Description
Stanley Bailey No.5 Jack Plane (Made in England, Type 20 Era)
Bench Ready | The Ultimate “If You Only Own One Plane” Workhorse
If you are looking for a single bench plane that can handle almost every woodworking task in your shop, the Stanley No.5 Jack Plane is widely considered the absolute sweet spot. At 14 inches long, it is long enough to flatten edge jointing on board faces, yet nimble and lightweight enough to act as a smoother or for quick dimensioning—all without tiring out your arms.
This example is a later-era Type 20 (c. 1960s) manufactured in England, featuring heavy structural webbing strengtheners cast into the bed behind the frog for added frame rigidity.
Key Features & Details:
The Perfect All-Rounder: Ideal size and balance for woodworkers who want one reliable plane to do it all—shaving, truing, flattening, and smoothing.
Made in England Casting: Solid English-made body casting equipped with factory diagonal webbed strengthening ribs along the bed.
Matching Australian Stanley Iron: Fitted with a genuine Stanley Made in Australia iron with plenty of life left in the steel.
Indestructible Handles: Features the later-era molded plastic tote and front knob. Unlike relatively fragile vintage rosewood, these synthetic handles won’t crack or break if bumped on the workbench.
Bench Ready: Cleaned, tuned, and ready to go straight to work in your shop.
Why Choose a Later Type for Your Bench?
While collectors chase pristine pre-war models, late-era planes actually make superior daily working tools. The webbed casting resists cracking under heavy stress, and the durable handles mean you never have to worry about broken totes. It offers outstanding value and workhorse performance at a fraction of the cost of earlier collectible types.