Block plane

How it works

The iron projects through a mouth in the sole and shaves the wood as the plane is pushed. On the standard block plane the iron lies bevel up, so the angle of the bed plus the angle of the bevel gives the cutting angle. Lie-Nielsen, a current maker, gives the arithmetic for its No. 60-1/2: a 12-degree bed and a 25-degree ground bevel make an included cutting angle of 37 degrees, which the company recommends for fine cuts and end grain. The same maker’s No. 9-1/2 is bedded at 20 degrees for a 45-degree cutting angle, which it describes as suited to heavier cuts with the grain.

Leach, a collector who has cataloged Stanley planes, observes that a bevel-up iron can be supported over a greater length than one carried bevel down, which limits flexing in difficult woods and end grain, and that the pitch and orientation of the iron make a cap iron unnecessary. Stanley’s own explanation of the name, quoted by Leach, is that the block plane was made to be held easily in one hand while planing across the grain, particularly the ends of boards, work that carpenters called “blocking in.”

The adjustable mouth is the feature that most separates the better block planes. Lie-Nielsen says the best finishes come with the iron set for a very small cut and the mouth opening no larger than necessary to pass the shaving, and that the mouth should be opened and the iron advanced for more aggressive work.

Anatomy

Body (casting): Cast iron in the Stanley planes Leach describes; Lie-Nielsen casts its current planes in ductile iron and grinds the body flat and square.
Sole: The flat bottom. Lie-Nielsen grinds its soles flat to a tolerance of 0.001 inch and says occasional lapping on fine wet-or-dry paper keeps it true.
Mouth: The opening in the sole through which the iron projects. On the adjustable-mouth planes a movable shoe in front of the iron sets its width.
Iron (blade): Bedded bevel up, with no cap iron. Lie-Nielsen’s iron for the No. 60-1/2 is 1-3/8 inches wide and 1/8 inch thick, A2 tool steel hardened to Rockwell 60 to 62.
Lever cap: Holds the iron in the body. Leach traces Stanley’s changes to it: a flat cap with a cammed lever, a cap with a raised palm rest, the knuckle-joint cap of the #18, and a final form with the cam accessible on top.
Depth adjuster: On the plane Traut patented in 1875 a thumb-nut at the back end extends or withdraws the iron; on the Stanley #60 series a knob on a threaded rod moves a seat that engages grooves in the back of the iron, as Leach describes it.
Lateral adjustment lever: Moves the iron side to side. Leach says the #9-1/2 pattern has it and that the #60 series, with the iron lying lower in the body, does not.
Grip surfaces: The arched sides of the Stanley body carry oval depressions Leach calls the “Hand-y” grip, introduced about 1895.

Variants

Standard-angle block plane (20-degree bed): Stanley #9-1/2 and its relatives, the best-selling Stanley block plane according to Leach (1873 to 1981); Lie-Nielsen’s No. 9-1/2 is bedded at 20 degrees.
Low-angle block plane (12-degree bed): The Stanley #60 series, introduced 1898 according to Leach, and Lie-Nielsen’s No. 60-1/2, both bedded at 12 degrees.
Cabinetmaker’s block plane: Stanley’s #9, a 10-inch rectangular plane with sides ground square to the sole so that it can be used on its side, listed by Leach at 1870 to 1943.
Knuckle-joint block plane: The Stanley #16 and #18, whose lever cap clamps the iron by a two-piece linkage; Leach dates the #18 at 1888 to 1950.
Small and palm planes: Stanley’s #100 series, 3-1/2 inches long; Leach records the #100-1/2, with a convex sole, as made at the suggestion of a model yachtsman.
Double-end and combination forms: Stanley’s #130 and #131 double-end block planes carry two iron seats, and the #140 is both a rabbet and a block plane, according to Leach.
Aluminum block plane: Stanley’s #A18, an aluminum version of the #18 sold from 1925 to 1934, according to Leach.

