B67-544 ADJUSTABLE PITCH SMOOTHING PLANE. First Leonard Bailey Patent. Bailey's first patent, granted 8/7/55, was for a "rocking frog" that allowed the cutter to be positioned at different angles, and was used as the basis for the No. 12 series scrapers. However, Bailey also experimented with a bench plane with pins that could be inserted through holes in the cheeks to position the cutter. A handful of previous examples have surfaced, some with a brass lever cap stamped with the patent date and a later version with an unmarked cast iron lever cap. See Van Pernis & Wells, page 7. This is the latter type, with an 8-1/2" sole stamped with a "3" assembly number near the heel and a 1-3/4" Moulson Bros. cutter. The rosewood tote has a slightly different shape than the example shown in Van Pernis & Wells, and is so clean we are suspicious that it may be a well made replacement, but the rest of the plane is correct and complete and in near immaculate condition, noting some dinging on the lever cap and a small crack in the cutter. A superb example of the earliest design of America's greatest planemaking genius; it will be a long time before you find another. From the collection of Harold Unruh. Good+ 6000-12000