Plane prices

[Brian Akers]

Been a lurker here for a while now and finally signed up. I've been looking at hand planes of late on ebay, craigslist and antique places. Most threads (dated 2009-2013ish) mention you should be able to pick up a smoother and a jointer for $30 - 50 depending on condition. I have had a tough time finding a decent one for these prices. I've been looking at complete non-cracked beds and handles; I don't mind the rust, I can take care of that. Most of the Stanley #7 seem to go for $90+.
Are prices high right now? Or am have I gotten the wrong impression of what prices should be?
Thanks guys!

[Curt Putnam]

The good old days are pretty much gone. A well fettled Stanley # 4 will go for $50 +- $20, #7's and # 8's are usually in the $100 range. Unfettled planes are less but require time, effort and know-how on your part. Planes ground by Tablesaw Tom are more (and worth, IMO). Look to buy from folks on these boards, who have an established track record of selling good stuff at reasonable prices. IMO, stay away from Fleabay

[Jim Belair]

The best tools for my money are from Josh Clark at hyperkitten. Honest descriptions, fair prices.

[Brian Akers]

Thanks guys. I feel a little better now that I know I wasn't missing these prices I thought I should be seeing.

[James Ziegler]

Been a lurker here for a while now and finally signed up. I've been looking at hand planes of late on ebay, craigslist and antique places. Most threads (dated 2009-2013ish) mention you should be able to pick up a smoother and a jointer for $30 - 50 depending on condition. I have had a tough time finding a decent one for these prices. I've been looking at complete non-cracked beds and handles; I don't mind the rust, I can take care of that. Most of the Stanley #7 seem to go for $90+.
Are prices high right now? Or am have I gotten the wrong impression of what prices should be?
Thanks guys!

Better prices can sometimes be found at mid-west tool collector's association (www.mwtca.org) local meets. There may be one somewhere in your area if you look. You may need to be a member to attend the meet ($25 a year in the US). Check to see if they have anything coming up that you can attend.

[Joe A Faulkner]

Pay the $6 a year it takes to move from a member to a contributor and you will have access to the classifieds section here at the creek. Not only will you help cover the cost of running the site, you will have access to lots of planes in decent shape at fair prices that are sold on the classifieds here. I agree that #7's on e-bay in decent shape in the pre-WW II era are hard to come by for less than $75, but #4 and #5's are frequently available here in that price range.

[Jeff Bartley]

Better prices can sometimes be found at mid-west tool collector's association (www.mwtca.org) local meets. There may be one somewhere in your area if you look. You may need to be a member to attend the meet ($25 a year in the US). Check to see if they have anything coming up that you can attend.

+1 on what James said! And the bonus is that you get to attend a really cool tool meet......lots of enablers there though! At the last meet in bought a really nice #4 for $30. Only needed a sharpening.

[Brian Akers]

+1 on what James said! And the bonus is that you get to attend a really cool tool meet......lots of enablers there though! At the last meet in bought a really nice #4 for $30. Only needed a sharpening.

Thanks guys!
Signed up and looks like there's a meet early February for my location.

[Jerry Olexa]

Supply and demand in play here....Yes, prices are generally higher now..There are very few steals on the auction site...Be careful

[Jim Koepke]

Howdy Brian and welcome to the Creek. Your location isn't listed in your profile, where do you call home. My guess is it ins't in the Pacific Northwest. If it is, I would like to know more about the tool meet.

If you want to find low priced tools you will need to spend a lot of time looking. My searching lately has been very limited. There aren't many tools I would purchase if they weren't low enough priced for me to sell as is for a good profit. There were some planes with reasonable prices at an estate sale recently. Not low enough priced to make much money. Some of them were newer models, not to my preference.

Buying tools at yard sales and such can get good prices but it takes time and you are taking chances. Eventually you learn what to look at, but still things can slip by. This will make for a few spare parts. You will also need to learn how to fettle and tune up a plane. This is where having someone close by as a mentor helps. You may meet up with someone at the tool meet.

ebay has changed over the last few years. It has become more expensive enough to make such a thin profit margin it often isn't worth the chance. If a vendor doesn't want to lose money they need to have a high starting price and/or high shipping & handling charges.

