For your consideration is a rare Stanley No.62 jack/block plane.

This particular example is the early type produced sometime between 1905 and 1920. It features ornate, nickel-plated depth adjustment and cap screws with "STANLEY" cast into them. The iron features a Sweetheart logo, and could have been a later-date replacement. The plane is a barn find from NE Ohio.

The condition is great for its age. The plane has been restored and tuned to perfect usable state. As always, please examine the pictures carefully - I have tried to take as many as possible under bright shop lights.

* There are no chips at the mouth (these are common on the No.62s)

* The main casting has a small hairline crack just behind the adjuster assembly. This does not impact performance and is not really visible

* There is a bit of pitting here and there, but nothing that interferes with performance or looks ugly

* All the adjustments (iron depth, mouth opening) are smooth

* There are no cracks in the rosewood tote. The original owner's name ("E. BRETZ.") is imprinted into the side

* The front knob has a few hairline cracks that have been previously repaired. These are only visible under very close inspection, and the knob is solid

* The bottom cast iron plate it attached solidly to the front knob, and there are no issues with wood splitting or stripped threads

* I have lapped the sole to ~0.002 flatness. It is dead flat between the front plate, back of the mouth, and heel

* The iron has been sharpened and honed with a 25 deg bevel up to 8000 grit, and stropped on the green compound. There is no camber and no secondary bevel (see below). The iron is razor-sharp and ready for work!

One interesting feature of the plane are the two small holes drilled in the side of the casting. These were likely used to attach a "hot dog"-style handle for shooting. The holes are very nicely finished and chamfered. This makes me suspect this could have been an experimental factory feature rather than a user modification - but I've never seen this on any other No.62 or read about it. In any case, these could be of practical use if you turn your own handle. Modern Lie Nielsen planes have a similar provision for the "hot dog", but with no holes.

I have set up the iron with a 25 deg bevel and no camber, which provides a low cutting angle of 37 deg (the iron bed on the No. 62 is 12 deg). This is a good setup for shooting end grain. This is what Stanley originally designed the No.62 for - and they called it a block plane! You can see this plane in action on my Veritas shooting board in some of the pictures.

For any more conventional work along the grain, you will need to hone a small secondary bevel to avoid tearout. I've had good luck with 30-32 deg secondaries for red oak. If you wish I can hone this for you before the plane ships.

Will ship fast with Priority Mail. Good luck!