Need shoulder plane

[Don Dorn]

I want a decent one, but funds are somewhat limited. Is the Stanley #92 worthwhile at $104 (Woodcraft), or is it imperitive to wait and spend the extra $80-$90 on a LV?

[Jim Koepke]

I bought a Stanley 93 on eBay for about $80. It was not the first one I bid on. That is at the low end of the price range they command. If you do not want the hassle of eBay, then buying the new one may be a better option.

The Stanley may be missing some of the bells and whistles of some of the modern planes. But gosh, are they needed?

It will likely need sharpening and maybe a little fettling.

I at one time thought the frog adjustment screw on bench planes was a big deal. It is nice, but I get along fine with my planes that do not have them.

jim

[Brent Smith]

I hate to disagree with Jim, but my experiences with the newer Stanley shoulder planes hasn't been very satisfying. A few years ago I went through 5-6 of them at the store before finding one that was actually 90 degrees. The blades left a lot to be desired also, again not 90 degrees, took quite a bit of work. I haven't even looked at my Stanleys since buying LNs and Veritas.

[Kevin Blunt]

I will never buy a modern stanley product again. Spending more but saving fettling time, sharpening time and frustration to no end is definately worth the extra money involved in steeping up to a LV or LN. Just ask anyone else who has been there before. Spend th eextra if you can. You will be SOOOOOOOOOOOO happy you did in the long run.

[Jim Koepke]

I guess my earlier post should be retracted.

Not having experience with new Stanley products, my knowledge is limited.

jim

--Last week I stated that this woman was the ugliest woman I had ever seen. I have since been visited by her sister and now wish to withdraw that statement.

-Mark Twain

[Don Dorn]

Ok, got it - will wait a little longer and get the LV Medium. Thanks for the input.

[Bob Smalser]

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/9139397/265920852.jpg

Funny. Guess I'm the only guy in history to actually get these to work well. That must be why they've only made a couple dozen of them since 1894 or so.

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/9139397/330162760.jpg

Buy a Sweetheart era, sharpen it and you'll find they work just as well as any prestige make you can name for less money. What makes these so much better is their chisel plane feature, saving you another bundle of dough. One knurled screw does it all.

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/6791366/85653808.jpg

[Mike Henderson]

I owned a newer Stanley 93 and then bought an LV medium shoulder plane. The LV was *much* better. I sold the 93.

Could be me - maybe I just couldn't sharpen, adjust or work with the 93 properly - but I always had trouble with the 93. Just couldn't get it to cut smoothly. Once I got the LV, it just worked. No problems sharpening it, adjusting it, and it cut like a dream.

Your experience may vary.

Mike

[Bob Smalser]

Could be me -

Given the success of probably over a million users over more than a century, if you can't diagnose exactly what was wrong with the plane, I don't see how there could be the slightest doubt.

[Mike Henderson]

Given the success of probably over a million users over more than a century, if you can't diagnose exactly what was wrong with the plane, I don't see how there could be the slightest doubt.
I'm sure that's true. That's why I mentioned it.

Mike

[Bob Smalser]

I'm sure that's true. That's why I mentioned it.


Every time this plane is poormouthed....usually at least once a month around here....either L/V or L/N gains a sale and some beginner is out the price difference. The problem is all that's all usually based more on ignorance than anything sunstantive.

While I have no strong criticism the L/V or the various Preston clones, the Stanley is more smoothly compact and operates in the pull mode and tight spots easier. It converts quickly to a chisel plane where they don't, and is no more complicated than the Preston and considerably less complicated than the L/V. The only real fault is they are fragile....insure you don't buy one that's cracked. But you'll break your Preston if you drop it on a concrete floor, too....the reason you find more Stanleys damaged is in terms of raw numbers, more were used commercially. This is a professional cabinetmaker's plane and they outnumber their viintage equivalents by at least a dozen to one.

[Mike Henderson]

I understand your postion, Bob. I consider myself fairly competent, and someone who does research and asks for advice when I have problems. But I just could not get my Stanley 93 to work to my satisfaction. And I really, really tried. Over and over.

I was actually reluctant to purchase the LV medium shoulder plane because of my experience with the 93. But the LV was totally different. It just worked and worked well.

As I said, your experience may vary. I'm not trying to bad mouth the 93 but that was my experience with it. I may not be competent to fettle a 93 properly, but because of my experience I would not recommend it to a beginner.

Mike

[Wilbur Pan]

Buy a Sweetheart era [Stanley shoulder plane], sharpen it and you'll find they work just as well as any prestige make you can name for less money.

