Chestnut Posted June 23, 2022 Report Share Posted June 23, 2022 My Stanley block plane recently had another gravity lesson. It took a tumble from work bench height onto my garages concrete floor and the adjustment screw/lever got bent. I've tried to find the replacement parts from multiple places but it appears that Stanley has discontinued the parts. Maybe I'm clumsy and need to change or maybe this plane is unlucky but this is the 3rd time that I've had to replace this part. Does any one know of Stanley parts replacement? I need part 12-160 hardware kit. I've searched extensively on the internet and ebay and had no luck. Should i bother trying to get replacement parts for a tool that has probably been discontinued? If any thing else breaks would I be able to fix that? Are there other resources for replacement parts for Stanley tools? Or should i just self it and buy a LV or LN block plane? If this is the case what the heck do i buy? I currently have a LN no. 101 and I love it. I also have a LN no. 140 skew left, which is a great plane. I typically use my block planes for more utility type work, like flushing dove tails or box joints. I don't use them that often for finishing tasks. I've had my eye on a scraper plane for a while. Part of me is wondering if I should just lean on the plans i have and send the block plan to pasture and get the scraper plane I want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted June 23, 2022 Report Share Posted June 23, 2022 Even if you can find the replacement parts, the old planes have different threads than newer ones. One of mine suffered the same fate years ago. That was when they sold replacement parts, but the part that came had a metric thread. I was able to rethread the hole in the plane body, but was wishing I didn't have to do that. The one that needed the replacement was a Cordovan colored one I bought new in the 1970's. I used it yesterday. If yours is a newer model, the adjustment knob has a rounded outer shape, rather than the more squared corners on the round knob that the old ones did. You may be able to find replacement parts on ebay from people that part out planes. Mine needed the replacement before there was such a thing as ebay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted June 23, 2022 Report Share Posted June 23, 2022 Stanley block planes are fairly inexpensive on Ebay, Why not pick one up, then you'll have any parts you may need for it in the future? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted June 23, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2022 33 minutes ago, Tom King said: You may be able to find replacement parts on ebay from people that part out planes. Mine needed the replacement before there was such a thing as ebay. I did search pretty extensively but was unable to find anything. This is one of those Norris style adjusters that has 2 different threads on the screw. I have reached out to Lee Valley to see if I can get some dimensions from their norris adjusters and maybe buy one from them. 17 minutes ago, RichardA said: Stanley block planes are fairly inexpensive on Ebay, Why not pick one up, then you'll have any parts you may need for it in the future? it's $90-$100, if I'm going to shell out that much cash for parts I'll just go a different route. Even if i can find parts if they are over $25 I'm considering going a different direction as I don't really like this plane all that much. I suppose i could just try selling mine for parts. This is the plane i have for reference. It's not one of the cheap contractor grade block planes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted June 23, 2022 Report Share Posted June 23, 2022 Looking at the picture you posted, the mechanism looks real similar to LN block planes and I know they used Stanley for a starting point in a lot of their designs. Any chance their parts will work on your plane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immortan D Posted June 23, 2022 Report Share Posted June 23, 2022 On 6/23/2022 at 11:36 AM, Chestnut said: Or should i just self it and buy a LV or LN block plane? If this is the case what the heck do i buy? The LN 60 1/2 Adjustable mouth block plane. I have one and I love it. Just for the record, a couple of years ago I lost control of my LN #3 which ended up on the floor with a broken knob and a twisted brass screw. They sent me the replacement parts for free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted June 23, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2022 3 minutes ago, Chet said: Looking at the picture you posted, the mechanism looks real similar to LN block planes and I know they used Stanley for a starting point in a lot of their designs. Any chance their parts will work on your plane. I reached out to their customer service via email. I have not had a response yet. Just now, Immortan D said: Just for the record, a couple of years ago I lost control of my LN #3 which ended up on the floor with a broken knob and a twisted brass screw. They sent me the replacement parts for free. I've heard that a few times, it's so tempting to just buy everything from LN because their customer service is at a level that is hard to match. Even though i have the no. 101 It's tempting to snag the no. 102 as well as i use the small 101 all the dang time. The larger bodied block planes are near the size of my no. 3 which i like to use a lot more.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immortan D Posted June 23, 2022 Report Share Posted June 23, 2022 On 6/23/2022 at 1:09 PM, Chestnut said: The larger bodied block planes are near the size of my no. 3 which i like to use a lot more.... Yeah, but using the #3 single handed was the cause of my "accident" Never again. Block planes are better designed for single hand use. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted June 23, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2022 36 minutes ago, Immortan D said: Block planes are better designed for single hand use. With my tiny hands the 60-1/2 should be considered 2 handed.... that was the cause of one of my previous damages to this plane. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted June 23, 2022 Report Share Posted June 23, 2022 That's a newer model than the ones I was thinking of with the rounded edge adjuster knob. I don't know anything about these. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immortan D Posted June 23, 2022 Report Share Posted June 23, 2022 Looks like that Stanley plane has a Norris-type adjuster. If so, it won't be compatible with LN parts. LN block planes do not have a lateral adjuster mechanism since there's really not much room for lateral adjustment. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post drzaius Posted June 23, 2022 Popular Post Report Share Posted June 23, 2022 True story. My wife bought me a Record block plane about 30 years ago, knowing nothing about planes. I left it in the drawer for about 20 years because I thought it was a cheap piece of junk. Then one day I spent about an hour tuning it to perfection. I'll reach for it more often than my LN block plane. Not sure why, but it just works better in my hand. About the only thing I could do to improve it is get a thicker iron made of better steel. the one it has sharpens easily, but also dulls easily and is a little thin. It was really a great value at somewhere around $20. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.