Help me to recognize this plane

[Dwain Lambrigger]

I bought a plane for $10. on ebay and I think it was misrepresented. The seller claimed it was a miller's falls plane. Here is a description:

1) The handle and tote were black painted wood
2) The lever cap is black and unmarked.
3) There are no markings on the sole to reflect it's type of size
4) There is no inscription on the cheek stating Miller's Falls, and the type
5) The frog is red, like a MF
6) The blade is marked Miller's Falls
7) The sole is 14" long by 2 3/8" wide

I have looked on a few MF websites, and this doesn't match anything I have seen. So, did I buy a FrankenPlane? If not, was there some form of discount MF plan out there?

the lever cap is obviously not correct, it is too small for the blade and chipbreaker, but I figure I can find one of those, if it is worth the investment. Let me know and I can download pictures.

Please help!

Dwain

[Brian Ward]

It's probably a Millers Falls #900. It doesn't necessarily have markings.

http://www.oldtoolheaven.com/bench/economyplanes.htm

I've got one of 'em. It can be tuned to be a pretty good user.

[Dwain Lambrigger]

That sure looks like what I have, but the width stated 2" and mine is clearly 2 3/8. I will go with this however.

Thanks for the feedback.

[Billy Chambless]

I'm pretty sure the numbers given in the chart refer to blade width. My MF V-line 900 has a 2 3/8 wide sole with a 2 inch blade.

[Dwain Lambrigger]

OK. Thanks for your help. That makes sense. I may have an economy plane, but at least it isn't a Frankenplane!

[Brian Ward]

Actually, yours is likely a Millers Falls #814, since it's a jack plane (I must have not been paying close enough attention to your original post, sorry about that).

I wouldn't worry about the "economy" moniker on this particular plane. The #814 and #900 were mostly the same as the "premium" #14 and #9 planes. The differences included:

- Standard lever cap instead of 3-point cap (no big deal)
- No frog adjusting screw in the back (this thing often gets in the way, anyway)
- Domestic hardwood handles painted black instead of tropical hardwood
- Steel fastening hardware on the handles instead of brass
- Steel blade depth adjusting nut instead of brass

The frog and sole were otherwise like the premium planes, which was nice. They provided milling across the full surface of the frog for the blade to rest upon. This is in stark contrast to the cheaper Stanley planes (and even the later-model Baileys!).

In any case, these planes work fine. Attached is a photo of an #814 that I bought for 99 cents and did no other tuning on other than sharpen the blade, dress the cap iron, and remove the rust from the bottom.