adauria

Does anyone have an opinion or experience with planes from Hartville Tools, like this one?

http://www.hartvilletool.com/product/11757

If they are decent, they seem like a lot of bang for the buck (even at the pre-closeout price)

-Andrew

knotscott

Hi Andrew - I can't say from experience whether or not the Hartville planes are a good product. They might be fine, but even if they're made from an older Record or Stanley design from the same molds, I doubt very much if the metallurgy or machining are on par with the older planes. $35-$50 will generally get you a pretty nice older Bailey, Record, or Millers Falls plane that's often times already been fettled, and is dripping with nostalgia that the Chinese and India made planes lack.

adauria

I am kind of torn here. I don't mind getting a nice old plane on ebay, but I lack the expertise to restore and set them up. What I really want is something that is ready to go out of the box or with minimal setup that I can do as a beginner with no experience, but I don't want to spend an arm and a leg. Is there any option out there for me?

-Andrew

adauria

double post, sorry.

-Andrew

olfrt

I'm a newbie woodworker too, and from what I've read it appears that any new inexpensive plane is going to take work to put in service. It is just as easy, if not easier, to put an old Stanley Etc, in working condition as it is to fiddle with a new import. I googled up several sets of instructions for reconditioning wood planes and was able to put 5 heirloom planes from mine and my wife's families back to work. It was pleasurable and something I could do in evenings and when I had small amounts of shop time at my disposal. There is a lot of internet stuff available on these old planes and learning the histories and dating these planes proved to be enjoyable. It is a good feeling to pickup and use a tool that is over a hundred years old.
Any inexpensive plane that you buy new or used is going to have to be sharpened. There are many sharpening schemes out there. I would look into the "Scary Sharp" system. It is not expensive in that it uses sandpaper in varing grits to sharpen an edge to "Hair shaving" sharpness and is relatively fast to employ. I sincerely hope that you find as much joy in wood planes as I have....even the shavings are intriguing as they roll up and out of the plane! The feel of a sharp plane slicing thru wood is is remarkable!

adauria

Sounds good! Can you point me to the sources of info you used to help you refurb the old planes?

Also, can anyone point me to a seller who offers ready to plane old planes?

-Andrew

knotscott

Here's a couple of good ones Andrew. I'll try to get more when I get a chance.
RexMill.com
CianPerez.com/woodworking/Fossil-Fuel-Friendly

frankp

adauria, I'd say any plane you buy, whether new or used, is going to need some set up time. I've never seen a plane truly "ready to go out of the box". I'm still trying to learn how use the few planes I have because I fall back to other tools more often than I should, but I definitely had to take time and set them up.

__________________
"I care not what others think of what I do, but I care very much about what I think of what I do! That is character!"

--Theodore Roosevelt

olfrt

Andrew, Sorry for the delay but family matters kept me away from the computer till now. Here is a list of plane restoration sites that I used: 1. http://www.handplane.com/ 2. http://workshop.tjmahaffey.com/planes1 http://www.antique-used-tools.com/comparts.htm 4. http://www.hocktools.com/products.htm [aftermarket plane irons ] 5. http:http://www.wkfinetools.com/contrib/b...oodPlanes1.asp [Great article ] 6.http://lumberjocks.com/WayneC/blog/578 {good info on other ww forums too } 7. http://swingleydev.com/archive/index.php [ "Old Tools Archive". Didn't use but looks like it is a fun site with lots of information. ] There are other sites which I used but didn't book-mark. The Highland Woodworking site has an excellent simple article titled "Tuning Metal Bench Planes for the Rest of Us", which explains the fundamentals of restoring a plane concisely and clearly. This is a GREAT FIRST STOP. Most of the wood working forums have good information but I seem to get sidetracked when I go hunting in them. Some of the original Stanley brochures are to be found as PDF files but I don't remember where I got them. pop me an email and I will send you the files I downloaded. Have some of the Stanley brochures, and an pertinent article about tuning up a new inexpensive plane which will provide step by step instructions for tuning up and old Bailey type plane too. Hope this helps. Will

adauria

Thank you so much!! These are really helpful. I might be confident enough to buy a used one now.

-Andrew

olfrt

You are most welcome. Keep us posted whichever way you proceed. Don't worry you're gonna do fine. Will