# Who made this lever cap?



## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

Ok… I got this #3 plane at a flea market, maker unknown. Heck, I've got PTAMPIA vol I & II, and a dozen other plane reference books. I thought I was invincible.

BUT… no dice on finding a comparable photo in any book!!! * DonW *suggested "Defiance" but I cannot find a picture to corroborate this. At the time of purchase I thought it to be a 'Siegley' but… no luck there, either.

Now, there's lots of photos of planes taken from broadside, showing no detail of the lever cap itself. It's unusual in that the surface inside the thick flat border has heavy vertical 'bars' instead of the usual stippled or cross-hatch pattern.

I'm a bit suspicious also, that this lever cap may have been slapped onto a Stanley-produced generic plane.

Does anybody have a comparable plane with this exact lever cap, and/or verifiable clues to who it was made by?
This isn't a contest, no shot-in-the-dark guesses will be considered.

*Thanks, all*!!!


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## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

For what it's worth, a pic of the back side of the lever cap, just a sand-cast finish.


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

Stanley Defiance









I think I have a couple more pics









and again









Just saying. Iron is stamped "Defiance" "Made in USA"


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## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

wow, Bandit, that is so close!
I'm sure, having seen a few lever caps like your Defiance, , that this very likely came out of the same foundry.
Indeed, that heavy border design on your cap is repeated on the sole of your plane. all that's missing is the vertical bars!

*Who could the manufacturer be?*


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

Upon further review ( went and took a couple more)









Underside of the lever cap. Came this way. I do know that this one









was from the 1920s, and has a SW on the iron. As for the Defiance#4? I think it found a home









with some other oldies…









Maybe they change the pattern on the casting, as those bars would be cheaper to do. Maybe a different "Model Year" sort of thing.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Most of the defiance seem to have a checkered patterned cap, where yours has the vertical lines, but some even had a smooth cap. I think the smooth cap may have had a sticker at one time, but I have nothing to confirm that.

The other defiance feature on yours has is the knob and tote. The defiance had the reddish varnish and the totes had the flat sides. Some were also black with Defiance stamped in the side.










And ones similar to bandits










The ones that were Stanley Bailey style had the funky lateral. Its the only part of that style I didn't care for.


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## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

*To DonW and Bandit:*
Many thanks to you guys, my favorite plane gurus! Those lever caps you posted here are about as close as I could ever imagine to mine, so yeah, I guess what I have is a Defiance plane after all.

*Muchos Gracias, gents!*


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