type 3 Stanley #6 questions.

[Julian Gaffney]

Hi gents. I've been using planes more and more in my work over the last year or so (another thing to collect :D). Although I don't know much about them, I happened across an old rusty one at a tool shop and picked it up for $20 figuring it would be a fun restoration project. It had some beautiful Brazilian rosewood handles and I figured it must have been a nice one at some point - although it was absolutely covered in rust.

I brought it home, took it apart and gave it a bath in some rust remover. When I saw the frog I figured I had a real piece of junk - surely Stanley planes would never have such a strange contraption!

Turns out I was wrong. It's a type 3 (1872-1873 production!) # 6 fore plane with all the correct parts and markings. Sadly the lever cap is missing a big chunk and as I mentioned it was really rusty. Needless to say, I was excited to have found a quirky and rare plane with such a long history!

Onto the ubiquitous plane question: is it worth enough (or anything, considering condition) that I should leave it alone, or can I lap the surfaces and clean up the other parts and re-paint the thing so I can put it to use? I'd like to use the thing but if it's worth a couple hundred bucks I should probably put that to use elsewhere.

Any insight would be appreciated.
323697

[Terry Beadle]

A #6 is a nice plane to have. I personally like the low knob.
If it was mine, I'd get a lever cap from a supplier or off the bay and then tune it up as a user. Typically a #6 is not set up as a smoother so the sole does not need
to be dead flat. Sharpen the blade and go to work. Enjoy!

[Jim Koepke]

Howdy Julian and welcome to the Creek. Your location isn't included in your profile. I am always curious as to where other members are located.

The type 3 was not a good design. You may find a collector who will pay a lot more than you paid. Some might pay that much just for the beaded knob or the blade with its logo stamp from the time period.

The frog arrangement was very weak and prone to breaking on type 3 planes. The design was abandoned after a year. It was an attempt to make one size frog fit all bench planes.

As Terry said, the #6 is a good size plane to have. Yours would likely sell for enough to buy one that isn't as likely to break just from being used.

jtk

[Julian Gaffney]

Thank you both for the input. I guess I'll look into listing it on Ebay or someplace similar. Do either of you have a sense of a reasonable value to assign to this one? I see a type 3 # 7 listed for $499 but who knows if anyone will bid. Can't find any others sold or listed (admittedly I've only looked for a few hours).

[don wilwol]

I agree. Find a collector. I'd be willing to trade a couple decent users for it.

[Robert Engel]

I may be wrong but I don't think this is a collectible plane, is it?
I would check hyperkitten.com to see if the plane is rare or collectible.

Whether you decide to sell or keep, I would definitely replace the broken part. You can pick up a replacement lever cap for $15-20 and make a user out of it (assuming the blade and the rest of the plane is in good shape) then you either get more for it or you have usable #6 for $40.

Personally, if the rest of the plane is in good shape, I would fix it, use it, see how you like it.
You can always sell it later on.

[Jim Koepke]

make a user out of it (assuming the blade and the rest of the plane is in good shape) then you either get more for it or you have usable #6 for $40.

The big problem is type 3 production planes are not good users. The creative minds at Stanley were trying to make all the planes from #3 through #8 size use the same frog. This would have lowered production cost. It was a cause of breakage in the lower casting.

From Rexmill:


A total redesign of the frog, where it became smaller and is held to the bottom casting by a vertical rib between the sides of the casting. This was a short-lived production, and is practically identical to the "Victor" planes Bailey later produced. This new design is found on sizes #3-#8, but the frog is of a #3 size for all planes. This was probably an attempt to make interchangable parts for most of the bench planes, instead of having a frog sized for each size of plane. A lot of these planes are broken about the vertical rib, so it was a weak design that was soon dropped.

https://home.comcast.net/~rarebear/planes101/typing/typing.htm

It might be educational for all of us if Julian could post a few more images showing the way this plane is put together.

Otherwise there are images at the link above.

As far as value goes, I have no idea. Start the bidding at a price that will cover your cost and trouble and hope it goes up from there. It is easier to get bidding started from a low start than from the maximum price to be expected.

The more images the better. Show all the features such as the knob and frog. Even make it clear the lever cap is damaged. The stamp on the blade is another point of interest to people buying for there collection.

jtk

[don wilwol]

Its a cool plane to have but not a good plane to use. I've been collecting Stanleys for a while, and I have multiples sizes of every type except 1 and 3. They are very hard to come by at a reasonable price. Even at $40, the problem is it may very well break trying to use it, and it could be put in the hands of someone who would preserve the history, and you could wind up replacing it with a good user and more to boot.