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Paul Geer
04-07-2003, 9:03 AM
Well, I went out this weekend and hit the antique stores and came up with two Bailey #5 and a bedrock #6, The first #5 had Stanley on the lever cap ($55) and the latter had no engraving on the lever cap ($35), both in great condition and made around the 30's, haven't bought them yet. The bedrock was in great condition but the dealer wanted $165 for it, YIKES!

I know what a bedrock is, wouldn't mind having it but... that price...I'll go back and look at those baileys again and maybe take the #5 for $55 home. It was the cleanest (no rust) and the paint was all in tact.


Comments?


BTW: The interesting thing was the large number of wooden planes I saw at this antique mall, even wood-iron Baileys, I use to go out looking for glass insulators and don't remember seeing all these planes, but other antique tools were always there like braces, hand saws and augers.

Tom Scott
04-07-2003, 10:59 AM
Well, those are definitely antique dealer prices. I do most of my old tool shopping off e-bay due to the lack of sources in my area. I recently picked up a #5 Bedrock for about $100. This was more than I wanted, or planned, to pay, but it was in really good condition.
Good user #5's (Type 10's to type 15's) can usually be had for about $50. And, those from the mid-30's and later for even less.
If you're not sure about the dating of the plane, here is a link that you can print out and take with you Stanley Dating (http://www.woodcentral.com/bparticles/pdatechart.pdf) .

Paul Geer
04-07-2003, 5:10 PM
Thanks again Tom, I really appreciate the help and chart.

Yeah... I think the average antique dealer price is about 10 to 20% higher here in Northern Indiana than any where els, there are alot of antique stores here, as far as planes are concern, this will be an education for me.

I'll be looking for all help I can get.

Michael Cody
04-07-2003, 10:13 PM
Paul, for basic bench planes, don't get hung up on a bedrock or even a stanley..

For a #5 -- 30-40$ is tops I'd go unless it was a collector. You probably could shop flea markets and get down around 20$ or less. Just check close for cracks & other problems. My users were pretty rusty/knackered pieces. I sandblasted them, painted with Rustoleum Hammered paint, flattened/sharpened and have a great plane..

Also don't get hung up on stanley.. a Miller Falls or Sargent equivalent is a great choice. Both are very good planes and will go on EBay for a 20-30% less than a stanley.

personally I would opt for a #4, #5 and a #6/#7 or equivalent. A 220 & 60 1/2 block plane (basic cheapy & a low angle) plus a #79 (great for tweaking dados)... I would say to get a 90,92,93, but the pricing these days is outrageous from a user point of view. Also look into a #80 Stanley scraper, awesome piece of equipment.

Also don't forget Lee Valley/Veritas for a great modern plane. Their low angle block & apron planes get great reviews and are a lot cheaper than Lie-Nielsen also.

For the block planes a Miller Falls is fine too.. below is a link to Miller Falls equivalent model numbers to stanley...


Miller Falls Equiv Table to Stanley Planes (http://www.public.coe.edu/~rroeder/main/bench/benchtable.htm)

Miller Falls - Stanley Equiv Block Planes (http://www.public.coe.edu/~rroeder/main/blok/blok01.htm)

Paul Geer
04-08-2003, 8:31 AM
Thanks Mike for the info,

I did see a Sargent plane in one booth where this dealer had a ton of planes and other tools, he wasn't there and they were locked away that day and could not look a them.

I also saw a Ben Hurr plane, it looked cheap, stamp-steel frog, ever heard of that one?

Also, shopping on EBay, how do really look over what your buying?

I'm a little reserved about buying from EBay or buying used on the Web even though I buy new on the Web all the time.

Jim Izat
04-08-2003, 10:32 AM
I have bought many planes on Ebay in the past (most 20-30 dollars, even a 605 bedrock for $45) and have only gotten one that wasn't quite as represented. Just about all the others were in excess of their representation. I used the other one for parts, and saved about three times it's cost. I went with feedback, and emailed questions and requests for specific photos. I was rarely told no. Prices are a fair bit higher now than they were a couple three years ago though...

Jim

Paul Geer
04-08-2003, 4:57 PM
OK... Jim, not much on EBay for planes right now, check back later.

James O'Mara
04-09-2003, 6:13 PM
Paul, if you are not finding many old planes on e-bay then you are looking in the wrong place. The old stanleys are found in the collectibles area rather than the normal tool section. I don't know if it will work but I will try attaching a link. I just found 714 hits when I did a search for Stanley in collectible planes. By the way I have also bought several old Stanley planes and they were all better than advertised. You should be able to pick up a nice #5 for less than $40. Bets of luck.

Jimmy

Stanley Planes on E-Bay (http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2 F&MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&query=stanley&categoryid=&ht=1&category4=13874&SortProperty=MetaEndSort&BasicSearch=&from=R2&catref=C3)

Michael Cody
04-09-2003, 7:07 PM
Stanley #5 that will go under 25$ I would expect, 30$ max (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3217294066&category=13874)

Michael Cody
04-09-2003, 7:14 PM
Go to this hotlink and check out the planes...

Collectible Planes section of Ebay (http://listings.ebay.com/pool1/listings/list/all/category13874/index.html?from=R9)

Michael Cody
04-09-2003, 10:40 PM
Yep the plane went for 16$ -- not to bad and very reasonable...