Tool History

Bailey planes use a three-piece frog that adjusts with screws. Bedrock planes mount the frog directly to the bed with full-width contact. The frog design creates the main performance difference.

Stanley planes from 1900-1960 used properly stress-relieved castings, machined adjustment mechanisms, and quality blade steel. The manufacturing standards created tools that still work properly decades later.

A four-in-hand rasp has coarse teeth on one side, fine teeth on the other, with flat and rounded faces. Modern manufacturing creates different cutting characteristics than vintage versions.

Hand-stitched rasps cut with random tooth patterns punched individually. Machine-cut rasps use uniform milled rows. The tooth formation determines cutting speed and surface finish.

Collated screws solved the problem of loading fasteners one at a time. The plastic strip system is clever engineering that breaks apart exactly when it needs to.

This is a complete look at leveling tool history. Learn how construction leveling evolved from ancient string lines to modern laser systems with this detailed exploration of the technology.

An examination of Stanley hand plane development, exploring the Bailey patent system, numbering conventions, and production changes that defined a century of woodworking tools.