History

Dating

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Stanley 27 jack plane (transitional)

offered 1869 - 1920s

15"  long with  a 2 1/8" cutter 

Transitional planes sold in larger numbers in the USA where they are still plentiful and comparatively cheap. The added postage cost makes them a lot dearer down under. My guess is that most of these planes on offer now are later imports from dealers and collectors. The Australian chippies never took to the transitionals – possibly because they are too lightweight and soft for our extremely hard native woods. What’s more, the large number of woodworkers who preferred to use a wooden plane had a far better alternative at hand: the traditional English and Scottish style wood plane. They might not have had a depth adjuster but they were sturdy & cheap and they had a much better and thicker cutter that could cope with the harder wood.

Stanley 27 jack plane (transitional)

offered 1869 - 1917

15"  long with  a 2 1/4"  cutter 

same as 27 with a 1/8" wider cutter

more on "trannies" (transitional planes) see 21