Is this a good deal on a set of usable Stanley planes?

[Scott Winter]

They are listed on Craigslist at $240 which I am going to talk the seller down some (maybe close to $200??).

It is a set of Stanley planes. Here is the description...


Great user set of Stanley Planes.
3,4,5,6C,7C,8
Highlights:
3- "sweetheart" blade, excellent knob and tote, previous owner marks
4- nice knob and tote, clean plane
5- excellent knob and tote, previous owner marks
6- later model blue paint, small chip in tote
7- excellent plane, previous owners marks
8- "sweetheart" blade, older keyhole lever cap, orange paint on frog, 50% paint, small chip on tote
Perfect for new user or to start collecting.

[Gary Cunningham]

I would buy them. And I really do not need more planes

[Archie England]

If they are as good as the pictures look, then $240 could be a deal. A 3, 4, & 5 could go for ~ $40 apiece, then maybe $50 for the newer #6; $85 for the 7; and $100 (which is low for a good #8)--this stuff adds up quick. Even at $30 each, $40 for the 6; plus the 7 and 8, it's still a deal. Just my 2 cents.

[Scott Winter]

I think I am going to pull the trigger tonight. Since I am just starting out I feel like this would be a great jump start to my new addiction... err hobby :p

[Jim Koepke]

The price is, as others say, a decent deal as long as there isn't any substantial damage or heavy rust.


jtk

[Stew Denton]

Hi Scott,

It has been a while since I followed the price of Stanley planes on that auction site.

However, I would agree basically what Archie wrote, but shift prices a bit, as the #3 is worth more than the #4, #5, and #6 in my view. This because it looks like the #3 is in the sweetheart era, from the picture and your description, and the #4, #5, &#6 are later, the later planes not worth quite as much as the older ones.

I think his numbers on the #7 and #8s are in the ballpark, but from my past price following I would guess them a bit higher, but again, it has been a while since I followed the Stanley Bailey prices. The prices on the auction site go up and down, and the current prices may be lower than what they were the last time I looked at them.

I would value the #6 as the least valuable, as the ones painted blue are modern enough that I consider them a lot less desirable than the older ones. That said, these are picking points and I agree with Archie's conclusion. This seems like a reasonably good deal compared to something like the prices seen on the auction site. Still, with some tuning, the #6 could become an excellent user, and on the other hand you never know as some of the later ones are so poor that little can be done to ever make them into a good user.

Thus, I would consider the #6 as a pig in the poke....until it is in hand you don't know what you have with it. The rest, especially the #3 and #8, being older Stanley Bailey planes should be good.

My guess is that the #7 is maybe an early 1930s plane, and the #4 and #5 slightly later than that, probably '30s or very early '40s, as such these should also tune up to be very good users.

However, you need to ask the seller if the bodies have any cracks, or as Jim mentioned rust, etc. A significant crack makes almost any plane a no go for me. Given what you can see, the planes look pretty good though.

If I were buying planes, I would consider this a pretty good deal. I don't think it is a steal, but a good deal none the less.

HOWEVER, if you go to enough flea markets and garage sales, I think you can beat those prices quite a bit. It just depends on how close the flea markets are to you, how many garage sales have old tools, etc. That said, you will see very few #8 planes, and finding one of that size might cause you to look for quite a while.

If you are wanting to get going using the planes, and don't want to spend a lot of time looking, this is likely a good place to go.

Stew

[Scott Winter]

Stew thank you (and everyone else!) for your detailed responses.

After talking with the seller we've setup to meet tomorrow to complete the purchase. The fact that this offers so many good quality planes it is something I didn't want to pass up. This is a great way to start my collection!

[Nathan Johnson]

These appear to be marked pretty well below what I typically see at antique stores around me, and that's for planes in pretty rough condition. Most of what ive bought have needed serious restoration at near similar costs. Hard to say from just those two photos, but they appear pretty clean. Better than what I typically see out in the wild. (I don't shop online auctions, so no idea there.)
Even if they are a touch high, if they're clean and don't need a ton of sweat equity, that's a pretty good score in my book.

