> On Jan 27, 2012, at 10:09 PM, Jason Knight wrote:
>> I just came across an unusual smooth plane. Or, unusual to me, at
>> least. The only markings I find on it are on the adjustment knob
>> (Patented Aug 3d 1875) and on the blade (L Bailey's Patent Dec 24,
>> 1867). The unusual part is the that the lever cap has no spring
>> mechanism to lock the blade in. Instead, the whole assembly fits
>> under a rotating cam arm to hold the blade in. I tried using the
>> google as best I could, but I'm not coming up with anything like
>> this. I've put a few pictures at https://plus.google.com/photos/1140-
>> 67123585916531699/albums/5702511780153748865
On Jan 27, 2012, at 7:36 PM, Joshua Clark wrote:
> The plane looks unusual because it's not a Stanley. It was made by the
> Bailey Tool Co. of Woonsocket, RI. This was Selden, not Leonard
> Bailey. The earliest Bailey Tool Co. planes used this cam lock cap
> according to PTAMPIA. The blade should have the distinct battelaxe
> logo that Bailey Tool Co. used. I don't know if the cap iron is
> original with Leonard's patent date on it.. I don't know that much
> about these planes...
Josh has it right--the body of the plane is from Selden Bailey, who I
believe was Leonard's brother. The Aug. 3, 1875 patent on the adjustment
wheel seems to be this one:
<http://www.datamp.org/patents/displayPatent.php?pn=166240&id=8847> for
the levercap mechanism. Not sure what the wheel actually does, but looks
like it is meant to adjust the depth of cut. This seems to be the patent
for the cam lever for securing the blade to the frog:
<http://www.datamp.org/patents/displayPatent.php?pn=112675&id=8822> It
is dated March 14, 1871, assigned to Joseph and Selden Bailey of
Woonsocket, RI. The patent date of Dec. 24, 1867 on the cap iron
attached to your blade might add to the confusion. It is for Leonard
Bailey's springy cap iron, which allowed him to get away with relatively
thin blades. I believe the blade/cap iron on your plane is not correct
to the rest of the beast. It is apparently from 2 different Leonard Bailey-
design planes, put on a Selden Bailey plane. That is confirmed by the
presence of the small slot in the upper part of the cap iron, which in
Leonard Bailey's depth adjustment mechanism engages the upper tip of the
"Y" lever, which in turn is moved back and forth by the adjustment screw
protruding from the back of the frog--none of which appears on your
plane. I will point out, however, that the stamping of the Dec. 24, 1867
on the cap iron was a feature of "Type 1" of the sequence of Bailey-
Stanley planes, before Leonard sold out to Stanley, and known as "Boston
Bailey." (This from Roger K. Smith's type study in John Walter's big
Stanley book, p. 677.) So your cap iron, although incorrect for your
Seldon Bailey plane, dates from roughly the same era. Your BLADE,
however, if it is a Stanley blade, is from post-April 19, 1892. That's
when the larger round hole in the slot in the blade was switched from
the upper part to the end nearest the cutting edge. Have you inspected
the blade itself for any sort of logo? I imagine some collector might be
interested in what you have there . . . Tom Holloway
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