Miller Falls

[Tony Z]

I'm wondering why Miller Falls tools don't get the love that Stanley do. Many are the equal and quite a few are superior. Many of the planes have full bedding similar to early type Baileys, and I find the articulated lever cap superior to Stanley and most are similar planes. I have a smoother, with a Hock blade (yes, with cryo A2), that is equal to any modern plane and superior to most.

Comments/opinions?

[EricU]

there are just a lot less of them.  I don't remember the actual model numbers, but I have a Miller Falls 5 and a 6 I got from tabelsawtom, and they are both really nice. There are dedicated Miller Falls collectors, but they are keeping their head down so nobody learns their secrets.

[enjuneer]

Robert Porter is a fan and aficionado of Millers Falls tools. He runs an online emporium called The Old Hand Tool Shop where he has numerous MF tools listed.

[Timberwolf]

I'm wondering why Miller Falls tools don't get the love that Stanley do. Many are the equal and quite a few are superior.  Many of the planes have full bedding similar to early type Baileys, and I find the articulated lever cap superior to Stanley and most are similar planes.  I have a smoother, with a Hock blade (yes, with cryo A2), that is equal to any modern plane and superior to most.

Comments/opinions?

.....
I agree completely, Tony.....The levercap sets MF apart from Stanley..and I think the castings are better..

[Bill_Houghton]

The same question could be asked in lots of other areas: Starrett tools command a premium over Brown & Sharpe, Lufkin, and others, even though other brands are at least as good in some of the tool lines, with some having better features (example: the adjustment mechanism on the Brown & Sharpe centering head for combination square rules).  Back when I was young, Chevrolets were viewed way more positively than Ford or Dodge by many, in spite of the fact that Chevrolet's engineers did some truly nutty things.  And so on.

Somehow, Stanley became a dominant name in the woodworking tools area, way back in the 19th century, and it continues today, among vintage tool folks.

[Philip1231]

Here is a great web site that covers most of MF hand tools:

https://oldtoolheaven.com

I have a MF brace with the permaloid handle (Parsons Deluxe Brace) and it is quite a piece of machinery.

[GNP]

Big Millers Falls fan here. Pick them up whenever I find them. Oh yeah, I'm drooling over the pic of that Parsons brace.

[hbmcc]

I'm wondering why Miller Falls tools don't get the love that Stanley do. <>

Comments/opinions?

I think hyperbole influences most preferences people have. Unless we had it in hand, most of us as youth, or children, were influenced by the praise our father and his friends gave to tools. Indian motorcycles were the "cool" bike and meter readers sat on Harley tricycles in the 50's. Hyperbole is powerful magic. The social, psychiatric, economic, and political scientists who know our minds, can make you believe you are dead.  

I found a direct link to name favoritism in the classic bamboo flyrod forums. Conveniently, the best rods were northeastern USA produced, where the sirens of praise, on the forums, resided and had huge collections of the sweet tools they loved.

I like Paul Sellers for his paeans (my nod to Bill_Houghton's odes) to the level playing field and tool-specific attributes of economical alternates.

[Bill Wilson]

I think hyperbole influences most preferences people have. Unless we had it in hand, most of us as youth, or children, were influenced by the praise our father and his friends gave to tools.

I can still remember the MF circular saw my Dad had.  He worked in construction all his life and had used just about everything out there, but he always had high praise for the MF saw.  This was a long time ago and I had long since forgotten about MF tools, since they haven't made new ones in decades.  I never even knew that MF was better known for their hand tools than power tools until recently.  When I started looking for vintage hand tools, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that MF was a player in that market and I've picked up a few things, when I find them.  Everything I've read indicates that generally people think as highly of their hand tools as my Dad did of that circular saw.

[bandit571]

Shhhhhhh!   Keep quiet.....and avoid the "Sellers Effect"   and I can get even more M-F tools....cheap.
 
[attachment=16921]

Used the No. 11 this afternoon....