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View Full Version : Feedback on value for old combination planes



Jim Foster
01-16-2013, 3:39 PM
Hi,

I saw an add with these planes in it, they are a little rusty, 45, 46, 48. Any idea what a fair offer would be?

251385

Zach Dillinger
01-16-2013, 3:43 PM
I'd probably start with a $125 offer. Those are pretty rusty, but the set of blades is nice. And it looks like the 48 has both of its blades as well.

Jim Foster
01-16-2013, 3:49 PM
I tried a $100 and the seller was a little indignant. Not sure if I was insulting him/her. I'd like a combination plane and a plough, but mostly a plough. Seems like it might be a bit of work to get them cleaned up.


I'd probably start with a $125 offer. Those are pretty rusty, but the set of blades is nice. And it looks like the 48 has both of its blades as well.

Zach Dillinger
01-16-2013, 4:11 PM
Honestly, the seller probably saw a decent 45 in some overpriced antique mall for $75 and thinks that their rusted-up planes are worth that. There will be plenty of work in cleaning those up to make them users. Unless you need two 45s, a 46 and a 48, or unless you can get them cheap (i.e. $125 or less), I would pass. Once you cross the $125 or $150 mark, you can easily buy a nice user for what you'd spend on those four planes. Quality, not quantity, is the way to think in this case.

Jim Koepke
01-16-2013, 4:20 PM
I tried a $100 and the seller was a little indignant.

Did the seller tell you what they want?

If they can't, then let them be indignant and leave.

I have seen a type 5 - 45 sell for more than $3,000. It was flawless, had the all the original parts and box.

The rust is a big problem with those planes. If the blades are as rusty, it isn't even worth $100.

jtk

Bob Glenn
01-16-2013, 4:30 PM
For what it's worth I paid 250 for a 55 with a complete set of cutters. The cutters are in four boxes like yours with the labels affixed and the four wooden boxes are in their original larger wood case. I may have paid too much but I have them. No regrets.

Jim Koepke
01-16-2013, 5:18 PM
For what it's worth I paid 250 for a 55 with a complete set of cutters. The cutters are in four boxes like yours with the labels affixed and the four wooden boxes are in their original larger wood case. I may have paid too much but I have them. No regrets.

That is actually a fair price.

My favorite score along these lines was two 45s with all the cutters including all the special cutters and a few spares of some at $225.

My 55 cost more than yours. It is not used as often as a 45. Still no regrets.

jtk

Jim Foster
01-16-2013, 5:35 PM
I anti'd up a little more, the seller responded back they are going to get $350 for these, I fold. It's a Boston area Craigslist add if someone wants to take a look.

boston.craigslist.org/gbs/tls/3544567382.html

Chris Griggs
01-16-2013, 6:25 PM
Why it that some people think that multiple things in lousy condition are worth as much or more than one thing in usable condition? 4 rusty planes and only 1 box of cutters. I don't know much about vintage combo planes, but I don't think one of those was complete. IMHO your $100 offer was plenty generous.

We could all email the guy at once with a bunch of random super low offers. "I'll give you $23.87" for the whole set" :p
(not really, too mean)

David Weaver
01-16-2013, 6:32 PM
I fold.

Good man. A 45 body in good condition without the rust is probably worth about the same dollars as its number. Same as the 48. The only way there's anything worth serious money there is if the box would be a full set of 46 irons.

I wouldn't buy the 48 unless you plan on doing a lot of T&G on 3/4"+ wood, and as someone who has one, I can pretty much tell you how much it's been used. the 49 is more likely to be used if you're going to T&G the panels for the back of a cabinet or something.

Jim Koepke
01-16-2013, 6:53 PM
I anti'd up a little more, the seller responded back they are going to get $350 for these, I fold.

Unless the seller knows a real sucker, they are delusional.

You made a good move.

For my T&G work, a 45 works fine.

It is difficult to understand how some folks get the idea of rusted planes missing parts are worth as much as well cared for planes with all the parts. Maybe they are under the impression that the rust will just wash off and anyone can drive to the hardware store and get replacement parts.

jtk

Carl Beckett
01-16-2013, 7:15 PM
I exchanged some emails with him on these several months ago. He wants too much for everything. He also had an emmert vice, a tanewitz table saw, and a yates snowflake. I even went and looked at the snowflake (maybe last spring? I posted some pics here at the time)

He was buying all this stuff on oww and was going to restore but decided to sell it instead. The ad runs every few months. It's eating up some storage costs.... Inferring from the same listings coming up again and again, I don't believe he has sold a single item. I do think he knows exactly what he is doing with the pricing, I just don't quite understand why he is wasting his time. Maybe trolling for someone that doesn't know better I guess.

