I doscovered a practical application of hand planes!

[Darius Ferlas]

Yes, I have seen them used and I noticed they did a great job. What was even more interesting the plane I saw had no motor of any kind. Not even an electric wire with a plug, Is that normal? ;)

Now I want one or two but I have no idea what I'm looking at when I look at planes.

I did some reading on SMC about planes. Some were pretty intense topics, not far behind religion and politics in their intensity. At this point there is no way I'm spending $300 for a hand plane at this point, so I started looking at some local ads and this is what I found.

1. Stanley smoothing (?) plane - $12
2. Stanley - 22" long #17 Plane, Made in England, ssller claims the plane has never been used and is about 10 years old - $40

Again, I'm just about to start out with hand planes.
Are they worth the asking prices?

Thank you.

[Tom Veatch]

...Now I want one or two but I have no idea what I'm looking at when I look at planes.
Do a little reading in here, http://supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan0a.html, and you'll have a little better idea. There are several books out there that could help. Everyone probably has their favorite, but the one I have is Garrett Hack's "The Handplane Book".

BTW, the #17 you mentioned is actually a #7 Jointer.

I did some reading on SMC about planes. Some were pretty intense topics, not far behind religion and politics in their intensity...
Yeah, I'm a little surprised the moderators don't classify discussions of handplanes in the same prohibited category with discussion of politics and religion.;)

[Jim Koepke]

I have not been happy with most of the newer Stanley planes I have handled. I have not used a Made in England model.

I bought a #7 like the one in your post for about $40, only it was used and was made around 1910.

My smoother planes, #3, #4s & #4-1/2 are mostly from 1888 to 1907. It is common opinion that the quality dropped off after a certain time. Just when that time occurred is open to discussion.

jim

[David Gendron]

I use a lot of hand plane in my work, since I only use hand tools(no power cord attached) and if you are looking at buying good use plane, you can talk to Jim Bode tools(if you google is name you will find the web site) Look for a type 18 or earlyer Stanley bailay #5 or 5 1/2 and a #7 or 8 that are in good+shape, you can expect to pay any where between $25 to $80 for each of them. Don,t worry to much about the plane iron and chip bracker, cause you can buy some replacement from Ron Hock at Tools for working wood for a good price.
So give Jim a call, He's a great guy to deel with!
David

[David Gendron]

Jim do you think it safe to say that any thing earlyer than a type 18 would be a good, or a safer buy?
David

[Darius Ferlas]

Thank you for the responses.

Tom, this looks like a goldmine of information for me. Who said we need TV!?

David, so I gather that paying what they aske for the planes I posted is not a good deal but neither is it a high price?

[David Keller NC]

Darius - The seller's asking prices aren't all that high - in fact they're pretty reasonable for what's being sold. That said, you tend to get what you pay for, and the modern-manufactured Stanleys are generally regarded as junk by the neanderthal community.

That said, a newer Stanley can be made to work, and work fairly well if you're willing to spend the $35 bucks or so that it takes to get a Hock replacement blade.

By the way - the #7 you've pictured is a lot older than 10 years. My guess from the design is that it's from the 1950's or early 1960's, which is a good thing.

[jerry nazard]

Darius,

I recently acquired a new Stanley #4 smoother. Out of the box, for all practical purposes, it is a piece of junk. After many, many, many hours of work, my "new improved" #4 works quite well and I won a bet with a fellow woodworker.

Purchasing a new Stanley plane as a starter is probably not a good idea.

-Jerry

[Richard Niemiec]

1. Stanley smoothing (?) plane - $12
2. Stanley - 22" long #17 Plane, Made in England, ssller claims the plane has never been used and is about 10 years old - $40

Again, I'm just about to start out with hand planes.
Are they worth the asking prices?

Thank you.

The smoother is garbage, forget it, more trouble than it is worth unless you need a doorstop. OTOH, if you can get a dozen just like it and chain them together, you might get a useful boat anchor.

The #7, however, is clearly a buy in my book. Its an older, english made jointer and will serve you quite well.

[Jim Koepke]

Jim do you think it safe to say that any thing earlyer than a type 18 would be a good, or a safer buy?
David

My safety zone is before type 14. I like the low style knob and the type 14 is when the ring was placed in the casting around the knob. This makes it hard to use a low knob without carving the knob.

My accumulation includes one type 13, two or three of type 10/11s, a bunch of type 9s, a few type 6s and one type 4. There are two 5-1/4s that I do not count in this as they are pretty much junk and they did not come into production until the 1920s.

What is interesting, of the planes with two of the same size in different types, the earlier types tend to get used more. It was never planned to acquire a #6, but good prices and one foot on the slope got me to open my wallet. One is a type 9 and works pretty good. The other is a type 4, pre-lateral, and seems a little nicer to use. I have not tried to analyze if this is due to different geometries or handle shapes, but the difference is very subtle.

The type 9s work so well for me, that the frog adjusting screw is not missed. It is not used often on the planes in the fleet that have them. For me, it is easier to just have another plane set up for a lighter or more aggressive cut.

Of course, for many people, having a lot of planes would be a burden instead of a benefit.


After many, many, many hours of work, my "new improved" #4 works quite well and I won a bet with a fellow woodworker.

OK, you have piqued my curiosity. What was the bet?

jim

[jerry nazard]

OK, you have piqued my curiosity. What was the bet?

jim


Bet = Lunch.

It was way more trouble than it was really worth. Flattening the sole was a protracted nightmare. The 9/32'nd-24 cap iron screw was too loose to hold properly, so it got replaced with a M7-1.0. All the usual fettling procedures plus making a new tote and bun. I have not replaced the blade yet as keeping the stock iron was part of the bet.

I suppose that the practical outcome is that I vastly increased my fettling abilities, have an exceptionally nice #4 smoother to show for it, and a free lunch.

A question remains though about off the shelf Stanley planes: unless you really tune them up, what good are they? Even a trim carpenter purchasing a plane to fit some pieces parts would not find much use for it. And yet, the Stanley #4 won FWW's "Best Value" award in a recent article on smoothers. It's a crazy world.

[Joel Goodman]

I think pre WW2 is a good starting place. I have a WW2 model I haven't worked on yet but type 15 or earlier seems a safer bet. I have been happy with the planes I have from that vintage. Using that criterion just avoid the kidney shaped slot in the lever cap -- the earlier types have a keyhole shape slot. Also I would avoid ebay for a first purchase.

[David Keller NC]

"And yet, the Stanley #4 won FWW's "Best Value" award in a recent article on smoothers. It's a crazy world."

FWW is not what it used to be. While I'll give them A+ for creativity (the "test" of joint strengths, while majorly flawed, was a reasonably good idea), their ability to execute tests and draw correct conclusions is very compromised.

Moreover, it's questionable whether tool tests should even be in Fine Woodworking - that was not the original magazine's mission, and is still inappropriate in today's magazine.

[Eric Sayre]

Darius, as mentioned above, the #7 is a decent plane. The smoother looks like the first one I bought - which was a Stanley Bailey #4. It won't hold a candle to a Lee Valley or Lie Nielsen, but it has its uses.

I still pull mine out for rough work, pine (so I won't gum up my LN) or outside work (playhouse, fence, etc.)

I did, however, spend several hours flattening the sole to get it flat enough to use.

Good start, though. Get good at "tuning" and sharpening, then it will be time to move on to bigger & better ones.:D