Who is “Bailey”?
The standard pattern of bench plane that we all take for granted was invented by a man named Leonard Bailey. Bailey invented three major parts of this design: the moveable frog (the wedge shaped iron support on which the plane blade rests), the lever cap iron securing system, and the depth adjustment wheel and yoke system. Later the improvement of the lateral adjustment lever was added. The Stanley company saw the potential success of Bailey’s design and bought the patents from him. To honor the dude of whom they quickly tired (there were several patent lawsuits between them), they cast and engraved his name all over their planes for some years. This is why many of the Stanley planes have “Bailey” cast into them. The earliest ones also have it engraved in the chip breaker and adjustment wheel as well.