Specifications

Body length · in: 6Lie-Nielsen No. 60-1/2: 6-1/4 in.; Stanley #9-1/2: 6 in. (Leach).
Bed angle · degrees: 12 (low angle) or 20 (standard)Lie-Nielsen No. 60-1/2 12 degrees, No. 9-1/2 20 degrees; Leach gives the same figures for the Stanley #60 series and #9-1/2.
Cutting angle (bed plus bevel) · degrees: 37 degrees for the Lie-Nielsen No. 60-1/2 and 45 degrees for the No. 9-1/2, each with a 25-degree ground bevel.
Iron width · in: 1-3/8 in. on the Lie-Nielsen No. 60-1/2; Leach lists 1-3/4 in. (1-5/8 in. from 1909) for the Stanley #9-1/2.
Weight · lb: Lie-Nielsen No. 60-1/2: 1.5 lb; Stanley #9-1/2: 1-1/2 lb (Leach).

Safety and care

Care

Lie-Nielsen advises lightly oiling the iron to prevent rust, disassembling and cleaning the plane occasionally, and oiling the moving parts.
Lie-Nielsen advises occasional hand lapping of the sole on a flat surface with wet-or-dry paper of 320 grit or finer to remove dings and keep the sole true.
Leach warns that Stanley block planes with the knuckle-joint cap can develop stress cracks in the sole beside the back of the mouth, and that the cast adjuster housings of the #60 series can strip if the lever cap is overtightened while the iron is adjusted.

Tips

Set the mouth to the shaving
Lie-Nielsen says the best finish comes with the iron set for a very small cut and the mouth opening no larger than necessary to pass the shaving. For end grain it advises setting both the iron and the mouth fine, and opening both for rougher stock removal.1 2
Hone a short secondary bevel
The maker says the iron comes with a 25-degree ground bevel and that honing a secondary bevel of 5 or 10 degrees raises performance, gets a razor edge more quickly and improves edge life in hardwoods. Its instruction sheet gives 5 degrees.1 2
Choose the bed angle by the work
The 12-degree bed gives a 37-degree cutting angle that the maker recommends for fine cuts and end grain; the 20-degree bed gives 45 degrees for heavier cuts with the grain.1
Steepen the edge for difficult grain
Lie-Nielsen’s sharpening notes say that in difficult grain a much steeper honing angle of 45 to 50 degrees on a bevel-up plane works very well.1
Loosen the lever cap before adjusting
Leach advises backing off the pressure of the lever cap cam before adjusting the iron on the #60 series and snapping the cam back when finished, because the adjusting mechanism can strip if the cap is too tight.1
Rest the forefinger on the pad
Traut’s 1875 patent places a finger pad at the front for the forefinger and a pad lever at the back for the palm, with the clamping screw arranged so that nothing obstructs the palm bearing on the pad.1
The cabinetmaker’s plane works on its side
Leach says the sides of the Stanley #9 are ground flat and square with the sole so that it can be used on its side, right or left handed, as a shooting plane and for fine end-grain work.1

History

Earliest documented

1870 (earliest dated catalog listing found)

New Britain, Connecticut (Stanley Rule & Level)

Leach, who catalogs Stanley planes by number, lists the Stanley #9 cabinetmaker’s block plane at 1870 to 1943 and the #9-1/2 general-purpose block plane at 1873 to 1981. Traut’s patent of 1875 states that the devices of two earlier patents, No. 81,425 of 1868 and No. 144,828 of 1873, are known to him and are not claimed, but the text does not say whether those were block planes. No block plane earlier than the Stanley listings has been located in a source read for this entry.1 2

The block plane is a bench plane reduced to what one hand can hold. Stanley’s account of the name, quoted by Leach, is that the tool was made to meet the demand for a plane that could be easily held in one hand while planing across the grain, particularly the ends of boards, work that carpenters called “blocking in.” Leach takes this as dispelling the story that block planes were so named because they were first used on butchers’ blocks. The company’s explanation is a marketing statement, and no earlier source for the name has been located; the question is left open under disputed.

The tool took its characteristic form in the Stanley catalog of the 1870s. Leach lists the #9 cabinetmaker’s block plane from 1870 and the #9-1/2 from 1873, both with the iron bedded bevel up at about 20 degrees and an adjustable mouth. Leach says the #9 was modeled after English planes of the Spiers type and the planes of New York City makers, and judges that it tried to be too much by adding adjusting contrivances that those models had omitted. In that account the metal block plane was an adaptation of earlier, simpler planes, and the invention lay in the adjusting mechanisms.

