Another "cheap" plane

[steven c newman]

This one costs a whopping $10! A whole ten dollar bill!!! Took it home to the shop for a major restore. Stuck into and under the frog.....three roofing nails!!!. The iron was still ground into a jack plane like camber. I spent about an hour getting things apart, cleaning all the dirt, bug nests, and nails out. Got the bolts loose, and cleaned up. Got the base cleaned, flattened (for a jack plane, anyway) and ready for a paint job230878230879230880cleaned all the bolts230881230882230883that little bit of Brass is the adjustor screw. next was the iron/chip breaker/lever cap230884230885Iron is stamped "WortH" , the chip breaker got mated back to the iron, and a "polished' lever cap. :D

[steven c newman]

Lever caps230886( Must have run out of "room") Gave the frog and the base a new coat of black paint230887I painted everything on these two. once it is set-up, it will stay that way, so, this is a way to keep the rust bunny away. I then sanded the handles back to bare wood. looks like a rosewood??? Anyway, i then put things back together. A test drive will come later. 23088823088913-1/2" long. Sitting in front of my 'other' jack plane.

[Sam Takeuchi]

I have to say, this one is a dud. When you see a plane with stamped steel frog like this one, let it go next time unless you are simply scavenging for parts. Frog like that comes with the cheapest and crappiest line of hand planes. It is very weak, not built for any quality work no matter what you do. It's something you can never improve unless you replace the frog. Not sure if you can find a frog you can drop in, but from the looks of frog mating surface, it looks very similar to earlier Stanley, you might be able to use Stanley frog for type 6 to 8, but I'm only guessing.

On the other hand, other than frog and knob/handle screws, the rest seem ok. Lever cap seems like an actual solid chunk, that's a good thing. Also next time you decide to "paint" the body, mask the milled mating surfaces. You don't want a layer of paint between frog and body. It prevents solid contact and can lead to problems, like chatter and what not.

[David Keller NC]

Steven - A tip. Even though the finish on WWII and before Stanley totes was listed by the company as "laquer", it's not the same sort of laquer that we think of today. All of the Stanley totes that I've had to refinish had an original clear coat that was soluble in 100% denatured ethanol. The solubility was somewhat slow, so the way I do it is to put the tote/knob in a freezer-type ziplock bag with a couple of tablespoons of alcohol. After 24 hours, the remaining finish will come off very easily with a non-abrasive white synthetic steel wool pad. Beats the heck out of sanding.

I avoid doing this unless the finish is so far gone that it doesn't hurt anything to refinish the tote & knob. Most of the time, the finish is just covered with accumulated grime and paint spatters, and you can use a cloth dampened with alcohol to remove just the top layer.

[steven c newman]

Finish was pretty bad shape, that is the why of the sanding off. Yep, a cheap plane, with a cheapo frog. It is not meant to be a Stanley #5, or even a bedrock plane. It DOES have some good bones to it, the base is in very good condition ( hasn't been abused), the lever cap is solid, and can be used on about any plane. The iron will fit the Union #3c I just restored. The adjustor wheel is small, but very serviceable. About that steel frog, the worst part is the lateral adjustor. Wat too thin, and bendable. Might be better with a Stanley one? Someone in the past had made this into a user, with a nicely camder edge to the iron. Handles, though very weather beaten, are still solid, and crack free. A "Parts Plane"??? Maybe, but until the "required ' parts show up, might as well make the plane useable, so it could at least earn it's keep in my shop.


Not every plane one finds in a "Yard sale" or an Antique Store will be a "Stanley #1", and if you find a plane that looks downtrodden due owner neglect, take it, restore it to it's former glory. Not every plane out there will have a "re-sale value" , some are just users for the shop. I'll keep looking, and someday, a "Good plane' will come along. Until then, well, one never knows what is under all the rust and crud.....maybe a Union #3c?

As for the paint bearing surfaces, they were cleaned off after i mated them together, I wanted paint on bare, uncover metal. If two pieces of metal mate together, then the paint will be removed it that spot. I didn't spend all that time removing rust, just to have it return, again. Exposed metal will get a finish, either paint, or a light oil. Bottom will get a bee's wax shine.

[Greg Wease]

Frog like that comes with the cheapest and crappiest line of hand planes. It is very weak, not built for any quality work no matter what you do. It's something you can never improve unless you replace the frog.

Yeah, but the hollow area under the stamped steel frog provides such convenient storage--for things like roofing nails!

[steven c newman]

Seems to be working just fine, right now230919230920the "Before" and the "After" shots of some 1x Barn wood I used as a "Test Drive". As for shavings?230921nice, curly ones, and I did not have a bit of "chatter". Just wait until that iron gets a "good' sharpening........

