Stanley No.6 Shooter

[steve swantee]

Hello all, I've been contemplating using a large bench plane as a shooting board plane for some time now, and realized that the plane was under my nose all the time. It is a No6 Stanley type 4 which had definitely seen better days. The sides were slightly pitted, and the wood was in rough shape. Also there was a hole drilled in the side at some point in it's past. I tried it out on a quickly made shooting board and found it kind of hard on the hand to use as a shooter. Since it wasn't in great shape anyway I decided to look at options for some kind of handle to make it more comfortable for permanent shooting duty and ended up using a tote I had lying around. I debated a long time on whether to drill another hole in the cheek for attachent of the tote and finally decided "SCREW IT- this thing has been lying around the shop in ruins for long enough" I hated to do it, but at least this plane will fill a useful spot in my shop. It looks a bit funny, but it works pretty slick. After the modifications I gave it a facelift with new paint, and shellac on the knob and tote-now it just needs a good sharpening to go into service as my new shooter.

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Steve

[Josh Bowman]

Let us know if it works. Also give us your tested thoughts on if the handle was put in the correct place. I guess it's now a Stanley 6S (6 shooter)
Thanks Josh

[Phillip Pattee]

Steve,

I've got a 605 with a hole drilled in the cheek in the same spot. At first I thought is was somebody's idea for a hangy hole so they could store it on a peg board. Like you I also contemplated using this predrilled hole to attach a round knob for use as a shooting board plane. I haven't done it yet. If I end up using it as a shooting plane, I think I would need a blade without the usual jack plane camber. So it would not be that easy to convert from one function to another, I would have to switch blades, and put on the knob.

I've got other jack planes, but this is the bedrock and I want to be able to use it for more than shooting. I also have another wooden plane I made specifically for the shooting board. I have plenty of excuses for inaction, but still that hole in the cheek bugs me...why did a previous owner put it there.

[steve swantee]

Hi Josh, I haven't had a chance to gove the iron a good sharpening yet, but I did try it out briefly on the shooting board and the tote seems to be in a pretty good position. I found the best position was with the thumb and three fingers around the tote, and my little finger curled around under the cheek of the plane-it was quite comfortable, actually. Also the little finger lets you put some lateral force against the shooting board and keeps your hand lower to counteract any tendency to tip the plane. All in all, once properly sharpened I think it will do a great job. I'll keep you posted once I get it nice and sharp and can give it a proper road test.

Steve

[steve swantee]

Hi Phillip, when I started thinking about doing this I did consider just attaching a knob so I would not have to drill the hole for the front of the tote, but a quick test with a spare knob did not really pass the comfort test for me-although I admit it did look a bit better-so I decided to go with the tote idea. Record used to make the T5 jack plane with a side handle, so that may be where the idea for these holes originated-just a guess. This will be a dedicated shooting board plane, so I was not concerned about keeping it usable for other planing tasks.

Steve

[James Scheffler]

Is the threaded rod that is normally used to hold the tote onto the plane a standard thread size? I was wondering if it was hard to find a nut that would work with the rod. I've heard that a lot of the old hardware for planes had odd thread sizes to force users to buy OEM replacement parts. Or did you use a different, modern rod?

Thanks,
Jim

[jerry nazard]

Steve,

That is so very cool. Way over the top!

-Jerry

[steve swantee]

Yes the threaded rod is a thread pitch specific to stanley. I used this Cam Clamp Mechanism from Lee Valley. I bent the threaded rod where it went through the hole in the plane body and attached the cam clamp to it. It is not quite the same thread-it's a bit loose-but it seems to hold enough to keep the tote secure. The screw in the front of the tote is a 1/4 " slotted head machine screw which I tapped the body for. If you would like to see some detailed pics to give you a better idea, let me know and I'll take some pics tomorrow.http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/pa...576,61994&ap=1


Steve

[Zach England]

It is like a mr. potato head plane...take a part off of one place and stick it in another hole.

[Casey Gooding]

That's great. A number 6 has been my shooting plane of choice for a while now. I'm building a low angle woodie shooting plane. We'll see how that works.

[David Gendron]

Great idea, i hoppe it work out good!

[Jim Koepke]

Is the threaded rod that is normally used to hold the tote onto the plane a standard thread size? I was wondering if it was hard to find a nut that would work with the rod. I've heard that a lot of the old hardware for planes had odd thread sizes to force users to buy OEM replacement parts. Or did you use a different, modern rod?

Thanks,
Jim

The rod is a #12-20 thread. The taps are still available. Mine came from victornet.com look under taps>special pitch taps up to 1/2 inch.

For dies, I have had some success using a 1/4-20 two piece adjustable tap and adjusting it down.

I have been using an old Stanley #65-1/2 low angle block plane for shooting. If I can save up some money I want to buy a low angle jack to use as a shooter.

jim

[Jim Paulson]

Steve,

After reading this thread and all the respnses, I have to admit that your idea is great one. What the heck, it makes sense to have a handle where you need it--on the side. I hope it provides you good service.

Jim