# Old Stanley spokeshave id and age, Stanley rule & level co



## woodywoodwood

Hello,

I picked up this spokeshave from a yard sale and was wondering if someone could help me identify the number and age. The only distinguishing mark is on the iron, "Stanley Rule & Level Co." my best guess would be a #52 but not sure. Any information is greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance,

Curtis


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## WayneC

That is an old mark. Most likely pre-1900. There was a site that had all the stanley spoke shaves listed, let me check for it. I have a couple that are similar.


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## woodywoodwood

Thanks Wayne! Do you have any idea what the oblong metal piece between the set screw and the iron is for? Maybe meant to adjust skew?


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## WayneC

I've not seen that before. Here is the spokeshave page I referred to.

http://peterrobinson.galootcentral.com/spokeshaves/#Stanley-75-shave


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## WayneC

I think yours is a #54.


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## woodywoodwood

I think you are probably right, definitely an earlier version, no checkering, brass thumb screw, only one hang hole. Curious about the production years for these.


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## woodywoodwood

Found this website which categorizes the stanley trademarks with coordinating production dates. Assuming the iron is original to the spokeshave and the website is correct, this would be dated between 1874-1884.

https://www.antique-used-tools.com/stantms.htm


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## Tim457

Cool old spokeshave.

I'm going to take a guess based on what I can see and say that oblong metal piece is meant to act a little like clever cap that spreads the force from the blade clamping screw out a little bit.


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## Spokeshave1

Hi Curtis

What you have there is a Bailey #4. It is transitional between Bailey made bodies and Stanley's 1875 outright purchase of Bailey - hence the Stanley cutter. That cutter trademark stamp dates from 1874-1884. The crescent shaped piece beneath the cutter screw was added by a previous owner to spread the hold of that screw since this model of spokeshave had no cap…..it was 'single ironed'. If you flip the spokeshave upside-down, and strain your eyes, you should see very light stamp of "Bailey" on the left handle. It is typically very difficult to see. After Stanley started making the body, it became known as their #54 and bore their 54 stamp. The nice feature about the 4/54 is the adjustable throat….that is why there is the knurled adjuster screw through the frame over the cutter and also why the cutter is slotted through on the top. The slot allows the cutter to be adjusted without adjusting the mouth. The frame is hinged and has two torsion springs to keep it tight as you adjust the mouth. I recommend that that you lightly oil the hinge pins and springs to keep them in good working order and to prevent further corrosion. I once purchased an identical model that was frozen and was unadjustable despite my repeated attempts to free the motion of the hinges - caveat emptor!


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## Spokeshave1

I should have also mentioned that the cutter age can differ from that of the body of the spokeshave because the cutter may have been replaced by a previous owner. The lack of circular bosses on the face of the lower part of the adjustable frame at hinge level tells you that it is most probably a Bailey spokeshave. There were a number of different "types" of the Bailey 3/Stanley 53 produced. Some Baileys were better marked than others, and other differences included overall length, adjuster knob type and the trademark stamp found on the original cutters. Unfortunately, replaced parts like adjusters and cutters can confuse attempts to classify spokeshave "types". I can speak about this with some confidence because I own 7 of these 3/53s and a number are clearly "frankenshaves" with cutters and older broken adjuster knobs replaced!!!!

Fyi, many other companies made near identical copies of Stanley iron spokeshave models after Stanley's patents expired.


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