Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Stanley Guage Planes
Teacher
>I've searched the archives (as well as the rest of the 'net) and can't find any real info on these planes. I have a great old G6 and would like to know more about this line. Even Patrick Leach's site doesn't mention them. Could someone help me out with some info or a link? Thanks much!
Re: Stanley Guage Planes
Tom MacGregor
>According to PTAMPIA Vol. 1, John P. Gage (not Gauge) was granted patent 339,872 on April 13, 1886, and it was based on this patent that his subsequent planes were made. He sold the Gage Tool Co. to Philip J. Leavens in 1917. Leavens sold the company to Stanley R&L in 1919. Stanley added a series of iron planes to a reduced selection of wood ones in 1919 with all model numbers preceeded with the letter G. The wood models were discontinued in 1934, the iron ones were made until 1941. That's just a few bits of info. out of several pages of text & photos - I don't know if anything has been posted on the net.
More Gage tidbits...
Dave Thompson
>The main selling feature for these planes is that if the iron is taken out to be sharpened, it goes back in exactly the same position as before removal. This seems to be a popular thing in pre-war times, as Record had the Stay-Set cap which was for a similar purpose with respect to depth adjustment.
Some factoids:
In 1923, it sold for $8.10. A #6 at same time sold for $7.70.In 1939, it sold for $8.70. It's a bit lighter than a #6, 5.75lbs vs 7.75lbs in 1923, 5.5lbs vs 6.5lbs in 1939.
The Stanley transitional equivalent is a G28. Sargent made something similar called a 718 Auto-Set plane. The sargent had a nifty adjustable knob.
fwiw, the 1923 Stanley catalog has a full page description of the gage self-setting frog mechanism. I picked up a reprint a few years back.
I never really thought of the metal gage planes as hard to come by. I think the transitional gage planes are harder to find in decent shape.
enjoy your plane,
Dave
Re: More Gage tidbits...
Teacher
>Thanks, guys. I've found pics on the net, but not much real info. I'm even thinking about making an infill smoother or jack/pannel and doing the sides like the Gage planes. Thanks again.