Record planes

[Rick Potter]

Rarely come to this side of the creek, but I picked up two hand planes the other day, and wonder if they are any good.

1: Record #010, Blue body, complete, looks like it was hardly used. A few very light rust stains on the side, almost like from sweaty hands.

2: Record #073, all steel, no scratches from use, one hash mark on the side, like someone tossed another tool on top of it in the tool chest. Without that mark, it looks unused.

How do these rank in the hand plane world....real use, not collector planes?

I paid $10 each, and bought them to use, not sell. Never had anything better than a cheapo.

[Frederick Skelly]

Rick, I'm not well-versed on Records but I have the impression they were/ are a respected brand. Like other hand tools, year of manufacture can be an indicator of quality. (I don't know how to find out the good years for Records, but someone here will. For example, with Stanley's, older ones tend to be better than modern ones. Perhaps it's the same for Records. I don't know.) Regardless, $10 each for tools sounds like a can't-lose proposition. I'd sharpen them up and see how they do.

BTW, if you need a book on sharpening, Garrett Hack has a good one. I think Tom Lie-Neilsen and Leonard Lee also have books.

Fred

[Jim Koepke]

If those are the Jack Rabbet and the large shoulder plane you got a very good deal.

Record planes are usually just as good as Stanley planes.

I do not need either of those planes, but if they were offered to me at that price, my pants would have likely been ripped getting my wallet out.

jtk

[Rick Malakoff]

Like Jim said!
I buy planes all the time for 10$ or less in all stages of disrepair mostly because you can't buy a replacement iron for that money.
My 04 which I bought in the mid 80's is a great plane and right now is my go to smother.
Good luck with your find.
Rick

Just found this

http://www.record-planes.com/record-no-010-carriage-makers-rabbet-plane/

[Rick Potter]

Thanks guys, I did some looking on Rick's site, and mine is that carriage makers plane. Both are Record, not Record/Irwin.

I will definitely keep and use them.

[ken hatch]

Back in the '70s when Stanley started producing, how can I put it....crap, Record was still making reasonably good planes. I still have and use a #4 and a #7 I bought new back then. The #4 is one of my goto planes and is used almost daily. I'll give you $40 USD for the set :D, a quick 100% profit. All kidding aside, if they are in reasonable shape you did good.

ken

[Patrick Chase]

Thanks guys, I did some looking on Rick's site, and mine is that carriage makers plane. Both are Record, not Record/Irwin.

I will definitely keep and use them.

The carriage makers' plane is what Jim meant when he said "jack rabbet". It's a jack-sized plain that cuts flush on both sides, hence "jack rabbet". The Stanley version is fairly scarce, and collectors have driven its price up such that it was actually cheaper to buy the L-N #10-1/4 when I was in the market. I have no idea how scarce the Record is, but you might want to get a quotation on that one from a tool dealer before you start messing around with it.

[Frank Drew]

I like Record planes and when I did most of my buying, in the mid-70s to early-80s, they were better than Stanleys, IMO. I don't know if anyone would call them collectors' items, though; certainly not in the sense that Spiers or Norris planes are.

[lowell holmes]

For current hand plane selections, check this site: http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/hand-planes.aspx

I have no affiliation with highland woodworking.:) I also have fifteen Stanley planes including a 604, and 605 Bedrock planes.
When I got on a hand-plane tear, I went berserk.

It is August and in Galveston County Texas much too hot in my garage workshop.

[Rick Potter]

Thanks again guys,

I liked these both because thy had the blade reaching all the way to the edge. The model 073 is the one I will use most, for cleaning rabbets and edges. That is about all the hand planing I can do, with two torn rotator cuffs. I am primarily a power tool junkie.

[Patrick Chase]

I like Record planes and when I did most of my buying, in the mid-70s to early-80s, they were better than Stanleys, IMO. I don't know if anyone would call them collectors' items, though; certainly not in the sense that Spiers or Norris planes are.

Sometimes there are individual collectors' items even within widely-sold lines. For example Stanley's Bailey-pattern planes aren't collectors' items in general, but the #2 and the #10-1/4 are because there weren't all that many made to begin with and current supply is consequently tight.

Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be the case with the Record 010.

[Kevin Perez]

I can give you an opinion on this when my Record #7 arrives this weekend. If I recall, they are a lot like Stanleys as far as quality.

[James Waldron]

I have several Record planes, both bench and joinery. All good users. A small bit heavier than Stanley Baileys. I'm particularly like the 778 moving filister plane, which is a near copy of their earlier 078 and the Stanley 78, but with two parallel fence arms. It's a real improvement, in my view. I also have a #04, a #04-1/4, 010, 010-1/2, 044 and 405 (a clone of the Stanley 45). Every bit the equal of early Stanley Baileys and better than the late Stanley stuff. All are good performers and often my first choice.

[Frank Drew]

I particularly like the 778 moving filister plane, which is a near copy of their earlier 078 and the Stanley 78, but with two parallel fence arms. It's a real improvement, in my view.

James, the Record 778 is one of my favorite tools from anywhere; with its double blade positions, cutter for cross-grain applications, depth stop and easily adjustable blade when in the mid position, it's a very sophisticated plane that works like a champ.