Strange plane
Lynn Kerby
>My desire to get a deal on a clean Stanley No. 4 on
eBay got the better of me and now I think I have an
unusual hodgepodge of parts. The plane was sold as
a Stanley No. 4 and has a very heavy iron casting
with "No 4" on the raised rib in front of the knob,
and "USA" on another raised section behind the knob.
The body is lightly pitted and well patina'd indicating some
age (did I mention it is a heavy casting?).
The tote looks like some of the more modern handyman
totes, probably made of mahogany, and it fits inside a
couple of ridges cast in the rear section of the plane.
The frog rides on a Y shaped machined section and
is aluminum with no frog adjustment screw on the
back. The iron is pretty rusted though not pitted
and has a stanley notched box logo with "NO.4(12-004F)"
and "U.S.A." below. The lever cap is nickel
plated with light pitting and a notched box "STANLEY"
with a yellow background. The lateral adjuster and blade depth
adjuster are both stamped steel pieces with a brass
adjustment screw.
I can attach some pictures if needed, but I'm hoping that the
description is sufficient to confirm or deny that
stanley actually made something like this. I'm starting to think
that someone stuck a stanley blade and lever cap
on some random plane body.