Stanley Bailey #7 Made in England plane

[Bob Vavricka]

I was at an estate sale today and they had this Stanley Bailey #7 Made in England plane. From what I can tell the Made in England plans are not considered as good as the Made in USA planes. This plane doesn't appear to have ever been used. It has a corrugated sole. It is also missing the plane iron and chip breaker. It had a price sticker on it that looks like it was from when it was bought of $39.00 :o. What would a plane like this be worth or should I not even consider it. They have it marked for $100, but from other purchases I think they would be willing to consider less.
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[Rafael Herrera]

An iron and chipbreaker will cost you upwards of $50. The plane is useless as it is. I'd offer them $30.

[Jim Koepke]

Considering how much it is going to cost for a blade and chip breaker you might want to pass on this one if they won't come down significantly on the price.

My preference is for the much earlier planes, but that's just me.

jtk

[Cameron Wood]

I wouldn't be surprised that if you asked on Craigslist, someone would give you one. Lots of those on shelves collecting dust.

[Derek Cohen]

It may turn out to be a great plane. Before all else, place a straight edge along the sole - flattening a long plane is not for the inexperienced.

If it looks good, try the blade before you replace it.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Stephen Rosenthal]

Someone gave me a Stanley #4, Made in England. It was a piece of junk that I converted into a scrub plane. It’s now serviceable. Complete pre-war Stanley #7s are plentiful in the $150 range, even the sweet spot Types 10-13.

[Derek Cohen]

By contrast Stephen, I have a UK-made #3, and it is a good plane. I have had a UK-made #4 1/2, and it was excellent. I had a Oz-made #7 - reputedly less good than scraping with finger nails - and it was a beauty! I sold the #4 1/2 and #7 because I had too many planes. Shoulda kept the #7.

UK-made planes are variable. Some excellent, and sone boat anchors. Worth a look.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[steven c newman]

My English No. 4c..
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Has been used quite a bit...
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Has a groovy sole, too..
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A simple little fact: Stanley found out IF a plane was made/assembled in England..they did not have to pay the Import Taxes..and then could sell anywhere in the Commonwealth...
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But is still was a "Bailey"...not Rumpole of the Bailey...
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Iron says it was made in England..and gives the precise Grinding angle of 25 degrees...stamped right on it..
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Mainly been used to plane raised panels, ala Paul Sellers...and works quite well...which is all I ask of any tool I have.

BTW: it was never used as a shooting plane...they did make other planes designed to do that job.

[Derek Cohen]

...not Rumpole of the Bailey...


I'm impressed Steven :).

Regards from Pomeroys Bar and Grill

Derek

[Stephen Rosenthal]

UK-made planes are variable. Some excellent, and sone boat anchors. Worth a look.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Worth a look? Without the chip breaker and blade? For $100? As Rafael and Jim already mentioned, I wouldn’t consider it unless the seller came down - way down, and even then…

It would be silly of me to argue that all Made in England Stanleys are junk. I have a #79 (from the 60s judging by the box) that is excellent. Maybe pre-war Stanleys aren’t as plentiful Down Under. But unless he wants only a corrugated version, in the States it shouldn’t take more than a few weeks to find a good one. Not recommending an eBay purchase, but there are currently dozens available there. On the other hand, I wouldn’t hesitate buying one from Patrick Leach - he probably has a few gathering dust right now. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the OP could get one from a fellow Creeker if he posts a WTB ad in the classifieds. Our own James Spangler has been known to find and work his magic with special requests.

[Jimmy Harris]

A Hock blade and chip breaker would be a worthy upgrade for that plane. So I wouldn't say no to it, since those are things I would probably want to replace anyway.

However, I'd want to get into it for a lot cheaper than that. A UK made plane, even with all of the parts, would be a tough swallow for me at $100. You could get a US made plane for about that if you live in the US. At that price, it'll require some de-rusting and work. But I bet that plane is gonna require as much work, or maybe more, to get it really tuned up.

I'd offer $50, and if they balk, show them it's missing parts and will cost you $100 just to get it working. If they want more than that, I'd just walk and wish them luck.

[Bob Vavricka]

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts. I think I will pass on the plane but will take another look at it tomorrow if it is still there but will be much more informed from all your comments. Thank You for sharing your input.
Bob V.

[Jim Koepke]

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts. I think I will pass on the plane but will take another look at it tomorrow if it is still there but will be much more informed from all your comments. Thank You for sharing your input.
Bob V.

