Stanley Bailey #3

[JimB1]

My Dad used to tinker around in his basement shop a lot but the last 15 years or so he hasn't done anything because he can't get down the stairs too well anymore but even before then he wasn't into fine woodworking, more like trying to fix stuff around the house and hide from my Mom when he broke whatever he was working on

At some point he picked up a couple of old planes, probably thinking to fix them up and use them but he never did and they've been sitting in his shop for something like 30 years.

One is a Stanley Bailey #3 bench plane with a corrugated sole. It's in decent shape but needs some TLC and probably could use a new blade or at least have this one reground correctly. Looks like someone (maybe my dad) put it on a grinder to try and sharpen it.

The other is a block plane that has marks on the side that say Millers Falls No 17. It says made in USA on the casting behind the frog. It's about 1/2" longer at the base then my Stanley 9 1/2" made in England that I bought a few years back. The blade lock is snapped off under the thumb rest so there's only a little bit of the shaft sticking out which makes locking the blade tough but not impossible. Not sure if it can be repaired. It also has a reverse threaded thumb screw behind and under the frog that appears to change the angle of the blade rather then moving the blade forward or back like the knob on the back of the modern Stanley block plane. Also, there is a long lever that goes back under the frog that moves left/right to align the blade with the opening.

I'm going to clean them up and see what I can do with them. I'm not sure how useful they will be but should be fun anyway... The Stanley #3 is the most interesting to me. Anyone have one of these or something like it? What do you use it for?

Thanks

-Jim

[RenaissanceWW]

In the Stanley numbering system the 1, 2, 3, and 4 are all really smoothing planes. The short lengths allow them to follow the topography and clean it up. They are designed to take thin shavings. I have 2 #3s (cause I have a problem) and I use them a lot. I tend to prefer smaller smoothing planes because they can get into spots the bigger ones can't.

[Bob Rozaieski]

I agree with Shannon. The #3 is a fantastic smoother in a great size. When I used to use metal bench planes, I much preferred my #3 to my #4, even though my #4 had a Hock iron and Clifton 2-piece chipbreaker and the #3 had the stock iron and chipbreaker. The #3 to me was just a more useful plane for smoothing due to its smaller size. Now that I use wooden bench planes, I have 2 smoothers, an 8" coffin smoother with wide iron (like #4½ wide) and a very small 6½" smoother with a narrow 1-5/8" wide iron. I really like the feel of the smaller plane better and feel it does a better job as a smoother because it is smaller and can handle localized grain changes better than the larger plane. FWIW, the standard Old Street Tools (formerly Clark & Williams) smoother is 6-5/8" long with a 1-5/8" wide iron as well. So apparently I'm not the only one who feels a smaller smoother is more useful for hand work. Your #3 should tune up to be a great smoother.

[Pete Bennett]

My Dad used to tinker around in his basement shop a lot but the last 15 years or so he hasn't done anything because he can't get down the stairs too well anymore but even before then he wasn't into fine woodworking, more like trying to fix stuff around the house and hide from my Mom when he broke whatever he was working on

At some point he picked up a couple of old planes, probably thinking to fix them up and use them but he never did and they've been sitting in his shop for something like 30 years.

One is a Stanley Bailey #3 bench plane with a corrugated sole. It's in decent shape but needs some TLC and probably could use a new blade or at least have this one reground correctly. Looks like someone (maybe my dad) put it on a grinder to try and sharpen it.

The other is a block plane that has marks on the side that say Millers Falls No 17. It says made in USA on the casting behind the frog. It's about 1/2" longer at the base then my Stanley 9 1/2" made in England that I bought a few years back. The blade lock is snapped off under the thumb rest so there's only a little bit of the shaft sticking out which makes locking the blade tough but not impossible. Not sure if it can be repaired. It also has a reverse threaded thumb screw behind and under the frog that appears to change the angle of the blade rather then moving the blade forward or back like the knob on the back of the modern Stanley block plane. Also, there is a long lever that goes back under the frog that moves left/right to align the blade with the opening.

I'm going to clean them up and see what I can do with them. I'm not sure how useful they will be but should be fun anyway... The Stanley #3 is the most interesting to me. Anyone have one of these or something like it? What do you use it for?

Thanks

-Jim

I used to have a No 3 smoother fantastic! But you're statement that it has a corrugated sole suggest it could be a toothing plane, but, I've never seen one that small.

[Mister Pants]

I have a #3, I don't use it too much as I find it just a smaller smoother, but I know there are folk who prefer a #3 over a #4 as it fits their hands/workstyle better. If you need to replace the iron, I've had great success with the Hock replacements, much thicker and they hold a ridiculously good edge. Generally you can clean up the iron and cap though if you don't want to add the expense. The only time I've really seen an iron that needs replacement is if it's horribly pitted or if it's not flat. By not flat, I don't mean needs to be flattened, I mean you put it on a flat surface and it can't sit flat no matter what. I suppose even that could be fixed, but I'm not a metalsmith.