Non Vintage Metal Planes? Keep or Purge...

[Erich Weidner]

As I've finished my Tool Chest and finally got the very space inefficient wire shelving off the wall. I was actually able to reach these planes which were sitting on a shelf I couldn't reach collecting dust for a decade plus.
A bit of rust development, but nothing that can't be readily fixed.

These were the first hand tools I every bought (All purchased new, so before Record went out of business). I now have a Veritas moving fillister so I think ditching the Kuntz is a no brainer. Boy does it seem clunky and cheap compared to the Veritas. But I still made stuff with it. Same for the Stanley router plane (I have the Vertias model now).

437707

437708 I spent so much time flattening the sole and frogs on the Stanley #4 and #5, I think I'll keep them. Maybe I can set them up for optional operations? Not sure what I can really do differently other than sharpen the blade at a different camber or something... (I now have a LN version #4 & 5).

[ken hatch]

Erich,

While the LN #5 is a very nice plane, your Stanley #5 is a better Jack plane for two reasons; The first is a Jack plane is a rough plane and the precision and weight of the LN #5 are not helpful. The second is the thick A2 iron of the LN, a Jack plane needs a heavy camber. Not as heavy as a scrub plane but well more than just scrubbing off the corners. The thin cutter of the Stanley is much easier to camber and the HC iron can be sharpened on almost any stone. Long way around to keep the Stanley #5.

BTW, I have a LN #5, nice plane that mostly gathers dust. When I need a Jack my first pick is one of the early Stanley #5's. Other than as a Jack a #5 plane has limited use in my shop.

Of course as always YMMV.

ken

[Jim Koepke]

A #5 is handy for a lot of things. One of mine is set up as a scrub plane. If they were in the way a couple of my #5s could be sold.

The #4 and the Stanley router plane could likely be sold for enough to help pay for other needs.

Spokeshaves if well tuned are always handy to have around.

The Kuntz could also bring a few bucks. They do not have the best reputation.

jtk

[Robert Hazelwood]

Keep the Stanleys. It's nice to have at least one plane that can be a sort of job-site tool, if you ever need to do something outside the shop. #5 with moderate camber is perfect for that.

If you are trying to smooth-plane to a finish (i.e. no sanding) it's nice to have a second smoother to set-up the final smoother. It takes a bit heavier shavings and leaves the surface ready for the final pass of super thin shavings to leave a perfect surface behind.

And there are oddball tasks like chamfering or trimming that a #4 is perfect for and you don't want to put extra wear on your main smoother blade.

[Richard Hutchings]

Maybe it's because I don't do much cabinet work, more into lutherie but I got rid of my high end planes. I didn't see any benefit to them.

[Jim Koepke]

Maybe it's because I don't do much cabinet work, more into lutherie but I got rid of my high end planes. I didn't see any benefit to them.

For some folks the advantage or benefit to the "high end" planes is a much nicer fit and finish. For me, this doesn't matter. Some of my Stanley/Bailey planes need a few full rotations of the depth adjuster to move the blade. To some this is unacceptable, it is okay by me. On my #1 LN, the lack of backlash makes blade adjustment a little difficult to get right. My reason for purchasing an LN #1 is the price is lower than a Stanley/Bailey #1. This is also the reason for purchasing an LN #62.

My Stanley #60-1/2 is actually preferred over my LN #60. This is mostly do to an old hand injury and the LN's heavier weight being a bit more difficult for me to hold.

Otherwise the LN #60 is a fine plane. My only other gripe is it has an A2 blade instead of O1.

jtk

[steven c newman]

Strip the green paint off....add a coat or two of semi-gloss black....and nobody will notice.....

[Richard Hutchings]

I shaped my guitar neck with the green spokeshave. It did what I told it to do.

[Erich Weidner]

Erich,

BTW, I have a LN #5, nice plane that mostly gathers dust. When I need a Jack my first pick is one of the early Stanley #5's. Other than as a Jack a #5 plane has limited use in my shop.


I probably should have mentioned all these planes are not vintage. They are all 21st century production.

[ken hatch]

I probably should have mentioned all these planes are not vintage. They are all 21st century production.


Erich,

For a Jack plane it really makes no never mind. A Jack does not need to be much more sophisticated than a scrub plane. One of my favorite Jacks is a single iron woodie.

ken

[mike stenson]

Yea, and while it's true you can setup and use a jack to do smoothing, some smaller scale jointing etc.. I put a pretty heavy camber and a wide mouth on mine, which is just a late 20th century example (with wooden knob and tote made by me, I hated the plastic ones).

[Rob Luter]

I’ll second (third?) the sentiment on the #5. I used to have several vintage specimens. I sold them off. I sold one too many. They’re about the best jack plane out there. A generous camber and a keen edge makes short work of boards that need to be trued up.

[steven c newman]

Well...so are the veritas, and L-Ns out there right now...

[Erich Weidner]

Thanks all.

I cleaned up the #4 tonight, a bit of rust had developed. Used some acid and sanding rubber. Gave the hidden bits (frog, etc.) a once over with Auto-sol to give some protection, wiped the exterior with oil, then into a plane sack it went for some unknown future purpose. The aftermarket knob doesn't really fit super duper. Had to really torque down on it.

The #5 did not fare so well.

437752 Looks like the knob is cracked (I threw out the original plastic ones ages ago), and the lead threads on the rod are stripped. Possibly also in the casting on the plane. I don't have a tap & die kit for this threading. And I didn't take pictures, but the rear handle has never fit well. I monkeyed with it for an hour and remembered why I detested using this plane. All because of bad handle fit (shouldn't have tossed the plastic ones). Anyway, at this point a new handle kit will probably cost more than a flea market vintage #5, and with stripped threads... I think I'm just going to leave it on the shelf in case I really decide I want to try to find parts and retap the casting. My guess is I'll end up using the blade to practice grinding a radius on the blade, then toss the whole thing.

Guess I'll hold on to the spoke shaves. They need a little TLC similar to what the #4 needed.