The prolific & seemingly mundane Stanley 110 block plane..

Really? 

 Well, it's everywhere, check Granpa or uncle Tim's shack ( if you include copies of it by lesser tool makers)
For something so abundant (well, Stanley sold them by truckloads), so common and so relatively inexpensive, I will attempt to wax some lyrical on them. By "them" I mean their design, their construction.

The plane pictured above was purchased off ebay for $4.90. It looked like Joe Meatball (to borrow Patrick Leach's character) bought it, used it on some hardwood (pre silicon valley micro chipping at the edge)without first fettling the plane(unsharpened factory bevel), and put it away (in some dry place), and totally forgot about it.

First off, at Five Bucks, how can you go wrong? Five bucks don't buy you a door wedge these days.



STANLEY'S SUPERIOR ADJUSTABLE HEIGHT DOOR WEDGE, TYPE 16.

1) The lever cap also serves as an ergonomic palm-rest to push the plane forward, and the oval shaped  cut-out serves as a hanging hole on your pegboard, out of the way. And...yes...it also serves as an emergency adjustable door stop.That's 4 functions in one innocent looking component.

2)The Little nub (think Cadillac tailfin) cast into the rear end allows you the  trained hand to adjust the depth of cut, by way of gentle taps with a steel hammer. No fear of peening the edge over the bottom of the plane. The nub is sacrificial in its duty. It is said (I forgot who) "...the simpler the tool, the more skill it takes to use it"
I suppose all #110 users are HIGHLY SKILLED artisans who hold all lateral adjustment levers, all depth adjustment knobs, and sliding sole plates in absolute contempt.

3)The front knob also features a depression; an index finger rest to keep the plane down at the begining of a planing stroke; halfway through the stroke, 50-50 weight distribution front-rear. I'm sure most of us know that weight should then next be transferred to the rear-end of the plane towards the finish stroke.

4)I am also pleasantly suprised to find that the bed is neatly machined flat, and selectively on the left and right, the machined area increase by 2 narrow strips. This U-shaped means less area to mill, less area to keep flat (where it counts), so less production cost.

5)No, you are not staring into a cowboy six-shot. This bullet proof lever-cap tightening wheel is solid cast metal. The four holes are there to save a little weight. Post WW2 models may feature a wheel made from stamped sheet metal; they resembled a bottle cap, and looked just as inexpensive.

 5.5)If you put so much thought into a plane, naturally advertisement is important. The logo is strategically stamped near the rim so that it's visible even when assembled (bevel side up). A constant assurance that you're planing with Stanley's accurately heat treated Special Analysis Steel.

 6)I set the blade of this plane on a flat piece of glass, with 2 sheets of paper under the forward end so that the blade protrudes to take a medium (non gossamer) cut. The aperture at the mouth is barely 1/16 of an inch wide. It's nothing to rave about until you have tried a Stanley Handyman or Four Square.

7) The cutter is almost 3/32 thick.

8)Lastly, many of these were forgotten and put away unused. Many still sport the factory grind, despite the micro-chips. Can you find a better engineered paper weight for the price? (go on,scroll back up  and take a look again)