I’m moving this converstion to this new thread so it’s easy to follow and post.
I’m looking for information on details like this for a project I’m doing. Serial#'s, documentation (receipts, pdf’s, vintage photos ) showing dates when possible. I’m in touch with Pete about it, I know that Cleanlines, Balsa, and Bill T wil have lots of info.
First I’d like to test the theory that the tags were upside down on the earlier planers. Anybody else have a 190 that you could post the tag orientation and serial#? Any picture of tags would be cool.
I’ve seen an old Skil ad with both the 676 and 190 for sale at the same time. Both models have some tags upside down but there’s no serial# on the 676 tag. Is there a serial# on 676 anywhere on the tool?
Also looking for little details (changes/dates) on type1 thru type5 etc.
Howzit Gene…I have had a 676 and a few 190’s but don’t recall upside down ID plate. Seems to me like one time I counted the ribs in the base. The Old ones had one less rib than the Skil 100. Let me know if I am right.
Also you may want to compare weights. I used a 190 for a while and it seemed lighter.
Gene, my grandpa had a large collection of old skil tools. Including a few power planers. Unfortunatly the planers never turned up. But what I could find was some older skil tools that were very unusulal from one another, all having been purchased around the same time. The tools were two hand jigsawss and two drills. The drills i had always believed to be later, they both had modern styling. The two jigsaws were bought in the same year according to my grandma, however no specific year was given to me. She suggested sometime in the late 50s - early 60s. What was interesting was how one jigsaw looked very different then the other. One had a full identification plate and the other didnt. The one with the plate, the plate was mounted with the same rivets, looks very similar to your 190, and was also what could be considered upsidedown if youre looking at it from the upright way it should be held and serviced. It certainly was an old tool. The whole thing was what looked like a nickel plated or polished steel body similar to your 190.
My grampa was always a very handy guy im sure he kept logs or the original user documentation and booklets. Ill do a little looking for you and see what i can come up with.
Gene, is there a possibility that some planers would have been completely reconditioned and that the identification tag could have been removed (for re-painting, for instance) and then riveted back the wrong way? Or did you see that tag inversion only on 190s?
Hi Balsa, like hippo said I think that the earlier plates were oriented to the user when operating the tool. Way too many of them on tools that appear to be original. The serial#s will tell if there was a change at some point in time. There’s more little details I’ll be asking about here, probably more planers owned by this group than anywhere else.
Here you go Gene…my Skil 100 & 190 plates with serial numbers and a scan of a 1961 Skil catalog and price list…new planers were $139.50! (#100 on left side of price list)
The first time I saw a Skil planer in action, was at the San Clemente Velzy&Jacobs shop, in 1957. The shaper was Reynolds Yater! Next exposure was by Wayne Land, who in 1958 gave me the sad news that a Skil planer would cost $125 dollars. Yikes! So, I rented planers, at five dollars per day, until I bought one in Feb. 1964. The price had jumped by then, to $150 dollars.
Gene I notice a slight difference between the upside down and the right side up serial# badges on the model 190. The upside down tag has no patent#. The right side up tag has the patent# 2,600,279 which is also the same patent# on the 676 and all the100 models and types. This leads me to beleave that the model 190 might be the earlier model not the 676. And that when Skil received the patent# they put it on the tags and started applying them right side up. For some reason I always thought that the 676 was the older model. Ive heard that at one point in time that Skil was manufacturing both the 190 and 676 at the same time so this might also be the case with the model 676. Need to see some clear photo’s of upside down and right side up 676 tags. What do you think? Mitch
Well I just noticed the 190 tag photo that RAND posted It’s right side up and does not have the Patent# But the serial number seems to be more in the rang being that the first 3 digits are 731 and so far the upside downs first 3 digits are 730
Wavecraft, so it looks like the patent no. came between 731285 and 731596. And the theory holds that upside down tags were on earlier ones. I bet there’s a database somewhere to cross reference dates with #'s.
I have two of those jointer stands, one was included with the $20 planer in the photo below. I know my scribe lines drive some of you crazy, I never said I wasn’t a hack.
All the information and recollections all of you are sharing is great, keep it coming. Thx
I have a Skil 676, will pull it out later and see which way the tag points…when I bought it I found a scanned in copy of a typewritten/hand sketch manual that was dated 1956
Here is info from another thread, not sure of its accuracy but there you have it:
"Skil manufactured model 676, 190, and 100. I think in this order. All basically the same design. I have minimal info on 676. The 190 was manufactured as a type 1 and type 2. The type 1 was last manufactured late 1954/early 1955, and type 2 mid 1955. The model 100 was manufactured as type 1-4, 4A, and 5. Part numbers were changed after type 2. Type 1 was last manufactured early 1955 and type 2 late 1962. Type 3,4, 4A and 5 are essentially identical, with the exception of the thin (I think disposable; razor blade type) on the 4A and 5. Some model 100s were 7.5 amp vs 5.5. Don’t know when this happened. I have seen 5.5 and 7.5 amp model 100 type 4. I would like to know if any type 1-3 were 7.5 amp. "
I’ve never seen any documentation, pictures, or heard any direct oral history supporting the existence of Skil Planers prior to the early/mid 50’s. The earliest documentation (other than Mr. Spitzley’s patent) that I’ve seen for an electric plane suitable for shaping surfboards is the instruction manual for the Mall Plane dated 1/51. The earliest printed date I’ve seen on the Skil is 12/54 on the 2 sided leaflet (below) dated 6/12/57 that I found in one of my boxes. Edit: Reading this leaflet you might surmise that 3135 Skil 190’s were produced prior to 6/55 which was the end of that model, and all of the 365 Skil100 type1’s were made before 2/55. No data here on the 676’s. You still can’t determine the starting date with the information given.
Does anybody have any documentation to take us back further?
This may be a dumb question but has anyone tried to contact Skil directly?
The reason I ask is because I work with a lot of old machines from the 50s and finding parts and info when I have to fix them can be a nightmare. But any time I can contact a company that is still in business there is usually someone there that knows all sorts of information and can often provide documentation… Just a thought.
