The Civil War brought great strides in manufacturing technology and innovation to the factories that were dedicated to the production of war munitions. When the war ended, advances in metal working and design were quickly applied to more peaceful purposes. The machinery and equipment developed to produce the weapons of war were repurposed to the design and manufacture of a wide variety of innovative and technologically advanced woodworking tools. Possibly the most groundbreaking inventor of the era was Leonard Bailey a toolmaker/cabinetmaker from Massachusetts who patented a number of transformational features for woodworking equipment. Bailey was issued his first plane patent in 1858 for his smooth plane. He continued to develop additional patents for his transformational plane designs. In 1869 the Stanley Rule and Level Company bought seven of Bailey’s patent designs and Leonard Bailey went to work for Stanley. Unfortunately, in 1875 they had a patent dispute which was ultimately settled in Stanley’s favor. Unhappy with the result, in 1878, Bailey and a partner began producing the Defiance (apply named) & Victor Bailey lines of planes. Their defiance was relatively short lived as Stanley bought them out in the 1880’s and shut down all production in 1888.

Yellow Garage Antiques dealer The White Rabbit is featuring an antique Victor Bailey No 10 compass plane. This rare and historically significant plane is in very good condition. The plane is 10 1\\4” in length and 5 1\\2” to the highest point. We are not experts in antique tools but will happily answer any specific questions you may have. We hope the pictures provide some additional information which we did not include in our written description. This legendary plane will be the center piece of any serious woodworker’s antique tool collection.