History

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Stanley 72 chamfer plane

offered 1885 - 1938

9"  long with   1 5/8"  cutter

This is another plane that made it big down under.  In the not so distant past I used to sell them at a rate of about one a month. They didn't call me the chamfer king for nothing!

I never kept records but I'm quite certain that the majority of those planes came from South Australia. Whether that has anything to do with the way they build houses in SA or whether it simply was tradesmen familiar with the tool inspiring others, I don't know. Maybe it's a mix of both. A lot of old timers tell me that they never knew what planes were available at the time and if the hardware shop manager didn't make an effort to actually display some of the ware on the counter they never even got to see what was available.

Early models have the 85 patent on the side, later models are marked Stanley on one side and No 72 on the other. Note that the very first two or even three models (there is no finite type study on this)  had the same markings as the late models i.e. no patent 85 cast in side. The shape and form of the lever cap screw provides the easiest and most reliable indication for the age of your plane. Early front knobs were beaded,  models after 1920 had a tall knob.

Handles are not interchangeable from any other plane. The 72 handle has a square cut-out in the base.

Later model planes came in a box with the bullnose attachment included. There was no extra star screw supplied for the bullnose attachment. The beading attachment was sold separately as No 72 1/2 in a small box with the star screw and 6 beading cutters, similar to Stanley 66. I have seen one model in the box with the bullnose and the beading attachment. The number 72 1/2  is also used for the72  plane with the bullnose & beading attachment combined.

bullnose and beading attachments

tall knob ca 1935