Jason W

I thought I'd take some time to clean up the ol' planer. It cleaned up pretty nice. I can just imagine what it looked like when granddad bought it

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Admiral

Just like my ex wife......

JIMBETHYNAME

And then there was three
1)#7 type 4(1874-1884) jointer
2)#5 type 11(1910-1912)
3)LEE VALLEY LABP
Not a bad start, lol

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justin2009

I'd like to build on the collection of planes I received from my grandfather and grandmother (antique collectors)... what are some things to look out for when buying a used plane, besides excessive rust?

mpm1696

Justin,

Stanley's best planes, were the pre-war baileys and Bedrocks types between 1887 to late 1930s.

Any post-WWII planes like the four squares and handyman were of much lower quality as their predecessors. Other than the Frog difference between the Bedrocks and Baileys, the type 13 Baileys plane is the best plane in it's class. If you can afford an early Bedrock Flat or Round side plane, go ahead and take it, you won't regret it. I know - I have the whole collection.

FYI the best planes manufactured and on the market today in 2008 is the Bedrock type of the early days made by Lie-Nielsen and Lee Valley - Veritas.

If your looking into used, early Stanley-Bailey planes, look for:

Rosewood handles (not painted),
"keyhole" type lever caps,
"V" type or "Sweethart" logos on the cutting iron,
2 or 3 patent dates stamps behind the frog,
solid cast frogs (no recesses),
3 piece lateral adjusters,
small 1" type brass depth adjuster,
solid cast Y depth adjuster,
no red, yellow or orange paint anywhere on the frog or lever cap,
no "Made in USA" stampings anywhere.
Other than these general factors makes it a rare - one-off -, or a later Stanley model type 15 and up. (types nos, went to 20 of today)

Note that you can get any of those planes with theses characteristics for no more than $20, other than some cleaning and some little fiddling. You can do wonders with a good antique Stanley plane.

If you're looking for just one plane, get a #5 Jack, if you like working with hand tools, you're second choice after that is a #7 Jointer plane. And the 3rd one, is a #4 Smoother.

G.luck

"plane" questions? I've got answers!

Pete

justin2009

First of all, this forum is awesome. I'm glad I found it.

mpm - I've been interest in woodworking quite a while and have built two tables and a bookshelf over the last 5 years. That's it - otherwise I've been remodeling. I'm anxious to get home and see what types of hand planes I got from grandad. I know two are old wood-bodied planes, one being a moulding profile of some sort. I intend to use them, not just collect (for now)... I also have several hand planes that I've purchased, including a Lee Valley scrub plane, a recent stanley block plane (which actually worked out fairly well. I may take a picture of them tonight if I can find them all and post it up.

justin2009

Pete,

I pulled out grandad's planes tonight. There is a Baily/Stanley #4 that looks to be from 1933-1941 based on the frog shape and patent placement.

There's also an L. Bailey with no number but it's very small - probably a number 2, but I couldn't fine the size. The chip breaker has "L. Bailey's Patent Dec 24, 1867" on it and the iron has "Stanley Rule & Level Company". The sole is 1.5 inches wide and about 5.75" long. I'll try and post some pictures. There's also a very small Craftsman and an old wooden plane that says R. Hildick.

Pretty neat. The L. Bailey actually was in much better shape than the Stanley so I'm guessing that grandma bought it as an antique and kept it in the house instead of the barn with the rest of Papa's tools.

MF Poor

Gotta take a few pictures when I have time...... My dad and grand dad were carpenters, my greatgrandfather on my moms side was a wheelright (sp) at the old Studabaker wagon works. I've got 43 of their planes from late '30's and older. Also have 15 more "newer" planes. My pride and joy is a Stanley compass plane.

My best piece of advice if you're going to own and use hand planes...? Get a GOOD bench grinder, equip it with correct wheels, and learn the hows and whys of sharpening your own bits. This applies to chisels too. Learning how to sharpen, then using your work will teach you more about using a plane than any single thing I know of. And another $.02 worth of free advice? Get a cheap "throw-away" plane to learn on. You don't want to grind up a valuable antique.

JIMBETHYNAME

This weeks addition-
STANLEY #6 TYPE 6 (fore plane)

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wouldheart

Hi, guys, newbie to this site but I participate in others.

I have a Stanley # 4, a #5 and a #6
Also a low angle and a standard block plane
The large and the three piece shoulder planes
The rebate (rabbet) plane
The Old Woman's Tooth
And two wooden ones I made, one flat bottomed and one convex.

I rarely use the #6 because it is good for edging a board and flattening a glue up slab, but not much else.

The shoulder planes don't see a lot of use, but the rabbet plane does.
The Old Woman's Tooth is for cleaning up dadoes. I don't do much anymore because I don't have space at home or access to a shop nowadays.

