Welcome to part 2 of the Stanley #289 trilogy. I hope part 1 didn't wear any of you out or completely bore you. In my first post regarding the #289, I wanted to provide a little background on how I obtained the plane and the totally self-induced buyer's remorse that came along with it based on my lack of absentee bidding and/or auction knowledge, and my total disregard for accurately evaluating the plane's true condition and monetary value. Just thinking about it now is still painful and somewhat embarrassing. On the upside, I did end up with a great tool that over the years has become one of my favorite go to planes. In this post, my goal is to tell you about the plane itself.
Stanley #289:
As everyone knows, Stanley made many, many different plane patterns. Some seemed good on paper, but when translated from the drawing board to cast iron, well, they were failures for one reason or another. Most of Stanley's planes went from what appeared to be good ideas on paper to millions of mass-produced good quality planes out in the world, that functioned as intended, providing utility for decades. Then there were a few designs that were winners from the start. The #289 is one of those planes. Manufactured between 1911 and 1948, it's one of the best planes Stanley ever made. It's a heavy duty plane that was designed to be used either right or left handed, and with its skewed cutting iron, is capable of taking a clean slicing cut across the grain when scored by spurs that are inset on each side of the main casting just ahead of the iron. Those spurs are worthy of your attention and I'll address them as we get into the post. The fence assembly and depth stop can be mounted on either side of the plane adding to its versatility.
While I think the #289 is well designed and more than delivers on performance, it actually does have one significant drawback that plays right into a topic I've mentioned more than once throughout the thread. Chasing parts! The #289 incorporates several parts that are unique to the plane. Those parts include the pressure cap, the fence assembly, the cutting iron, and the spurs (sort of). As always, do your homework and know for sure what you're looking at before you shell out good money for a plane that's missing parts or has parts that are not intended to be on the plane. When I grossly overpaid for my #289, part of what I relied on in deciding to buy the plane in the first place was the description provided by the auction house. The plane was represented as "complete" and fortunately for my sake, it was. That may not always be the case. I was lucky in that regard. Over the years, I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I've seen a Stanley #289 outfitted with a Stanley #78 fence and #78 rod. (For more on the Stanley #78, see page 15, reply 220.) That happens almost as much as I've seen #62 block planes with cracked throats. The correct fence on the #289 is a beefy casting that mounts on the fence rod through its center. The mounting hole on the #78 fence is slightly off center. The #289 fence is also cast with strengthening arcs on either side of the mounting hole, giving it a somewhat elegant look. The #78 fence does not have those arcs. The #289 fence rod is longer than the #78 rod and it is greater in diameter too. The problem is that both the #289 rod and the #78 rod share the exact same threaded section. Consequently, the #78 fence rod will mount onto the #289 main casting and visa versa. So, it’s not uncommon to see a #78 fence and rod on a #289 plane. It’s a cheap way to add a fence to the #289 without having find and pay for the correct assembly. Funny, but I’ve never seen a #289 fence and rod on a #78 plane.
Another dead give-away is the #289's pressure cap. On its top right side a pronounced "S" shaped ridge/protrusion is added to the casting, again for strength, while the standard #78 pressure cap has a much less distinct protrusion and is close to flat on top. A #78 pressure cap and cutting iron won’t comfortably fit onto a #289 without some creative grinding or alteration. The front edge of the #289's pressure cap is also angled to parallel the edge of the skewed iron, and is actually pulled back to engage the tensioning keyhole screw in the main casting. Practically every other Stanley plane that uses a pressure cap or lever cap is fitted with a keyhole that is designed to be pushed forward toward the toe of the main casting and locked into place, thus holding the iron steady. If the #289 pressure cap keyhole were similarly configured, it would not adequately engage the main casting tensioning screw properly. . . . And now for those spurs. If you look closely, just forward of the cutting iron on both sides of the plane, you'll see a one lobed spur that can be extended to protrude slightly past the main casting's sole when cutting across the grain, or retracted into a milled recess when cutting with the grain. Those spurs, by their design, are specifically made for the left and right side of the plane. They really can't be interchanged. Early versions of the #289 incorporated those one lobed spurs. Later versions of the plane utilized three lobed spurs that were relatively common on several other Stanley plane patterns and are interchangeable on each side of the plane. While the early one lobed, left and right specific spurs were not unique to only the #289, they were only found on two other Stanley planes that come to mind; the #10 1/4 bench rabbet with the tilting knob and tote, and the infamous #444 dovetail plane. Although I have not yet featured either plane, I can tell you that those are not planes one wants to pilfer parts from. In the world of Stanley hand planes, they're both very collectible and very expensive. (A few years ago I added a #444 to my collection and failed to notice it was missing one of two left side single lobed spurs. It was my oversight.....again! Anyway, as I discussed in the "Chasing Parts" post back on page 43, reply 643, I ended up taking the left side spur off my #289 and using it to complete my #444. After several missed attempts to buy another left side spur to make my #289 whole again, I finally found one. Needless to say, it was a costly part!) Don't buy a #289 that's incomplete. (Try to avoid any plane that’s missing parts.) Trust me, the spare parts add up fast, and that's if one can find them. Finding parts for a #289 could be tricky.
The #289 depicted below is an early example, probably manufactured between 1911 and 1915. It's definitely an old timer. Besides looking at the early one lobed left and right spurs, this example also includes patent information on the left side of its main casting, immediately behind the cutting iron. The patent information is another telltale indicating that the plane was manufactured early on. Later versions of the #289 do not include the patent information on the main casting. This particular plane taught me a lot about cutting rabbet joints by hand. While I paid dearly for the opportunity, I now look forward to using it as often as possible and getting my money’s worth out of it. That could take awhile! It's still a great tool. Based on my unscientific observations, even user quality versions of this plane are a little on the high side when it comes to cost. A good user quality #78 will be far less expensive. If you absolutely must have a #289 to use, I don't think you'll be disappointed in its performance. If possible, try to find a later version with the three lobed spurs. Those spurs are easier to replace and they're not left and right specific. Again, do your homework. Get one with the correct fence assembly, pressure cap and cutting iron.
Thanks for hanging in there. I know it was another log post. I hope you'll stay tuned for the third and last installment of my Stanley #289 saga.
Jim C.