Stanley Bench Planes Mini-Site Navigation

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About the Plane Feature Timeline

This page presents the information in Patrick Leach's Plane Type Study in a different format. Instead of indicating changes in plane features from type to type, the timeline profiles the history of a each plane feature. (That actually makes it a typeline not a timeline, but that's a minor point.)

As an example consider a segment of the timeline given below which covers tote and knob composition:

                                                                Plane Type
                    Plane Feature
                                                                    11111111112
------------------------------------------------------     12345678901234567890

tote and knob - Rosewood                                   1234567890123456x 9
              - hardwood - stained red or painted black                    7
                         - painted black                                    89
                         - light color stain                                  0

Variations on each feature are given in the Plane Feature column. The Plane Type column shows which types include which feature. For example, hardwood totes and knobs were stained red or painted black in Type 17 planes, indicated by the "7" present in the Plane Type column. In this case, the "7" is short for "17" (i.e., 17 modulo 10). This approach permits easy determination of plane type further down the Plane Type column.

Note that one Plane Type column entry contains an "x", indicating that some planes of this type have been found which include the feature. For example, the timeline shows that some Type 17 planes did have Rosewood handles.

The complete Plane Feature Timeline lists features for all twenty bench plane types. With its help you can determine when most plane features were introduced and eliminated. If you already know your plane's type, simply select it from the list of types near the bottom of the screen.