Are you sure about the price? What I've been able to find as far as selling prices for Sweetheart era Stanley shoulder planes like the 93 puts them in the $175-250 range, which is right about the prices of Lee Valley and Lie-Nielsen shoulder planes.

[Joel Goodman]

The only thing I'll bet we can all agree on is that the current production Stanley is to be avoided!

[Ken Werner]

Prior to buying my new LV med shoulder [for $139 at the time IIRC] I looked for months for an old 93 without success. I think Wilbur is right, you don't see them go for a whole lot less than the LV, at least I haven't.

[Don C Peterson]

The original post was asking about a NEW Stanley shoulder plane, not an old one from the Sweetheart era...

I too looked for older shoulder planes before I bought my LN, and I found that they were often times MORE expensive than LN/LV, which is why I bought new.

I can't say whether the new Stanleys are junk, but given my experience with new Stanley and Buck Bros bench planes, I'd be willing to bet that it's not worth the trouble. If you can find an old one like Bob recommends for a good price, consider yourself fortunate and go for it.

[Bob Smalser]

Highland sells new #93's for $129.99. A quick search of completed listings on eBay found a nice older #93 that went for $68.33 plus post. I wouldn't hesitate to buy either one instead of dropping $175 or more.

I have never picked one of these up....including the newer English models....that really needed anything but sharpening.

[David Tiell]

I own a Stanley #93 (newer model, not the sweetheart), a LN Medium shoulder plane, and an old Record 311. Bought the Stanley new about 10-12 years ago, the other two within the last year. While I like the LN and Record, they are much larger and more unwieldy (is that a word) than the Stanley. The #93 is more compact. fits my hand better, and has come in handy as a chisel plane from time to time. While I still use the other two, depending on the job at hand, I will still be reaching for that 93, probably more often than not.

[John Guarino]

I have owned both new and old Stanley 92. The old one was fine, as Bob says.

The new plane felt good in the hand. The blade was great, square, easy to sharpen and adjust. But -- it just didn't work as well as the older plane. After a good deal of experimentation, I figured out that the new plane was poorly machined where the toe mates with the heel. You can't see that right away, I had to puzzle it out from the funny results I was getting with the plane. :confused:

I finally let it go to a young guy who would do the needed machining . Then he had to re-lap the sole of the toepiece. He got a good deal and a rehabbed tool, I unloaded a headache. :D

The new one works fine as a chisel plane, and that's useful, but I can make a serviceable chisel plane from an old $10 block plane with a bit of work.

[Wilbur Pan]

Highland sells new #93's for $129.99. A quick search of completed listings on eBay found a nice older #93 that went for $68.33 plus post. I wouldn't hesitate to buy either one instead of dropping $175 or more.

Right, Bob, but your original statement specifically said to get a Sweetheart era 93. Those do go for much more.

[Bob Smalser]

Right, Bob, but your original statement specifically said to get a Sweetheart era 93. Those do go for much more.

I figured this was the usual instant gratification request. But keep a SW93 on your eBay want list for a sufficient period of time and my experience is it'll eventually appear at a very attractive price. It's always worked for me.

Just like a hobbyist poormouthing tools he can't make work, demanding an expensive tool immediately doesn't help his skills. Just like sharpening without training wheels, making do without a shoulder plane produces experts with the chisel. Acquiring one can wait.

It's about acquiring skills, not tools. Or should be, anyway.

[Jim Koepke]

Are you sure about the price? What I've been able to find as far as selling prices for Sweetheart era Stanley shoulder planes like the 93 puts them in the $175-250 range, which is right about the prices of Lee Valley and Lie-Nielsen shoulder planes.

I bought a SW 93 in June for $86.56 including the shipping. I got him to drop the shipping to $14.

Of course, the nickel was worn in places. The blade has a little life left, but new ones of those are still available from Stanley. It is a sweet plane to use.

I bought a few other things from Stanley at the time, one of them came with a screw with the correct thread for my #66 beader. I had already made one out of brass, but this one is is knurled and seems a touch nicer.

It takes patience, but if you keep trying, you will catch a time when all the others are on vacation or taking a nap.

jim

[Pam Niedermayer]

So far as I know, no one "needs" a shoulder plane, especially if money is short, just use a chisel to trim those shoulders.

Pam

[Billy Chambless]

So far as I know, no one "needs" a shoulder plane, especially if money is short, just use a chisel to trim those shoulders.

Pam

I think the word "need" has a special meaning on a woodworking forum. ;)