Old Wooden Plane Value

[Ted Calver]

Some old wooden planes belonging to my grandfather have been passed down to me. They seem like utilitarian planes-- a few moulding planes with unique profiles and an 18" long wooden jointer--nothing fancy, all neglected. I assume they have a little value as antiques. If I clean them up and make 'em useable will I be increasing or decreasing their antique value? Any thoughts will be appreciated.

[John Wadsworth]

Ted,

You're probably right that your planes have little collector value (after all, there are one heck of a lot more common planes than rare ones out there).

However, if you did by chance have one or more rare ones, cleaning them might indeed reduce their value; most rare ones are sold "as found" or with gentle cleaning at most.

If you want to give us a list of the makers' names (found on the toe, or front end, of the tool) and an idea of the type and condition, we can certainly give you an idea of scarcity; there are reference books for this kind of thing, notably "AWP4," (American Wooden Planes, 4th ed.) If they're common types by one of the big factory makers, that implies that cleaning and tune-up to make them users is fine; if you've got an 18th century American plane by Francis Nicholson or Cesar Chelor, however, you'll want to take expert advice.

So post 'em, here or send a message to me if you prefer. I'm sure among the members of this group we can help you out.