Now that you are a contributor you could list a Wanted to Buy in the Sawmill Creek Classifieds for a plane.

Happy rust hunting,

jtk

[Nicholas Lawrence]

Jim isn't there a Pacific Northwest Tool Collector's club or something along those lines? Years ago a friend of mine told me about Patina, and I thought at the time the entire country was pretty well staked out with collector's clubs. I have gotten some good deals at the Patina meetings. They are unfortunately only once a year for the big one, but they have been a good place to find stuff for me.

[Chris Hachet]

I have found that owning fewer rather than more planes is helpful. That being said, I bought my Stanley #5 for $12 about 1988....prices have changed.

[george wilson]

I know I got in on the tail end of good things on Ebay. And I definitely got in on the tail end of the great tool dealers at the flea markets in Pennsylvania. 70's and 80's they flourished. Now,I can spend 3 days up there and not buy a single thing because it's all on Ebay,what's left of it.

[Jim Koepke]

Jim isn't there a Pacific Northwest Tool Collector's club or something along those lines? Years ago a friend of mine told me about Patina, and I thought at the time the entire country was pretty well staked out with collector's clubs. I have gotten some good deals at the Patina meetings. They are unfortunately only once a year for the big one, but they have been a good place to find stuff for me.

Yes there is a Pacific Northwest Tool Collector's club. There meetings alternate between Seattle and Portland. They meet on Saturdays, the same day and time that I am at the Farmers Market. When the Market isn't open, there is one meeting in Portland that I could attend. Membership and participation would mean abandoning the Farmers Market at times.

jtk

[Ray Bohn]

Better prices can sometimes be found at mid-west tool collector's association (www.mwtca.org (http://www.mwtca.org)) local meets. There may be one somewhere in your area if you look. You may need to be a member to attend the meet ($25 a year in the US). Check to see if they have anything coming up that you can attend.

Is there an additional charge for attending a show?

[Stew Denton]

Brian,

I have watched the prices of planes on Fleabay pretty closely for the last two to three years, looking for bargains on a few planes for my woodworking. Currently I only look for Stanley Bedrock planes, and only those in two sizes. The ones I want are user planes for woodworking, not collector grade planes. I have not tried to keep up with the price of the particular planes you are looking for, but see obvious trends in the prices of the ones I would like to buy, and what little I do watch the other Stanley planes, they also seem to see the same general trends, but again I am less certain about that than I am of the ones I watch.

The ones I look for are in the same condition that you are looking for, complete, with correct parts, and no cracks in the wooden or metal parts. Like you, I can deal with some rust, although one had a tote that I did repair.

I have been watching carefully for long enough to see the prices of the ones I follow go up and down. A few months ago there were what I consider to be bargains to be had (and I should have tried harder to take advantage of the prices then), but for the last one to two months the auction prices have been up 30% to as much as 50% more, on the average, over what they were the previous months.

My point is, keep watching the Fleabay prices.

The best deals I have gotten on Stanley Bailey planes, and I only look at ones made between about 1910 or so and about 1930, have been at a flea market. I bought a type 11 Bailey and a type 12 Stanley Bailey (a #4 and a #5) for $10 each. This was about a year and a half ago or so. They were in fairly good shape, each with a significant patina, but little real rust.

Some sellers are abandoning Fleabay because of the high seller fees. My daughter used to sell on Fleabay, but no more.....for that reason. Consequently, I think you will start to see more planes and other tools at flea markets, pawn shops, antique stores, etc., than was the case for a while, and at more reasonable prices again, because some sellers are giving up on Fleabay. A friend of mine, an engineer, was a very serious Fleabay seller, and just a few years ago was making $20,000 a year on Fleabay. He told me the same thing, that it was much harder now to make money on Fleabay because of the seller costs. This is just my guess on the availability and prices of planes at flea markets in the future, nothing more, but a trend away from Fleabay may be there.

Regards,

Stew

[Brian Akers]

Howdy Brian and welcome to the Creek. Your location isn't listed in your profile, where do you call home. My guess is it ins't in the Pacific Northwest. If it is, I would like to know more about the tool meet.

If you want to find low priced tools you will need to spend a lot of time looking. My searching lately has been very limited. There aren't many tools I would purchase if they weren't low enough priced for me to sell as is for a good profit. There were some planes with reasonable prices at an estate sale recently. Not low enough priced to make much money. Some of them were newer models, not to my preference.

