Is this a good plane?

[Adam Herd]

I decided to buy my first hand plane on ebay and try to restore it. I bought this one for $72 with shipping. The description on ebay said that it is a stanley sweetheart. Just want to know what people think about this. Did I get a good one? Oh and the white stuff on the sole is left over tape for some reason the guy wrapped tape around the plane for shipping.

[Brian Eaton]

That looks very similar to the #5 I bought a few months ago, same front knob shape, same orange on the lever cap. It doesn't, however, look like a sweetheart. If I remember right, planes from the sweetheart era had keyhole shaped holes in the lever cap? Regardless, there is a website you can use to figure out which type the plane is. http://www.hyperkitten.com/tools/stanley_bench_plane/. Have fun restoring and using it!

[Nicholas Lawrence]

I would think you can sharpen it up and get it working. I would not have paid $72, but then I have a bunch of them already and have not been in the market for a long time. I think prices have gone up a lot since I was looking for a jack plane, so that may not be unreasonable.

Somebody will be along to talk “type” and can probably tell you when it was made. I think the orange paint and kidney shaped hole on the lever cap is an indicator it is a later model.

[Mike Brady]

Pretty hard to tell from what I see there, but the plane is not all from the Sweetheart era as another poster pointed out. You did pay "over market price". I just sold a a collection of vintage Stanleys that were very minty, and only a few brought that kind of money, especially the No.5's, which were made by the hundreds of thousands. I personally would avoid the Bay for tool purchases and instead buy from tool forum sales sites or the Mid West Tool Collectors Assn swap meets. This is a good learning experience for you, as you can use that plane to gain experience about tuning, sharpening, and using a vintage plane.

[Hasin Haroon]

Hey Adam,

It looks like a good plane. So long as it has no cracks and the bottom isn't too damaged you should be okay. Cracks in the tote and knob can be fixed, or you can make new ones. Don't worry about having overpaid - everyone does that a few times with their first few tools, and if you go through the process of fettling it and setting it up you'll have a very decent plane on your hands.

Restoring a plane is pretty simple, but there are a couple extra steps you can take that'll make the plane absolutely sing. The best video I've seen that covers the basics and the extras is one by Paul Sellers. If you look it up on YouTube it'll be worth your time.

[Adam Herd]

Ya I have seen the one by Paul Sellers a few times. I figured I would just follow that through step by step.

[Morey St. Denis]

Sadly appears you may have overpaid for this Stanley plane, though you could still get good work out of it. What information or special features may have been suggested by your seller to establish this as a desirable or collectable "Sweetheart" type? Opportunistic capitalist apparently knew enough to assert this as a high value "Sweetheart", yet not enough to know any of their readily distinguishable characteristics?..

Stanley "Sweetheart"s comprised Types 12 thru 15 manufactured between 1919 to 1932. Certain units in good condition may still bear their original plane iron with the prominent S.W. etched inside a "valentine heart" logo said to honor former Stanley Toolworks president William Hart. That Kidney shaped hole in the lever cap marked the demise of Stanley Bailey planes classic era beginning Type 16 of 1933, happily marking the repeal of Prohibition in December of that year, (but roughly coinciding with the depths of the Great Depression dogging the decade of the 30's) onwards thru the war years. Not enough detail with your images to state its actual type number, but I can make out also that STANLEY reads sideways on your lateral adjustment lever as opposed to vertical.

If you can establish that the plane bed & frog largely comply with type 15 parameters, but with substitutions of the iron, an undesirable later model lever cap and other mixed Stanley types, what was delivered from your seller has been referred to as a "Franken-plane"... Throw the switch Igor!

[Bob Leistner]

Need a better picture of the blade. Looks pitted on the end if so will take a ton of work to make useable-basically junk. I would go back to seller and get at least half your money back or give him a bad rating.

[Jim Koepke]

Adam, your plane looks to be a type 15, which is in the SW time period. The lever cap may have been switched do not worry about it. The type 16 has a different style frog.

In my book the price is a bit high. Last week it pained me a bit to pay $20 for an early SW #5 that was pretty much a mess. My only reason to purchase it was to replace the sole on another #5 that cost me about $5. It was purchased from folks who have given me some great deals and it was just part of the flow.

If someone wants to get planes for less money it requires patience and getting up early on weekends to scour yard sales, estate sales and flea markets. It also helps to know the antique and junk dealers along your regularly traveled routes. It takes a lot of work to get tools at low cost.

Clean it up, sharpen the blade and put it to work. Long after the sting of the price gone, you will still have a great plane in your tool chest.

jtk

[Adam Herd]

I thought $60 plus $10 for shipping wasn't to bad but all of you are saying I overpaid. I definitely could have gotten it cheaper but wasn't sure of how the other guy was biding until the end. As long as it will work well I will be satisfied.

[Jim Koepke]

I thought $60 plus $10 for shipping wasn't to bad but all of you are saying I overpaid. I definitely could have gotten it cheaper but wasn't sure of how the other guy was biding until the end. As long as it will work well I will be satisfied.

