No. 56 Low Angle Adjustable Block Plane
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No.56 Manufactured: |
1929 to 1965 |
| No.56B Manufactured: | 1965 to 1976 |
| Sole Length: | 6” |
| Iron Width: | 1-3/8” |
| Weight: | 1.1 lbs |
| Bedding Angle: | 12 Degrees |
| Adjustments: | Mouth and Iron Depth |
| Lever Cap Type: | Cam Lock |
| Casting Number Body: | 349 |
| Casting Number Cap: | No Number Found |
| Cross Reference: | Stanley No. 60-1/2 |
No. 56
The No. 56 was probably the most popular low angle block plane Millers Falls produced based on the number of planes you can find today. This plane has an adjustable mouth and a depth adjusting screw. The front knob and the adjusting screw are nickel plated.
The iron is 1-3/8” so the eccentric lever will have its end bent up.
Type 1 configuration – 1929 - 1965
Cam lock lever cap is painted red (1929-1932), later, the lever cap is painted black (1933-1965)
Name and number are not embossed on the bed.
After the initial release, the name and number are stamped on the cheek.
The iron landing has a full surface with no recess.
“Since 1868” iron trademark (see irons for more details)
The depth adjustment screw knob has a diamond pattern knurling.
Finger grips on the cheeks.
1949 - the iron trademark was changed to include the words “Solid Tool Steel”.
Type 2 configuration starting 1966 to 1976
The iron is redesigned with three oval holes.
The frog, depth adjusting screw and iron seat are redesigned to use the new iron design.
The depth adjustment screw knob has a straight pattern knurling.
Iron landing has a recessed area.
No trademark is present on the iron.
The number 56 on the cheek will have a “B” added.
Type 3 configuration starting 1976 to 1989+
7 X 1-5/8 full adjustable 20 degree bedding angle Great Neck plane
No. 56 low angle plane. The 1-3/8" adjustable mouth planes have the end of the eccentric plate turned up. The 1-5/8" planes have a larger plate with the end turned down.
No. 56 low angle iron with a depth adjusting screw.
No. 56 6"x1-3/8" low angle block plane
This picture shows the breakdown of two No. 56 planes. The plane on the left was made between 1949 to 1965 with a "Solid Tool Steel" iron. The right plane was produced between 1936 to 1948 with the "Since 1868" trademark iron. These two planes are basically the same except the adjustable mouth plate on the STS iron has a 7/64" thickness whereas the pre-1949 mouth plate has a 5/32" thickness. The thinner mouth plate is also found on the outsourced planes made in the 70's.
The Solid Tool Steel iron can be found in two different trademark sizes.
No. 56B
In the mid 60’s, Millers Falls made the decision to consolidate the process and eliminate some of the factory machinery to manufacture planes. The company standardized using the same style iron with three oval hole on all existing block planes. To accommodate this new iron, the frog, iron depth adjusting screw and the iron depth adjusting seat had to be redesigned. The knurling on the depth adjusting screw knob was also changed from a diamond pattern to a straight line pattern.
On the cheek, a “B” was added to the number 56 model number. The “B” was never reflected in the catalog, only on the plane’s cheek. If you look for a No. 56B in the 1967 catalog or price list, you will only find a No. 56.
The No. 56B has a screw adjusting knob with a straight line pattern knurling and a three hole iron with no trademark.
In the 1970's, the shipping box was a simple plain box with only a label on the end.
This plane was made in the 70's with a plastic adjustment knob. The quality control process of the outsourced casting may have been another cost cutting measure.
The No. 56B on the left was an early B release that was made at the Millers Falls factory. It has a 349 casting number, a full iron landing and "MADE IN USA" is on one line. The iron has an ink "TOOL STEEL" stamp. The No. 56B on the right was made after 1969 at an outsourced foundry. It has a 41144 casting number, a recessed iron landing and "MADE IN USA is on two lines. No stamp on the iron.
No. 56 High Angle Block Plane (1976 to 1989+)
Of all the strange things Millers Falls did with assigning casting numbers and duplicating model numbers, naming this plane a “56” and not a “16” is one of the most perplexing acts the company could ever throw at the tool world.
In 1976, the low angle 6” x 1-3/8” No. 56 plane was eliminated. To fill this new void, the company resurrected the original 7” x 1-5/8” No. 16 with the adjustable mouth, 20 degree bedding angle and lateral adjustment lever.
The body is a blue-gray and the cap is black. This plane was also sold with the same color body and a red cap. There are no casting numbers or stamps on either the body or the cap. The iron has nine groves on the back with no stamp on the top.
This plane was produced by an outside foundry (Great Neck?) and was distributed to other companies like Montgomery Ward, Master Mechanics, and others. The only difference between these other retail companies and Millers Falls was the sticky label at the bottom of the cap. The same box can also be seen with the other retail companies, Again, just a label was applied to the end of the box to distinguish them.
No. 56 20 degree bed angle
Breakdown of the plane.
Great Neck produced both the plane and box.
Side by side of the No. 56 in the back with a No. 16 in the front. Same size, same features. What's that saying, "Not the sharpest tool in the shed".
Three different styles. The only production and assembly that Miller Falls did to this plane was to apply a sticker to the lever cap.
Screw nut to adjust the iron.