Buying tools at yard sales and such can get good prices but it takes time and you are taking chances. Eventually you learn what to look at, but still things can slip by. This will make for a few spare parts. You will also need to learn how to fettle and tune up a plane. This is where having someone close by as a mentor helps. You may meet up with someone at the tool meet.



I'm in GA here on the east coast

[Robert Engel]

When I started putting my handplane collection together, I went the Ebay route (and paying too much for most of the planes) thinking no way I as going to pay $350 for a plane. The flea markets, garage sales - who has time for that? A couple years ago I picked up a #6 WoodRiver plane on sale thinking why not? Yes, they're made in China, and that hampered me for a while but now, the more I use that #6 the more I appreciate it. Quite a pleasure to use.

So my philosophy now is own a few good planes. I've even got a few LN planes now, something I never thought I would do, but once the appreciation for a premium plane is realized, then spending the bucks isn't so painful because your whole view towards a quality tool changes.

[Brian Akers]

Brian,

I have watched the prices of planes on Fleabay pretty closely for the last two to three years, looking for bargains on a few planes for my woodworking. Currently I only look for Stanley Bedrock planes, and only those in two sizes. The ones I want are user planes for woodworking, not collector grade planes. I have not tried to keep up with the price of the particular planes you are looking for, but see obvious trends in the prices of the ones I would like to buy, and what little I do watch the other Stanley planes, they also seem to see the same general trends, but again I am less certain about that than I am of the ones I watch.

The ones I look for are in the same condition that you are looking for, complete, with correct parts, and no cracks in the wooden or metal parts. Like you, I can deal with some rust, although one had a tote that I did repair.

I have been watching carefully for long enough to see the prices of the ones I follow go up and down. A few months ago there were what I consider to be bargains to be had (and I should have tried harder to take advantage of the prices then), but for the last one to two months the auction prices have been up 30% to as much as 50% more, on the average, over what they were the previous months.

My point is, keep watching the Fleabay prices.

The best deals I have gotten on Stanley Bailey planes, and I only look at ones made between about 1910 or so and about 1930, have been at a flea market. I bought a type 11 Bailey and a type 12 Stanley Bailey (a #4 and a #5) for $10 each. This was about a year and a half ago or so. They were in fairly good shape, each with a significant patina, but little real rust.

Some sellers are abandoning Fleabay because of the high seller fees. My daughter used to sell on Fleabay, but no more.....for that reason. Consequently, I think you will start to see more planes and other tools at flea markets, pawn shops, antique stores, etc., than was the case for a while, and at more reasonable prices again, because some sellers are giving up on Fleabay. A friend of mine, an engineer, was a very serious Fleabay seller, and just a few years ago was making $20,000 a year on Fleabay. He told me the same thing, that it was much harder now to make money on Fleabay because of the seller costs. This is just my guess on the availability and prices of planes at flea markets in the future, nothing more, but a trend away from Fleabay may be there.

Regards,

Stew

Thanks Stew! I saw a bedrock 605 at an antique shop that was a little rusty. I got really excited cause it was only $25. Upon further investigation it has a nice chip out of the front corner and a tear on the corner of the throat. I was really bummed cause that was the only plane that was even there...

[Jim Koepke]

I was really bummed cause that was the only plane that was even there...

Back in the days when I was on the hunt there would always be people who got to the yard sale early and picked through all the tools. That got me out of bed earlier for a while. Now my hunting is just for the thrill of the hunt. There are still some good things to be found.

Especially useful is to make friends at the antique stores and malls. Some of the people with booths have a regular schedule if they sell a lot. I have met a few tool traders this way. One has made me some good deals on bench and speciality planes, another has sold me a pile of good carving tools and molding planes. Hope to buy a few more from him soon.

jtk

[James Ziegler]

Is there an additional charge for attending a show?

It depends. For the ones local to me, so are held in the flea market area of a large antique mall. These are free (and, by the nature of where they are held, open to non-members to buy, but you need to be a member to get a table to sell). They had one at a living history museum, there was a fee for that, and there is an upcoming one held at a hotel (with an auction as well) that has a small fee to attend.