Looking at completed listings on ebay you got yours for around the current average price.

By the time my planes go up for sell it is going to make me or my heirs rich.

jtk

[Phil Mueller]

Adam, you did fine. My #5 is my current go-to for many applications. I think you’ll come to like it. Don’t worry about $20 here or there. I’ve paid less, and I’ve paid more. I’ve added aftermarket irons that makes the usable cost even higher. When you get that thing tuned up and working well, you’ll never look back on what was paid.

I would suggest you use coarse sandpaper on a flat surface to get the bevel into reasonable shape. Save your stones for the finer work. Getting an old iron to a decent bevel can take a toll on your stones. Enjoy and keep us posted on the restoration.

[Joe A Faulkner]

Buying from eBay is a fine option as far as I'm concerned. I respect those who feel differently, but there are plenty of folks who have picked up decent tools on eBay.

You want to get familiar with value, and make sure the pictures are provided from all angles with close ups and pictures of the plane broken down. Use the zoom feature to look for any chips or cracks or holes drilled in the toe or heal. Some sellers are more knowledgeable than others and will provide good descriptions and will point out known defects. Some are woodworkers and may have include pictures illustrating shavings ...

A lot of it has to do with your interests. If you are willing to learn how to clean and tune an old plane, it can be satisfying to restore a 100 year old tool to good working order. Some might automatically pass on anything with a broken knob or handle while others may look forward to making their own replacement parts. If you want to make sure you aren't paying too much you have to spend some time getting acquainted with the market. My initial reaction was you paid a bit too much, but I haven't been in the market for a No. 5 for two or three years. I appreciate Jim's insight that recent purchases have been in that ball park. So based on that, you probably did okay. Maybe not great, but okay.

[Adam Herd]

Just a bit of a side note, for some reason finding a number 5 hand plane on ebay is fairly difficult. I have found many number 4s new 4s are listed all the time but for some reason 5s are not as common. That is partially why I was more apt to spend a little more for this plane, also because I thought it was a sweetheart.

[Stew Denton]

Hi Adam,

Yes, you got a darned good plane. In my view the golden age of the Stanley planes was from about 1907or 08 until about 1932. This was composed of the type 10s to the type 15s.

The "Sweetheart" era was named for the logo that Stanley used which had the Stanley name inside of the 12 sided box affixed to the top of a heart with the initials "SW" inside the heart. Rexmill states that they used that logo from about 1919 or so until 1935, but it was not used on the planes after about 1932.

Your plane is definitely a Sweet Heart plane. That said, different sites list slightly different dates for when Stanley used the Sweet Heart logo that the Sweet Heart era is named for, but I think all include the date that your plane was made in.

After 1932 they changed the frog design to the skeletonized version, but your plane has the more desirable fully milled type that was discontinued in 1932. Also, Stanley took the word "Bailey" off their planes about 1932. They also changed around where dates, etc., were "cast in", but seemed to settle into a standard pattern for a few years and then would transition into a different pattern for a while.

For some, like Jim K. above, the golden era extends back further, because he is very skilled at adjusting the frog, whereas I like the frog adjuster on the back of the frog, and would have trouble with out the adjuster screw.

Your plane looks like it came at the very end of the type 15s, as they switched to the kidney shape in the lever cap. However, the fully milled frog is definitive definitely a type 15 made in the SH era. Further the type 16s had a raised rib at the front of the toe and the back of the heel. These and other features of the type 15 versus type 16s make me definitely think "type 15."

My guess is that your plane was made in late 1932 or early 1933. When Stanley made changes to the plane designs, they did not throw away the old inventory of existing parts, they used them up if compatible, so your plane may have had all type 15 parts, except that they had gone to the new type lever cap after running out of the older style, so your plane has the older parts, except for the newer style lever cap. It is also possible that the guy broke the original lever cap and bought a replacement from Stanley at a later date.

The location of the "cast in" company name, size listing, and "Made in USA," doesn't seem to fit in with one of the very common patterns of that time period which also makes me think that your plane was made in a transition period.

You may have paid a bit much, but Ebay listings sell for more than they do at flea markets and garage sales. I used to follow planes on the Bay regularly, but haven't for a while, but I do trust Jim on this so believe you didn't pay too much for such a plane on that site. Also, for a given time period, price is highly dependent on condition, and your plane looks far better than most. I personally think you did just fine on price for that site.

Finally,given the excellent Type Number plane you have, and it's truly excellent condition, once fully cleaned up and spruced up, as any particular need is found, and far most importantly, sharpened up, you should have one very fine plane.

I think the best site for dating and type number is "Rexmill.com." Go there and look over the type numbers and dates. There is a lot there that you cannot see on the photos of your plane that will dial it in perhaps a bit further.

Finally, if you and your descendants take good care of that plane after you restore it, and given the condition little restoring work should be needed, your great great grandchildren could be still using that same plane. I used planes that belonged to my grandfather, that were made between 1900 and 1930 I believe. I also one that belonged to my father from that same time frame.


Regards,


Stew