Chris Vandiver
01-16-2013, 7:15 PM
I anti'd up a little more, the seller responded back they are going to get $350 for these, I fold. It's a Boston area Craigslist add if someone wants to take a look.

boston.craigslist.org/gbs/tls/3544567382.html

The sellers are dreaming, maybe they should lay down and take a nap.

Dave Parkis
01-16-2013, 9:46 PM
There is no way the seller will get $350 fro those unless he finds a real sucker. The 48 is worth about $50 and the 45's and 46 are probably only worth about $50-$75 unless they're in much better condition than they appear to be. I think you did the right thing by walking away.

James Taglienti
01-20-2013, 11:28 PM
The 46 is an early one and easily worth $100 on ebay. Its got most of its parts too. People will buy them just for the rods and nuts as they fit more valuable planes.

Derek Cohen
01-21-2013, 1:02 AM
What am I missing here? The only blades are 1 of 2 boxes for the #45. Blades for the #46 are difficult to find and expensive.

For a user, those planes are only worth something if they come with blades.

Put your money towards a decent plough, such as the Veritas Small Plow.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Jonathan McCullough
01-21-2013, 1:10 AM
Funny thing is that the guys who use ebay to (over) price tools never seem to end up selling them on ebay. My strategy for pricing is to assess what an item is worth to me, then ask the seller what they want. If they want less or something close to my assessment, consider it sold. If it's way out of line, I negotiate. Sometimes we meet in the middle, sometimes the negotiation ends in failure, but . . . I don't think I've ever paid more than the average ebay price for a tool, and usually 5x to 10x less. Educating yourself about the tools you're really interested in really helps in this regard. To a lot of people it just looks like junk. If you're really careful, you can even get a scoop from ebay on an poorly described or misidentified item that has much greater value in the right market. If you're looking for a worker combination plane, a good one is a Sargent 1080, aka Craftsman, aka Fulton Tools. They're just as functional as a 45, sell for less because they're not a 45, and in my opinion are nicer than a 45. If you wait for a while one usually turns up with a full set of cutters in good condition. A late model 46 is the best though, if you want only one. I got an aesthetically displeasing but fully functional user 46 for $20 off ebay, then got a set of irons from James Bay Tool for $100. Does everything I need it to.

Jim Koepke
01-21-2013, 2:07 AM
The only blades are 1 of 2 boxes for the #45.

That is a box of blades from the earlier types when there was only one box of blades.

Still at the price the person was asking it seems way over priced to me.

jtk

James Taglienti
01-22-2013, 1:15 AM
Funny thing is that the guys who use ebay to (over) price tools never seem to end up selling them on ebay.

I sold a similar condition and era #46 a couple years ago via a live ebay auction - it started at 9.99 and ended at $127. It was missing the guard plate on the skate, which brings good money on its own.

Jim Matthews
01-22-2013, 7:59 AM
I anti'd up a little more, the seller responded back they are going to get $350 for these, I fold. It's a Boston area Craigslist add if someone wants to take a look.

boston.craigslist.org/gbs/tls/3544567382.html

They're smoking crack.
These aren't collector's items - they're tools.

If you pay more than the price of a modern equivalent, you have more money than sense.
What's unmentioned is that these things are both finicky and unpleasant to use.

The T&G plane in the back has a modern equivalent from LN that works, right out of the box.

Time expended on getting old tools to work subtracts from shop time - making furniture.

Jim Foster
01-22-2013, 9:01 AM
http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/tls/3558637386.html

$400 price now. Makes sense to pay a bit of a premium and buy from reputable sources or buy new

Jim Matthews
01-22-2013, 11:43 AM
I think we're seeing the "Antiques Roadshow" effect, where every bucket of rusty tools is priceless.

They're tools, not Faberge eggs.

Jim Koepke
01-22-2013, 12:29 PM
$400 price now. Makes sense to pay a bit of a premium and buy from reputable sources or buy new

Either someone bit or the seller gave up. The listing gave me a removal notice when the link was clicked.

jtk