As I get closer to the end of my Defiance collecting I have been taking the time to research the Eclipse line of planes manufactured by Stanley and through Montgomery Wards and Co.
Montgomery Wards offered 3 different grades of tools
- Master Quality / Wards Master – ( Best )
- Lakeside ( Better )
- Eclipse ( Good )
The Eclipse line, much like the Defiance line it comes from, is more than just hand planes. Going through some old catalogs online ( Fall/Winter 1941-1942 ) there were other tools as well. This all came about when I purchased a block plane off eBay and it was listed as an Eclipse Block Plane. Well at the time I thought they only made bench planes for the Eclipse line, nope, there’s the block plane, some wrenches, and all sorts of other things you’ll find in the catalogs. It should be noted that in some of the Powr Kraft catalogs, there is also some other hand tools in there.
So now that I went WAY down the rabbit hole, I felt it best to give the Eclipse Planes their own page. Granted the planes are rebranded Defiance planes for the most part, but it is still another line of tools that Stanley manufactured and is still relatively easy to acquire. Think I am only missing two out of the Eclipse collection.
Here are the planes I know of, as on the Defiance page, if it’s in bold then I own it and it’s in my shop prolly on the workbench waiting for me to give it some attention.
MONTGOMERY WARD ECLIPSE PLANES ( rebranded Defiance Planes )
NOTE: The following Eclipse planes were sold by Montgomery Ward & Co. and had the brand ECLIPSE stamped into the top of the iron. Aside from the brand on the iron, the tote and knob were lesser quality wood stained red to look like rosewood but all in all were just rebranded Defiance planes.
- Defiance 1202 Eclipse – 7 1/2″ Length 1 3/4″ Iron
- Defiance 1203 Eclipse – 9 1/4″ Length 1 3/4″ Iron
- Defiance 1203C Eclipse – 9 1/4″ Length 1 3/4″ Iron Corrugated Sole
- Defiance 1204 Eclipse – 9 1/4″” Length 2″ Iron
- Defiance 1205 Eclipse – 14″ Length 2″ Iron
- Defiance 1248 Eclipse Block Plane – 7″ L 1 3/4″ Iron
So I did in fact find out the block plane is a real thing, I have it listed in an old Monkey Wards catalog from the Fall/Winter. The block is listed clear as day there, well kinda, it’s on the bottom right of the first image below:
The Unicorn
Here’s a gallery of pics found on the web for the Eclipse 1203, it has the original box and the original decal on the handle which I will be reproducing here in the near future. Thinking I might move it to the lever cap though so it will in theory last longer. Again, not looking to resell these so they’ll be in my collection to do with as I please:
One thing that does strike me as odd about the above plane is that the body has the patent dates on it as well as “Bailey” and “No. 3”. This is the only example of an Eclipse I’ve seen like this and could be one of two things… a Frankenplane or further evidence that these lower end planes were manufactured and assembled with whatever Stanley had laying around the factory at the time.
And it makes perfect sense that as soon as I think I am finished with a post, I find more information to add onto it. So check this post out for some more information on the Eclipse 1202: https://idlehandsworkshop.info/tapping-out-and-chasing-unicorns-eclipse-hand-planes/
Looks like I need to get working on a sticker/decal for the Eclipse line like I did for the Defiance. Have to have all of my perty tools looking proper and pretty
Here’s a gallery of pics found on the web for the Eclipse 1203c, it has the original box and the original decal on the handle which I will be reproducing here in the near future. Thinking I might move it to the lever cap though so it will in theory last longer. Again, not looking to resell these so they’ll be in my collection to do with as I please:
One thing that does strike me as odd about the above plane is that the body has the patent dates on it as well as “Bailey” and “No. 3”. This is the only example of an Eclipse I’ve seen like this and could be one of two things… a Frankenplane or further evidence that these lower end planes were manufactured and assembled with whatever Stanley had laying around the factory at the time.
And it makes perfect sense that as soon as I think I am finished with a post, I find more information to add onto it. So check this post out for some more information on the Eclipse 1202: https://idlehandsworkshop.info/tapping-out-and-chasing-unicorns-eclipse-hand-planes/