By far, the most common damage that any of these style planes can suffer is found on their lever caps. Inside the toe section is a little set screw, oriented parallel to the sole, that can be set to regulate the mouth's opening. I had the same problem with my Clifton The stanley 93 shoulder plane blade driver has a very narrow "sole," which is more like the runners, or skates, on a 45 than it is a sole in the bench plane sense. My first Stanley shoulder plane a No. A screw-activated lever cap holds the cutter in place.

It appears that Stanley had enough sense to never introduce that metal to this style of plane. What sets this plane apart from the 90 is that its body is a one-piece construction. It is a bullnose rabbet plane, but there is no provision to adjust its mouth like the two section It has a similar, but different, blade adjusting mechanism - a knurled nut engages a single slot in the cutter, which is a cheaper mechanism than that provided on the The nut is stamped "No.

The lever cap isn't captive to the plane; you can remove it completely from the plane, which must be done to remove the iron. The lever cap has a small locking wheel beneath the area where you rest your palm. This wheel, when turned, places pressure directly below on the iron, and forces the lever cap upward against the main casting this style of lever cap is common on the English-made rabbet and shoulder planes.

Check that the lever cap hasn't been brazed, cracked, or chipped. Be sure to look where the locking wheel threads into the lever cap's casting for any signs of damage. Lastly, check that the lever cap's little 'peak', where it engages the main casting, isn't chipped or broken. These planes were never popular over here, and the war helped to speed its death.

As a result, they are very rare. Afterall, why would someone purchase a non-adjustable rabbet plane, when the 90 offered the same function, but with more bells and whistles? Certainly not too many would, which accounts for its scarcity.

Even the glitzy nickel plating of the thing couldn't boost sales. This plane is identical to the 90A , except with two differences. There is no blade adjusting mechanism other than the dexterity of your hands. The plane's top is japanned, with its sides polished. This, and the 90A are tough monkeys to find, but only of the USofA manufacture.

No Why Stanley didn't assign the 90A to this number we'll never know. Heck, they probably didn't know either. Heh, heh, heh, those guys in charge of number designation at Stanley sure were a riot! Goto 90 , read that, and apply these dimensions to get a feel what this plane is. But wait, there's a bit more to be said about this plane, the 93 , and the 94 , which cannot be said of the These longer planes have toe sections that are much longer than the small bull nose toe section of the Consequently, there was a tendency for these toe sections to become misaligned with the heel section over time due to the internal stresses inherant to cast iron.

The earlier models of these larger planes have solid toe sections. The later models, ca. WWI onward, each have a circular disk that's recessed and affixed to the toe section. You don't want to go popping this disk off to find out what's behind it, but if you did, you'd find a hollowed out toe section, filled with a metal cylinder to give the plane its weight.

By hollowing out the toe section, Stanley was able to overcome the risk of the toe section warping in relation to the heel section. This treatment was no guarantee that the two sections were aligned; sloppy machining would defeat that purpose.

The disk has the company logo on it, and that logo reflects the one in vogue during the time the plane was manufactured. The circular disk was dropped from the later examples of these planes, and the current English models don't have the disk. It's probable that the cost of manufacturing these planes with the disk became too expensive so the planes were made like they were when first offered - a solid toe section, with no disk.

The very first models of this plane, and its two larger brothers that follow, do not have the number cast into them. They also have a composite toe section where a portion of the front sole is cast separately and then pinned to the rest of the casting. This method of manufacture must have been very costly to produce, never mind the requirement of extreme accuracy. Stanley probably did this to help eliminate any movement of the toe section long after that casting was machined.

The amount of mass of a solid toe section could warp or distort just a fraction, throwing the machined accuracy of the toe section relative to the heel section out of truth. The mating edges of the toe section to the heel section is also different on the earliest model of these larger planes. They are machined to form a broad arch and thus only make contact with the heel section on 4 small edges, 2 on each side.

This method of mating the two castings was easier to machine as there was less area on the toe section that had to be true, however the resulting strength of this method didn't prove strong enough to hold up during use, and the method was dropped soon after it was tried.

Some of the planes can be found without the strengthening cross rib that spans the opening where the palm rests on the tool. The model number, cast into the flat length of the toe section, can be found oriented relative to the heel or the toe of the plane the numbers are upside down to each other when comparing different models of the planes.

