The Stanley World

I mainly collect Stanley memorabilia, but I never said I didn’t have any hand planes! I finally pulled these guys out of the attic and I’m sending them to Brown Tool Auction.
The 45s were disassembled, so I had to use Dave Heckel’s wonderful book to make sure the right parts went with the right planes. The boxes on the cart are also of bench planes. Not sure what I was thinking 15-20 years ago when I bought all these! Oh well, live and (hopefully) learn!

Proud to have a seven page article in the Gristmill this month. I have had these vintage scale model machines from the Stanley Tool plant for over two decades, and I finally wrote the story of the machines and my research into their provenance.
In case you don’t have a subscription to the Gristmill, (and you should if you are a tool collector!), I acquired 1500 mini industrial machines that were used in laying out the largest tool factory in the world in the early 1960s. I knew next to nothing about the machines when I initially acquired them, but over almost 20 years of off and on research, answers emerged. Today I have a fairly complete picture of how and why these scale models were produced, and how Stanley used these specific models in laying out their massive tool plant.

.melanson

15 Boy Scouts, 15 bird houses! We had a fun class last night in the workshop at Convivium Urban Farmstead. Stanley tools, old and new got a good workout! The kids had a blast using hand saws, planes, brace and bits, hand drills, and hammers. Who would have thought that young-uns could actually have fun without a screen in front of them??? Hmm.

A joy and challenge of collecting is displaying your treasures in an aesthetically pleasing way. I just added this little 1920s cabinet (originally used to house watch parts) as a way to showcase Stanley tidbits in an accessible, compact way.

I just picked up these three older pieces of Stanley Works literature, from 1889 and 1899, plus a 1905 piece of correspondence signed by future Stanley President Clarence Bennett. Bennett would go on to serve as Stanley president from 1923 until 1946.

Framed mid-1920s ad featuring all three logos Stanley used at the time. Plus, who doesn’t like a good 1840s battle scene?
Happy Saturday!

Stanley hammers never lose their heads! In this early 1960s brochure proves it by virtue of OK cool Stanley van hanging from a Stanley hammer outside the plant in Sheffield, England.

Master tool maker Paul Hamler’s 1872 No. 50 Miller’s Patent Plow Plane reproduction. In the late 90s (I think), Mr. Hamler produced 500 of these beauties, which sold for $500 at the time. In 2017, Paul offered up his remaining stock of parts, enough to make an additional 150 planes, but only to someone who had the machining skills to give the rough castings the finish they deserve. I have not seen any of this lot surface, but when they do, my bet is that they sell for North of $1000.
Paul Hamler is a treasure to the tool collecting community and it’s an honor to own one of his pieces. If you are not familiar with Paul, check out his IG page

1926 Stanley Works employee manual. Handed to new employees with instructions in German, Polish, Italian, Spanish, and several other languages spoken by immigrants who were such an important part of the factory work force.

Rare U.S. made Stanley 47-173 “bullseye” plumb bob. This rather
oddly designed plumb bob diverged from the conical shaped ‘bobs’ we are so familiar with. The design never really took and was quickly removed from the Market. The English made version of the 47-173 had a short production run in the 1970s(?), and the US version was never introduced to the market as far as I’m aware. I feel fortunate to be the temporary caretaker of a near mint example of this unusual Stanley tool.

Stanley No. 176 Burnisher. Not the sexiest tool Stanley ever made, but a very special one in that it is the first of it's kind - a prototype model produced in 1925 that resided in the Stanley model shop for many years. Today, many of Stanley ‘model shop’ tools can be found in the Stanley museum room or “the Vault” at New Britain headquarters. The rest have been lost to history or are in the hands of lucky collectors. This is the only model shop tool that I am fortunate enough to own.