The longer it sits the more it means no one else wanted to meet the price or even make an offer.

The longer it sits, the more likely someone might be to take a lowball price.

jtk

[Tom Bussey]

My question is what is it going to cost you if you wish to buy a #7 that is ready to go. How long are you willing to wait to get a #7? And at what is the cost you are willing pay? From experience, Stanley planes made in England are usually a very good planes. My guess is that they don't have a clue and that since it is not complete, they will take less. At $50 it is a steel. At $75 you are still in good shape, Even if you purchase a hock iron and chip braker you still have a #7 for around $150 and where are you going to get a good #7 for $150? Any plane will work it the blade is sharp and at the $150 mark you will have the top of the line blade.

[Jim Koepke]

Tom makes some great points.

For me every plane purchase was a balance of the price tag, how much the seller might budge, how much work and/or cost of parts were going to go into putting it in good working order.

A few times this thought process also considered the value of the individual parts if they had to be sold separately to make back my money if the plane was a junker.

Turning a sow's ear into a silk purse may not always be possible, but sometimes you can come close or put a good deal of cash back into your purse.

One of my experiences with this was a #5 plane that looked like a piece of junk on ebay. I wanted it for the low style knob and tote. Turned out the pictures were terrible and the plane was actually a pretty good buy for less than a blade set was getting on ebay at the time (less than $17 iirc). That plane is still in my shop and is one of my go to jack planes.

jtk

[Brian Deakin]

I live in the Uk
A number of years ago I attended a 4 day David Charlesworth sharpening and plane tuning course at his workshop in Hartland
I took an old Woden plane to tune and after tuning was able to make long shavings which were very thin
If you use Davids method to prepare a plane and replace the blade with a Hock blade you can have the satisfaction of having a tool to be proud
I would suggest if possible to identify an example of a plane which has the least play in the depth adjuster wheel

[Jim Koepke]

I would suggest if possible to identify an example of a plane which has the least play in the depth adjuster wheel

With the Bailey style adjuster that would be a Lie-Nielsen. Being so used to the depth adjuster backlash, play or sloppiness, makes using a plane without any a bit awkward. My plane with the most backlash is maybe three turns on the adjuster.

jtk

[Rafael Herrera]

If backlash is a big deal for you, Wood by Wright sells a Reed replacement depth adjustment kit.

[David Storer]

Backlash is predictable and easily manageable. I quite enjoy 'spinning the dial'. When you have a plane in your hands that is well tuned with a sharp blade, a little backlash is easily manageable.

Amongst my favourite planes are Faithfull (sic) no.s 3, 4 and 7, made in India but retrofitted with Ray Iles and Stanley original irons for variously c.$12 to $25 a piece. Backlash is easily managed ... just a quick spin of the dial ... and performance is excellent. They don't give you that sweet satisfaction in owning a 'small object of (almost painful) desire' that you get with a beautifully crafted Lie-Neilsen ... but they do the job just the same.

My no. 7 cost me c.$75 brand new, including the Ray Iles replacement blade. In practical terms, it is faultless.

I am not knocking the high-end brands. I own a few examples ... joinery planes, most especially ... and I am hugely happy with them. But you would have a very hard job prising that Faithfull no.7 from my cold lifeless hands.

[Jimmy Harris]

Most any Baily or Bedrock pattern plane can be made to work well and give consistent and excellent results. The basic design is pretty foolproof. A higher end plane might give you a more pleasurable experience using it, but once properly set up, pretty much any plane can give you the same results on the wood.

I don't even notice the backlash on my planes. I've used them enough that it doesn't register in my mind that I'm even dealing with the backlash.

And honestly, I find myself gravitating away from Lie Neilsen products. I won't argue that they're not all extremely well made or beautiful to look at and feel. But Lie Neilsen always seems to change one small parameter from the original design, and I don't usually like that change. Like for their planes, they use A2 steel irons and brass components. I find the brass need more maintenance and is heavier, which doesn't really benefit planing, especially if you're doing hours of planing in a day. And the A2 is harder to sharpen, doesn't get as sharp, and chips easier than O1. They're not deal breakers. I'm not selling my LN stuff, as it's all just minor annoyances. And side by side to even a really nice example of a Stanley, you can tell the LN is a better made plane. But I kind of prefer the old Stanleys and their copies (Sargent, Millers Falls, Record, etc.) overall, even with the play in the knob. Especially if you swap out the original chip breaker and iron for a Hock O1 set. They're not better made, but they're better thought out.