian rosewood is available and most people won't be able to tell the difference.

[george wilson]

Definitely Brazilian rosewood.

[Stew Denton]

Dave,

My understanding is the same as everyone above. I have only seen it listed as Brazilian rosewood.

The problem, of course, is that it is considered an endangered species, and is on the Cities list. It can not even be exported from Brazil legally now, not even as finished products.

You can still find it on occasion if some one has some that was imported before the ban, and they can prove it was imported at that time. Folks are tearing apart old rosewood furniture now to sell the rosewood, as the rosewood is worth more then the furniture itself.

I have seen some on Ebay a while back, the guy owned a rare hardwood business, and had some that was in storage in a building that he had not been in in many years, and then he found it, whether it was under other lumber, or what I don't know. What I do know is that when I figured up what he was asking for the relatively small pieces he was selling, it amounted to about $300 a board foot. Whether he sold it or not, at that price, I don't know.

Yes, as the others point out, it is definitely Brazilian rosewood.

If what you are wanting is to make a replacement tote or knob for an old Stanley plane, you can find original parts on Ebay, a knob will set you back $10 to $15 or so for a fairly good one, and a tote about $20+ to maybe $35 or so, and these prices do not include shipping. They are original parts, and as such are Brazilian rosewood. If you go that route, make sure that the replacement part is for the same "type number" as the one you have.....I speak from experience (bad experience.)

Stew

[Jim Koepke]

If what you are wanting is to make a replacement tote or knob for an old Stanley plane, you can find original parts on Ebay, a knob will set you back $10 to $15 or so for a fairly good one, and a tote about $20+ to maybe $35 or so, and these prices do not include shipping.

That's more than I paid for most of my old planes.

jtk

[Dave Beauchesne]

Thanks for the replies - I was pretty sure it was Brazilian Rosewood - I have quite a few planes and try to find more every weekend !!

I have a friend that has a few pretty good chunks - wow, the smell is intoxicating!

Again, thanks for the info.

Dave B

[Stew Denton]

Hi Jim,

I have bought a few, maybe 2 or 3, for less than that too. I would rather buy a broken plane for the parts than individual parts on Ebay, because I think the prices are way too high for parts, but what's a person to do if that is the only way to find parts.

Vintage woodworking tools are very hard to find around here, so my problem is that the number of planes you see around here is extremely small. I don't go to a lot of garage sales, but I have only seen one plane of any kind what so ever at the ones those I have gone to, and that is over a very long period of time. This area is pretty sparse when it comes to vintage wood working tools. An antique shop in town has maybe 6 to 10 planes or so, but none of them are vintage Stanley planes. I hope to hit a couple of flea markets this year, and maybe I will do better at one of those. A flea market is where I found the old Stanley planes that I bought at a reasonable price.

Guys like you and some of the others live in an old tool paradise compared to us who live in the western parts of Texas, Oklahoma, and even urban spots like Denver. I stopped at a pawn shop in one of the bigger towns in Colorado once, one that advertised that it specialized in vintage tools. No vintage Stanley planes were there either, but they did have a few later ones.

Stew