Stanley 90J

[ken hatch]

I guess every tool has its day. I've had a Stanley 90J almost from the get go. I can not remember ever using it until today and the evidence of the iron's lack of sharpening would tend to prove the case. Anyway I was fitting a bottom in a drawer and in my haste to finish the drawer I didn't check the groove/ back fit before glue up. The drawer back intruded into the bottom groove by a silly mm or so, so of course the bottom would not fit in the groove. What to do, what to do. I could chisel the back flush with the groove close to the groove but I still had the full length of the back that was too high. Then I remembered I had a bullnose plane hidden some where in the tool chest. Once found I spent about 15 minutes sharpening the iron, chiseled out the high area near the grooves and used the 90J to take care of the middle area. Ended up looking OK, as if I didn't have my head up and locked during the fitting and glue up.

As always it is better to be lucky than good.

ken

[Bill Houghton]

Got one, along with a Record 077A (the Record version, sort of, of the Stanley 90). I use the Stanley 90J more often, because it's more comfortable, even though I have to adjust the 90J by hand. I don't use it daily or even monthly; but it does earn its keep. This plane stayed in the English Stanley lineup for a long time; there was a company in the 1990s importing English Stanley tools to the U.S., and I could have had one new for the price (about $20) I paid to get one used more recently. But I had very little money then, as we were busy paying off the house. Oh well, with inflation, I guess I still got a deal.

I note that the prices on That Auction Site are all over the place: quite high for collector grade planes, only a little more than I paid for user grade (although the two user grade planes near $20 were from England, and shipping about doubled the price). So not sure it's worth tracking one down there, unless, of course, you are in England or somewhere closer/cheaper to ship than the U.S.

But, if you find one in the wild, it's worth bringing home. These are under-recognized tools, in my judgment. Simple, but quite effective.

Digressing, the tool I haven't figured out yet is the chisel plane. The Record 077A has a removable nose that lets you convert it to a chisel plane, and I've tried it a couple of times, but it tends to dive like a submarine in one of those old movies about submarine warfare in World War II: fast and desperate. I have more control/better results with a plain old chisel.

[ken hatch]

Got one, along with a Record 077A (the Record version, sort of, of the Stanley 90). I use the Stanley 90J more often, because it's more comfortable, even though I have to adjust the 90J by hand. I don't use it daily or even monthly; but it does earn its keep. This plane stayed in the English Stanley lineup for a long time; there was a company in the 1990s importing English Stanley tools to the U.S., and I could have had one new for the price (about $20) I paid to get one used more recently. But I had very little money then, as we were busy paying off the house. Oh well, with inflation, I guess I still got a deal.

I note that the prices on That Auction Site are all over the place: quite high for collector grade planes, only a little more than I paid for user grade (although the two user grade planes near $20 were from England, and shipping about doubled the price). So not sure it's worth tracking one down there, unless, of course, you are in England or somewhere closer/cheaper to ship than the U.S.

But, if you find one in the wild, it's worth bringing home. These are under-recognized tools, in my judgment. Simple, but quite effective.

Digressing, the tool I haven't figured out yet is the chisel plane. The Record 077A has a removable nose that lets you convert it to a chisel plane, and I've tried it a couple of times, but it tends to dive like a submarine in one of those old movies about submarine warfare in World War II: fast and desperate. I have more control/better results with a plain old chisel.

Bill,

This 90J is an English produced one. that I think was purchased from Garrett Wade in the late 70' or early 80"s. I may have developed an appreciation for it as it turns out to be very handy and works much better than expected.

ken