Stanley no 8. value?

[Hasin Haroon]

Hi everyone. I am building up a little collection of planes and currently have a couple 4's, couple 5's, a 6 and a 7 (in the bench plane category). I typically strip any rust and loose japanning and repaint them, and put them to work. I stumbled across an 8 the other day, and have the opportunity to bag it for $100. The plane is in good condition overall, but the handle has been replaced. Other than that I wasnt able to get too good of a look at it. Is $100 a good value for an 8?

[Chuck Nickerson]

That depends on two things: your part of the country and if you're buying to own or flip.
In my neck of the woods, Los Angeles, that's a perfectly reasonable price to own, but offers little $ room to flip.

[Hasin Haroon]

Good point Chuck, I will be buying to own, probably make a better tote for it and put it to use. I'm located in Alberta, Canada, and prices are a little steep here.

[Glen Canaday]

Then it sounds not so bad if you're going to keep it and it is in generally good shape.

I don't see many 8s in the wild near me. We mostly get 7cs. An 8 for $100 would sit there for a while, but would eventually sell.

[Jim Koepke]

Prices are all over the place on second hand tools. It all depends on how often one is able to run into a deal. How much effort one is willing to put into the hunt and then the effort one wants to put into fixing it up.

In my old tool purchasing it needs to be in restorable condition and cheap in order to get a ride home with me. Sometimes errors are made and another hunk of iron ends up in my save for later pile.

My most expensive $5 plane (I say laughingly) was a #8 found at a Habitat For Humanity store. It had a broken frog. A replacement frog cost about $35. Since there is another #8 already working in my shop the second one sits in pieces waiting for some spare time to put it together and get it working. Someday I hope to sell it for $100 or better.

So in many cases $100 is a fair price. One of my money saving habits is to always ask if the seller will come down a bit or has anything they can add to sweeten the deal.

If one doesn't ask, one doesn't get...

jtk

[Hasin Haroon]

I normally would not look for an old plane over $50, as I am happy to frequent garage sales (though I tend to always miss out on the good items) and fix up a plane. The 8 seems a little rarer than the 4,5 and 7 around here, this is the first time I've seen one, so I don't want to be kicking myself 2 years down the line for letting it pass....ebay would be an option but with shipping all the no 8s will cost me around $150 at least.

[Jim Koepke]

I tend to always miss out on the good items

Ever hear the story about the early bird?

There is also a lot to be said for having pleasant conversations with all you meet. I have had many conversations. A few have paid off very well.

jtk

[Bill Houghton]

If you have a No. 7, why are you looking at a No. 8? There's only 2" difference in the length (22" vs. 24"). Granted, the iron is wider (2-5/8" in the 8, 2-3/8" in the 7); but you'll find that wider iron a hard push in most woods.

I came at it from the other end, having found a No. 8 before I found any No. 7s. You'll feel studly as heck using a No. 8, for the first half of the day; you'll feel like your arms are made of over-cooked spaghetti for the last half of the day. I vividly remember, on one project, finishing up with the No. 8, picking up the No. 5 jack, and feeling like it weighed nothing at all.

I now have two No. 7s (well, three, but I'll soon be selling one, in accordance with my philosophy of having just one duplicate plane in any given type/size, and that as insurance against dropping the plane of that size don't have a duplicate, I'll drop it for sure]), but haven't had a project that calls for jointing for a while, so haven't had a chance to do a comparo. But if I were building up my toolkit, I'd be looking at other planes right now, like a router plane, rabbet, shoulder...depending on my working style and projects; or making sure I had a good set of chisels.

[Mike Cherry]

I also have been down the road of wanting a number 8. I went big and bought the LN #8 and ended up selling it because it was just too much. There's a reason why you see so many 4's, 5's, and 7's out there. Now if your looking at this from a collector standpoint, you can disregard my comment. If the plane is in decent shape, I would expect to pay more than what they are asking in my area. So I feel there might be room for profit.
Best of luck to you.

[Jeffrey Martel]

I paid $75 for my #8c I believe. But it required a decent amount of cleanup. I wanted the #8 since I had a #6. A #7 would be too close in size to the #6 and not offer much of a difference.

[Joe A Faulkner]

A $100 sounds reasonable. Better buys can be had, but it can take time. There are a small number currently on e-bay; one auction expires within the next 2 days and the current bid is at $66. I suspect it will go for over $120 and then there's shipping.

[Nick Stokes]

100 is a fair price for one that needs work. If it was cleaned and tuned up it would sell for a bit more around here.

As a user, that price is fine

[Jim Belair]

I paid $75 for my #8c I believe. But it required a decent amount of cleanup.

...and that would be $100 Canadian

[Tom Bussey]

I have been dealing in planes for about 10 years and I have only come a crossed one that I was able to get in the wild and another one from a person reasonable enough for me to turn a profit. In Canada it doesn't sound like to bad a price for a keeper.

[Curt Putnam]

I forget exactly but I paid a little more for one ground by Tom Bussey (TablesawTom). I then put in a PM-V11 iron and and chipbreaker from Veritas. But then I'm located in the south end of the People's Republic of California. Such things are scarce around here. I acquired it to replace the Chaplin #8 sized plane I have and which I will shortly be selling.

[Hasin Haroon]

Thanks for the input everyone. I went back to check it out again, and found that the frog was broken and repaired, and it had a makeshift replacement lateral level. Obviously, not such a good deal anymore. I agree that the 8 wouldn't add much functionality to my toolkit given that I have a 7 that works very well, but I want to eventually own a full set, from the #1 to the #8.
Bill, I did recently invest in a router and shoulder plane from Veritas, and could not be more pleased. I also have a Stanley #78...which I am not so pleased with, I wish I would come across a record #78 (although in reality I expect I will just end up getting a Veritas). At this point my next two items will be a Veritas plough plane and spokeshave, and I think I will be pretty well set for most requirements. That said, I love the old hand planes, and nothing makes me happier than finding a rusty old plane, cleaning it up and putting it to work, so I am always on the lookout for more.