Vintage Stanley Bailey No. 3C Hand Plane

Vintage Stanley Bailey No. 3C corrugated smoothing plane, cleaned, tuned, oiled, and waxed, with strong overall presentation, crisp markings, good japanning, and visible finish loss on the front knob from honest age and use.

Detailed description

Offered here is a vintage Stanley Bailey No. 3C smoothing plane with corrugated sole, a desirable smaller bench plane size for fine woodworking and collection display. Based on the cutter logo and lever cap style, this one is most likely a Type 19 era example, dating circa 1948–1961; for Etsy decade purposes I would list it as 1950s.

This plane is complete and presents well. The body, lever cap, frog, brass depth wheel, and wood tote/knob all show as assembled and clean in the photos. Japanning appears strong overall. The main cosmetic issue is finish loss and wear to the front knob. The sole shows the expected light surface evidence of use and prior tuning, and the mouth is clean.

Restoration on this example was intentionally conservative: it was disassembled, cleaned, tuned, sharpened, then treated with oil and wax. No rust-removal bath or aggressive refinishing was needed. That makes it a good fit for buyers who want an old Stanley with honest age, usable setup, and stable presentation.

This is a nice candidate for actual shop use, display in a hand tool collection, or a gift for a woodworker who appreciates vintage American tools. A printed care sheet is included with the sale.

Ships carefully packed with the iron secured and the tool cushioned for transit.

Bullet highlights

• Stanley Bailey No. 3C
• Corrugated sole smoother
• Likely Type 19 era
• Circa 1948–1961
• Complete vintage plane
• Cleaned and tuned
• Sharpened, oiled, waxed
• Good japanning overall
• Brass depth adjuster
• Honest knob finish loss
• Printed care sheet included

Condition notes

• Front knob has visible finish loss/wear.
• Normal age/use marks to metal and wood.
• Cleaned and tuned, but not stripped or made artificially “like new.”
• No chip repair or major rust remediation performed.