Goto 92 , read that, and apply these dimensions to get a feel what this plane is. Goto 93 , read that, and apply these dimensions to get a feel what this plane is. This is the one plane of the series that approximates the role of the heavier and larger English infill shoulder planes, and is a good alternative to those expensive planes, when this plane is found in its typical used condition.

Given this, it's no surprise that many of these planes are found over in England, American buyers never fancied this model. This plane is the most difficult to find of the series, and it's doubly difficult to find in crispy, nickely new condition. Furthermore, because of the extra length of mating surfaces between the toe section and heel section, the machined area where the two meet can often be found cracked or with chunks of the toe section broken out.

The planes also seem to suffer cracks where the toe section arches down to meet the heel section more often than its smaller brothers do. Check this area very carefully as cracks in this area can be very difficult to detect.

This is another very useful plane, which a well-equipped shop should have. It's not an inexpensive plane, but it's worth every cent you pay for it. Several modern manufacturers have made copies of this plane out of a glistening bronze alloy, which can oxidize and leave marks on your work just like the forgetable aluminum bench planes that Stanley dumped on happy planers of yesteryear.

One maker of these planes supplies them in left and right hand versions. The original only comes in a right hand version. The plane has a V-shaped sole that forms a right angle. One leg of the V carries the cutter, which is set at a skew, and the other leg acts as a fence.

A small lever engages grooves machined in the back of the cutter so that it can be set by lifting or lowering the lever. Check that this mechanism works well and that the lever engages the cutter securely.

A screw-activated lever cap holds the cutter in place. Sometimes, the screw was cut a bit short, making it difficult or impossible for the lever cap to hold the iron in place securely.

If the lever cap screw 'bottoms out' and the iron's adjustment lever can be moved easily, the cutter will not stay in place during use. You can sometimes remedy the problem by tightening the slotted screw which the the lever cap engages. Since the plane's sole is machined so that it forms a right angle, the plane is used to true up edges.

It works equally well against the grain or along the grain. With a very fine set to the cutter, and a very keen edge on the cutter, the plane does very well on end-grain. A lot of guys like to use this plane to square up the edge after they've jointed it. While you can do that, it's better to learn to joint properly, and save this short soled plane for other tasks. The portion of the sole that's perpendicular to the iron has two holes - one Stanley 93 Shoulder Plane Blade Set at the toe and one at the heel - drilled in it so that you can secure a bevelled piece of wood on the sole to make it cut off of 90 degrees.

This is useful for bevelling edges. Just be sure to orient the wood piece so that the narrowest portion is toward the iron otherwise you can't make effective use of the relatively narrow width of the cutter.

The earliest model of the plane has the Stanley logo in script to the lower left of the cutter. On the back of the main casting can be found the patent date, "U. Check that there are no chips or cracks on the main casting and that the lever cap hasn't been snapped in two and repaired. I've seen a few of these planes that have a hairline crack in the arched portion of the casting just behind the cutter.

In the wasteland of stupid planes Stanley ever produced, this is surely one that can't be categorized that way. This is not a plane per se, but it does function like one. If found to be defective, a replacement will be sent to you.

Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so these limitations may not apply to you.

Deficient products that are covered by this policy will be replaced or repaired. Email Sign Up Sign up to receive the long and short of it. Country of Residence United States Canada. Sign me up to participate in tool and storage research surveys. By signing up you agree to receive emails from STANLEY with news, special offers, promotions and future messages tailored to your interests.

You can unsubscribe at any time. The Veritas has that funky adjustable knob that sits right where my palm wants to go and the plane is just too top heavy. The Lie-Nielsen is just plain awkward to hold. Looks like they got it right assuming the quality control is consistent. Some one help answer this question.

Why would I want a plane that opened up into a chisel plane, i. Obviously cost, but is there a more compelling reason? Some how, this does not compute. By Christopher Schwarz. Stanley Sweet Heart No. The sole was out of truth. Probably by a couple thousandths of an inch. Maybe more. Chris is the former editor of Popular Woodworking Magazine. He continues to blog and publish woodworking books at Lost Art Press. He's a hand-tool enthusiast though he uses power tools, too.

Manuel Cardoso-Lopes September 8, Cheers, Manuel. Gordon Conrad August 24, Christopher Schwarz August 24, Carl Stammerjohn August 24, Stephen August 23, Dusty Lenscap August 23,

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