Most of the mechanical history is in the way the iron is held and set. Traut’s patent of 1875 describes a thumb-nut at the back of the stock that extends or withdraws the iron, and a pad lever with a set-screw that clamps it, and states the advantage as avoiding the use of a hammer or other tool in adjusting the iron. Leach records the later changes to the lever cap, from a flat cap with a cammed lever to the knuckle-joint cap of the #18 and the final form of the late 1890s, along with a lateral adjustment lever that he says the #60 series omitted for lack of room.

The low-angle plane followed. Leach dates the first of the #60 series at 1898 and describes it as the start of a series with a bed of 12 degrees and the knob-and-rod depth adjuster familiar today. A lower bed gives a lower cutting angle for the same bevel, and the current maker’s published figures show the consequence: 37 degrees for the 12-degree plane, which the maker recommends for fine cuts and end grain, and 45 degrees for the 20-degree plane, which it recommends for heavier cuts with the grain. Stanley sold block planes in so many sizes and finishes that Leach compares the choice to buying an automobile.

The plane persists in the trade as a one-handed finishing tool, and a small number of makers still produce it. Lie-Nielsen sells adjustable-mouth planes that it says are based on the Stanley No. 60-1/2 and No. 9-1/2, with A2 steel irons and ductile-iron bodies. O*NET’s Tools Used table lists planes in 2 of the 24 occupations mapped to this archive’s trades, carpenters and cabinetmakers; the table does not separate block planes from other planes.

Timeline

1870
Stanley’s #9 cabinetmaker’s block plane enters production, according to Leach’s dating (1870 to 1943); it is bevel up at about 20 degrees with an adjustable mouth.1
1873
Stanley’s #9-1/2 block plane enters production, according to Leach (1873 to 1981); he calls it probably the most popular block plane Stanley offered.1
1875
Justus A. Traut of New Britain is granted US Patent 159,865 for a block plane with a thumb-nut adjuster at the back and a pad lever and set-screw to hold the iron, so that no hammer is needed to set it.1
1888
Stanley’s #18 block plane with the knuckle-joint lever cap enters production, according to Leach (1888 to 1950).1
c. 1895
The “Hand-y” grip, oval depressions milled into the arched sides of the body, appears on the #9-1/2 and then on practically every Stanley block plane, according to Leach.1
1898
Stanley’s #60 series of low-angle (12-degree) block planes enters production, with a knob-and-threaded-rod depth adjuster, according to Leach (1898 to 1950).1
1925
Stanley offers the #A18, an aluminum version of the #18, until 1934, according to Leach.1
1936–1962
Stanley makes the #100-1/2 modelmaker’s block plane with a convex sole, advertised as made at the suggestion of a model yachtsman, according to Leach.1
1981
Production of the Stanley #9-1/2 ends, according to Leach’s dating.1
current
Lie-Nielsen Toolworks of Warren, Maine, sells ductile-iron No. 60-1/2 and No. 9-1/2 adjustable-mouth block planes that it says are based on the Stanley models.1 2

Where the sources disagree

Why is the tool called a block plane?

It was made to be held in one hand while planing across the grain, particularly board ends, work carpenters called “blocking in,” hence “block.”1
Stanley Rule & Level, as quoted in Leach
A popular story holds that the name comes from first use on butchers’ blocks; Leach says Stanley’s statement, if believed, dispels it.1
Leach, reporting a common belief

Gaps in the record (6)

Block planes earlier than the Stanley listings of 1870 and 1873 have not been located; the patents of 1868 and 1873 cited in Traut’s specification have not been read, so it is unknown whether they concern block planes.
Leach is a collector’s secondary source for Stanley dates and design history; no Stanley catalog text of the period was available in machine-readable form, and the Internet Archive scans of Stanley catalogs located (Nos. 26, 34, 102) were not read.
The Spiers-type English planes and New York City makers Leach names as models have not been examined in museum or maker records.
No Science Museum Group or other museum record of a block plane was located.
No standard or safety-body source on hand-plane use has been sourced, so the safety list is limited.
Veritas and other current makers’ block planes were not examined, and no independent test of block planes is cited, so buying is null.