[steven c newman]

Of course, IF anybody finds another one of these cheap, bottom of the line, crappiest planes..... I will take them off your hands. I don't mind doing these planes. Send all your unwanted, un-loved, crappy looking planes to my shop. They will be restored back to almost New-in-Box condition, and put to work. That is what they were made for. So, IF you do find some of these kind of "Junker Planes", I'll gladly take them away, so you won't be bothered by them.



"One man's trash is another man's treasure"

[James Taglienti]

Nice job
I always knew those planes would work. Im curious how many people condemn them just based on hearsay. Ive got one here a 3 size that ive been meaning to tune up and try out just out of curiosity.

[steven c newman]

Let's see: the base screams Early Stanley. It has the early frog seat, the tote and low knob are also like a Stanley #5. The main difference is in the length of the base ( 1/2" shorter than a Stanley) and that steel frog. Lever cap even looks like a Stanley one. Maybe, just maybe, Stanley turned a few of these out for a company called Worth, up in Boston?? Hmmm, looks like it might just work out for my little shop. I'll keep the other #5 as a non-cambered iron plane, since this "new" one already has a nice camber to it. Haven't seen any "chatter" out of the plane, either.


I did get those handles re-finished, kind of a dark walnut flavour. It will match the rest of the "Family" of planes i have. Also at that Antique Store, a VERY RUSTY Stanley No. 80 spokeshave/ scraper plane. Didn't ask how much, since i didn't need one at this time.

[Sam Takeuchi]

Upon closer inspection, body/frog mating surfaces are not compatible with any of Stanley type. From your pictures, I thought wide surfaces were the platform frog sat on, but instead, I see that wide mating surfaces are actually lower than three narrow strips that run through the mating surface. So no, it's not of Stanley origin and wouldn't be compatible with Stanley frog. My bad.

I think Worth was either a retailer/hardware store brand. I'll have to look around.

[Sam Takeuchi]

Found it. I'll copy the answer from another site, word for word.


The Worth plane was manufactured by Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co. and distributed by Bigelow & Dowes Co. It's an economy grade smoother that's not in high demand by users or collectors.

[David Weaver]

The trouble is the last part. It's a plane that you pay $10 for, you put a lot of work into it, and if you decide you no longer want it, the blade and the lever cap are probably the only parts with value (people would give more for them than they would for the plane - guilt by association when all of the parts are together). They just aren't even worth the cost of shipping them somewhere.

There's nothing wrong with cleaning up old planes, though, if that's what you like to do. But in terms of economy, all you need to work anything in the US in terms of dimensioning and smoothing lumber is 3 planes (a jack, a jointer and a smoother) and an understanding of how the cap iron can affect tearout when it's set in different places. With discretion, $100 can get all 3 of those with good irons, and have you working wood a lot faster. Add a junk plane for questionable wood if you want, but a metal detector is probably a better recipe for questionable wood.

[Justin Green]

Nice job
I always knew those planes would work. Im curious how many people condemn them just based on hearsay. Ive got one here a 3 size that ive been meaning to tune up and try out just out of curiosity.


I condemned mine after trying them, for what it's worth. For the same amount of effort sharpening and tuning, the older Stanley's seem to chatter much less for me. Now, I have a brand new Stanley block plane that I picked up at the borg that I've had great luck with, but that's mostly due to my lack of experience with better block planes. But this one makes fine shavings, and is usually condemned by those with more experience.

[David Weaver]

Well, if the casting is good and everything meets tightly on your borg plane, it very well could be fine.

[James Taglienti]

Let's see: the base screams Early Stanley. It has the early frog seat, the tote and low knob are also like a Stanley #5. The main difference is in the length of the base ( 1/2" shorter than a Stanley) and that steel frog. Lever cap even looks like a Stanley one. Maybe, just maybe, Stanley turned a few of these out for a company called Worth, up in Boston??
Nah the only bailey style planes that stanley made for other companies are type 7/8

[paul cottingham]

Hey, if it can make nice shavings, all the better. If not, turn it into a scrub plane.:)

[steven c newman]

Check out the little story about "Putting them to work" i posted. I had most of my stable of planes out today. I was flattening a beam's face. I had earlier "shaved" a bunch of bug ridden wood off with an axe. Now was the time to level all those axe cuts flat. Both of my jack planes got put to work. That old Worth seemed to like doing this kind of thing, not a hint of chatter. The other jack needed some tuning, before it would make a shaving. Re-tuned the bailey #8c, and made some nice shavings as well. At $25, it is the most expensive of my planes.....

[steven c newman]

231270231271Worth planes shavings. iron is still set as a cambered iron.231272 even that $5 Union plane made some good shavings. 231273missing from this Family portrait: The Worth #5