Stanley-Bailey tools

About Stanley-Bailey

Leonard Bailey was an American planemaker of the 19th century, working in Boston and later Hartford; his adjustable iron plane patents formed the basis of Stanley's Bailey bench plane line, and he later produced the separate Victor range under his own name. The bench and block planes here span both sides of that story, from a Stanley Bailey No. 5C jack to Victor-marked circular, fore and block planes of the 1880s. The Victor pieces, especially the No. 20 circular plane and the combined smooth, rabbet and fillister No. 11, carry more weight than common Stanley-era bench planes, and crisp nickel plating, intact japanning, an original iron with plenty of length, and no cracks in the casting separate a strong example from a user. A replacement blade and chip breaker, as on the 5C, moves a plane firmly into the working category.