[William Fretwell]

I would just pay his asking price and smile. They are easily worth that in that condition, not to mention the saving on shipping if you had to buy them individually. Huge time saving as well.

[Derek Cohen]

The question is whether you need all those planes? Are you paying for planes you will not use? As a user and not a collector, I would want a #3 or $4, the #5 and #7. That is three planes. Is $240 an OK price for 3 planes? Or do you like the idea of a nearly full set?

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jim Koepke]

The question is whether you need all those planes? Are you paying for planes you will not use? As a user and not a collector, I would want a #3 or $4, the #5 and #7. That is three planes. Is $240 an OK price for 3 planes? Or do you like the idea of a nearly full set?

Regards from Perth

Derek

Looking at it that way the #6 & #8 could likely be sold as a bundle quickly on ebay with a BIN of $100 - $110 +shipping to bring the final cost down.

My plane accumulating was always rolling in low gear and waiting for bottom feeder prices.

jtk

[Scott Winter]

The question is whether you need all those planes? Are you paying for planes you will not use? As a user and not a collector, I would want a #3 or $4, the #5 and #7. That is three planes. Is $240 an OK price for 3 planes? Or do you like the idea of a nearly full set?

Regards from Perth

Derek

Being so new to woodworking I feel like it would be a good idea to get a nice assortment for a good price, and let me make my own decisions on which ones I enjoy using versus which ones I might not use at all. This gives me that opportunity, and worst case is I can sell off the ones I don't like to use (or have very little use for) to recoup some of my investment :)

[Derek Cohen]

Sounds very reasonable to me. :)

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Rick Malakoff]

If you bought them individually on eBay the shipping would cost you that easily that much or you could just buy one plane from Lee Valley or Lie-Nielson!

Rick

[Pete Taran]

Scott,

While I agree that the list of planes is a good deal, you need to stop spending your time looking on CL and get into the hundreds of antique shops near where you live. Adamstown, Morgantown, and your hometown of Lancaster are loaded with antique malls and tons of planes. You are at ground zero for old tools, most other folks can't even imagine how good the pickings are there.

Pete

[Scott Winter]

Scott,

While I agree that the list of planes is a good deal, you need to stop spending your time looking on CL and get into the hundreds of antique shops near where you live. Adamstown, Morgantown, and your hometown of Lancaster are loaded with antique malls and tons of planes. You are at ground zero for old tools, most other folks can't even imagine how good the pickings are there.

Pete

You are so very right Pete! It'll be some time before I can dedicate any free time to shopping around at various shops trying to score a good deal. Now that I have basically every plane I'll need (minus a small block plane and a low angle) I will probably poke my head around various antique stores to look for some other hand tools like saws and wooden planes :)

[Pete Taran]

Scott,

Once you do, you need to learn the timeless practice of upgrading and hoarding. That leads to selling and 20 years from now you will be an OT vendor. :)

[Scott Winter]

Well I brought them home earlier today, and must say these things were even nicer in person. Outside of the old user marks on 2 of them they are pretty damn near flawless given their age. All of them had irons in great shape outside of the #4 which I just had to use some 80 grit and grind a new bevel because there were a few nicks in the cutting edge. Worked it all the way up to 1200 grit, and will hit it with the 4000/8000 water stone when it gets delivered :)

[Stew Denton]

Scott,

It sounds better now that you have described them than it did before! Given what you said, "Ya did good!"

Glad you did well. Beyond that, you should be able to enjoy using them for years, and if not dropped, you should be able to leave or give them to kids or grandkids.

Congrats!

Stew

[Jim Koepke]

+1 on what Stew said.

Will you be able to post some pictures?

Shaving, show us some shavings :D

jtk