Stanley Bailey #7 Made in England plane

[Stephen Rosenthal]

UK-made planes are variable. Some excellent, and sone boat anchors. Worth a look.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Worth a look? Without the chip breaker and blade? For $100? As Rafael and Jim already mentioned, I wouldn’t consider it unless the seller came down - way down, and even then…

It would be silly of me to argue that all Made in England Stanleys are junk. I have a #79 (from the 60s judging by the box) that is excellent. Maybe pre-war Stanleys aren’t as plentiful Down Under. But unless he wants only a corrugated version, in the States it shouldn’t take more than a few weeks to find a good one. Not recommending an eBay purchase, but there are currently dozens available there. On the other hand, I wouldn’t hesitate buying one from Patrick Leach - he probably has a few gathering dust right now. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the OP could get one from a fellow Creeker if he posts a WTB ad in the classifieds. Our own James Spangler has been known to find and work his magic with special requests.

[Jimmy Harris]

A Hock blade and chip breaker would be a worthy upgrade for that plane. So I wouldn't say no to it, since those are things I would probably want to replace anyway.

However, I'd want to get into it for a lot cheaper than that. A UK made plane, even with all of the parts, would be a tough swallow for me at $100. You could get a US made plane for about that if you live in the US. At that price, it'll require some de-rusting and work. But I bet that plane is gonna require as much work, or maybe more, to get it really tuned up.

I'd offer $50, and if they balk, show them it's missing parts and will cost you $100 just to get it working. If they want more than that, I'd just walk and wish them luck.

[Bob Vavricka]

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts. I think I will pass on the plane but will take another look at it tomorrow if it is still there but will be much more informed from all your comments. Thank You for sharing your input.
Bob V.

[Jim Koepke]

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts. I think I will pass on the plane but will take another look at it tomorrow if it is still there but will be much more informed from all your comments. Thank You for sharing your input.
Bob V.

The longer it sits the more it means no one else wanted to meet the price or even make an offer.

The longer it sits, the more likely someone might be to take a lowball price.

jtk

[Tom Bussey]

My question is what is it going to cost you if you wish to buy a #7 that is ready to go. How long are you willing to wait to get a #7? And at what is the cost you are willing pay? From experience, Stanley planes made in England are usually a very good planes. My guess is that they don't have a clue and that since it is not complete, they will take less. At $50 it is a steel. At $75 you are still in good shape, Even if you purchase a hock iron and chip braker you still have a #7 for around $150 and where are you going to get a good #7 for $150? Any plane will work it the blade is sharp and at the $150 mark you will have the top of the line blade.

[Jim Koepke]

Tom makes some great points.

For me every plane purchase was a balance of the price tag, how much the seller might budge, how much work and/or cost of parts were going to go into putting it in good working order.

A few times this thought process also considered the value of the individual parts if they had to be sold separately to make back my money if the plane was a junker.

Turning a sow's ear into a silk purse may not always be possible, but sometimes you can come close or put a good deal of cash back into your purse.

One of my experiences with this was a #5 plane that looked like a piece of junk on ebay. I wanted it for the low style knob and tote. Turned out the pictures were terrible and the plane was actually a pretty good buy for less than a blade set was getting on ebay at the time (less than $17 iirc). That plane is still in my shop and is one of my go to jack planes.

jtk

[Brian Deakin]

I live in the Uk
A number of years ago I attended a 4 day David Charlesworth sharpening and plane tuning course at his workshop in Hartland
I took an old Woden plane to tune and after tuning was able to make long shavings which were very thin
If you use Davids method to prepare a plane and replace the blade with a Hock blade you can have the satisfaction of having a tool to be proud
I would suggest if possible to identify an example of a plane which has the least play in the depth adjuster wheel

[Jim Koepke]

I would suggest if possible to identify an example of a plane which has the least play in the depth adjuster wheel

With the Bailey style adjuster that would be a Lie-Nielsen. Being so used to the depth adjuster backlash, play or sloppiness, makes using a plane without any a bit awkward. My plane with the most backlash is maybe three turns on the adjuster.

jtk