Description
Nice Stanley Bedrock 604 1/2 smooth soled plane. Made in USA. Bedrocks are uncommon in Australia, but the 604 1/2 (equivalent to a Stanley 4 1/2 size) is quite difficult to find. This plane may be made from several planes. The body appears to be Type 7 with a single Patent date Apr 1910, but has a Type 5 levercap and a Stanley Rule and Level marked iron from 1909-1912 which would be from a Type 4. Despite this mixed heritage the plane is complete, threads are all clean and it fits together nicely.
It does have a few problems:
- Tiny chip out of one corner of the iron’s edge – could easily be ground out or lived with.
- The levercap has a couple of chips out of the edge (see photos)
- The handle’s horn is pretty dog-earred (see photos)
- The front knob has a couple of cracks below the wasted section, but it doesn’t look like it’s about to fail. (see photos)
- The levercap retaining screw slides a little in the keyhole, but it does grip.
- Japanning around 35%
Iron has a healthy length. There is a bit of micropitting on the iron, but we believe this is likely to be polished out as the iron is used. No evidence of rosewood repairs. Almost bench ready – the blade needs a small amount of sharpening, but the edge is in good shape to make this an easy process.