I'll post pictures of the planes, but not tonight.

Ash

Been reading thru many threads like these and I dont fully understand what the fascination is with these antique planes. So they can't build them better 100+ years later, with all the technological advances? They build those minute quad core chips pretty good for CPUs!!
Someone please explain...

frankp

Ash, I'm going to assume you're not joking and aren't intentionally being sarcastic. The big thing is cost of materials is everything in today's manufacturing environment. Speed to produce and cost of raw materials are major impacts on profit. In a modern company, feeding the stockholders a steady stream of profit is the goal, not necessarily making the best product you can. As such, modern hand planes generally have slightly lower quality workmanship (speed) and inferior parts (quality materials) than items that were carefully made by hand by our grandparent's generation.

Some people will tell you that it has to do with outsourcing to China, and that it's just not "American quality", which is true to a very minor extent. I will tell you, however, that most of the tools I've seen made in China, especially hand tools, have lasted far longer than 100 years and they are still capable. (Granted, these were in China, not in the US manufactured for US companies.) I think the attitude of "Chinese manufactured means bad" is a remnant of the 70s and 80s (and possibly even early 90s) and it's not as valid as it used to be.


Now, on to the reason I was originally going to post here:
I found a link to this site on Craigslist and I'm thinking about going over to pick up a No. 7 plane and maybe a spokeshave and some bar clamps. Anyone have any suggestions on what to look for in these specific tools?

http://www.ilovewaterfront.net/selli...ake/Tools.html

FrankP

__________________
"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

Ash

Thanks Frank!
That makes some sense.
I was very serious when I asked that question.
Frankly, this is irritating to me. Instead of a model number and a store/website to go to; I have to search and be on the lookout for a chance lucking out on a nice vintage plane.
I just wish, I didnt have 3 other hobbies, sucking on my finances; that I could just order all my hand tools from Lee Valley and be done with it!!!

Cheers! and Happy hunting!

knotscott

Frank covered it well Ash. The new Lee Nielsen, Clifton, and Veritas planes (and others) are top notch, but fetch a premium. The newer budget planes made in India or China are made with modern profits for big corporations in mind, and you're not likely to get the same quality steel, brass, bronze, nickel, etc., especially on the less obvious components as you will with the older planes that are well regarded (not all are). You're also more likely to get better precision between the components on the older planes...there's a lot to the fit of the frog with the sole, and the cap iron, lever cap, etc. It's easy to overlook those aspects if you're not realy familiar with hand planes.

Another benefit of the older planes is that many have already been flattened by a avid user at some point....something you're very likely to need to do with a new mid-budget plane made in China or India. Many of the older planes just need a little elbow grease and a sharpening. There's also a certain amount of satisfaction of giving a 40-80 year old plane a new home, and purpose again. Not mention that it's tough to describe the feeling of cleaning up an old plane made in 1928 (for example), and look back at a picture of the cars, houses, and lifestyles of the people when that plane was made, and wonder who used it and for what. There's zero history with a new plane...nodda. Old planes just seem to talk to me.

Here's my 1928 Bailey 5-1/4 type 13:

mranum

I gotta admit that doing something "old-school" with a tool thats 100 years old is just, just.....cool. It gets a hold of you and as corny as it sounds I agree with the previous poster who said it seemed like the tools talk to him. Its satisfying to use a tool that my grandfather could have actually used, or even bought at the turn of the last century.


Not to mention the lack of inhaled saw dust.

frankp

Ash,

Don't convince yourself you have to spend a mint on collectors planes. You can buy new planes (at a reasonable price) from places like Woodcraft that are good tools. They will be even better tools when setup properly. Learn how to tune your tools (something I'm very guilty of not knowing) and you can make beautiful stuff with new tools just as well as the old ones. Hell, you could do like Daren does and make your own planes and just use commercial irons. He's started a few threads where he showed off his planes and they made me drool. Seriously, plane envy and I don't even consider myself someone who particularly likes hand planing.

__________________
"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

Mick Turner

I have a #6 also....my favorite tool, It didn't come with Rosewood pieces though so I'll have to order some.

I found an old rusty Bailey #4 Smoother a couple months back, I cleaned it up and it looks the part now.

ronbooth

Ok Boys, you asked for it.
I`m finding it almost impossible to resist the temptation to top you all, so I won`t other than to add that you owe it to yourselves to check out Philip Marcou in New Zealand.
Aahh , the wonders of the internet.-----
He not only restores the old bangers from farm-houses to a condition that they never ever knew in their previous lives, but does so at incredibly good prices which you can see on the New Zealand version of e-bay called Trademe.
Visit his website to see the Crown Jewels of smoothers and others at Marcou planes.
Good luck with all of your addictions `cos there is no remedy for this one.
Ron in Hobart