Another Stanley Plane Question

[Scott Adams]

I spent $150 on some hand planes--some much older than others. I may have over-paid for what I bought, but I am just fascinated by them and think they are neat. I even bought an all wood one without a blade. It was only $3 and it just had character.

That being said, I paid for a fairly unused Stanley No. 5. When I tried to find info on it, and after answering the questions about it, the website said it was type 19--I call BS. It seems to be newer than that. Can any of you identify it according to the pictures? The only thing going for me right now is that the backing to the "Stanley" letters is yellow, which indicates it may be from the 70's or 80's. I keep reading how they are supposed to say, "Made in the USA," where mine just says "USA." There are no patent dates and "Stanley" is not printed on the lever. What do you all think? Hopefully the pictures come through...I also added one of all of the other planes a bought.

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[Ben Bowie]

Looks to be a Stanley Handyman that someone traded out the lever cap. The lever cap is from a regular Stanley.

[Scott Adams]

Dang! So the $35 I paid was probably a bit much? I have heard that the handyman was not as good of quality as the others. Wouldn't it say somewhere on the blade if it was a handyman?

[Ben Bowie]

Now that I take another look. I don' think it's a Handyman. The tote looks Handymanish, but now I think it's just a newer Stanley like you said. 70's - 80's. As far as price, if you sharpen and tune it and it works for you then totally worth the $35. Some people collect plane some people use them. I'm more in the camp of using my planes. Most of mine are Type 9-11 that I've restored.. Old but not incredibly collectible or valuable such as a Type 1 or 2.

Now the other planes you have are nice. I see a low angle block plane in there.That wooden body skew plane with the top of the tote broken off looks killer! I would have bought that in a heart beat. The plane right above the no % with the white price tag on the knob. Definitely research that one!

[lowell holmes]

If you buy a rust bucket plane, you can remove the japanning and paint it with automotive black paint.
I have one and it looks as good as one with the japanning. I put Hock iron and breaker in it.
Try it, it works.

[Scott Adams]

My whole message just got deleted...so here it is again. The one you said to research is a Stanley No 122 Liberty Bell Plane. Based on some research I did last night, it is a type 1 or 2 from 1876 to 1891. Paid $25 for it. The Skew plane has "J Coates" stamped on the end. Paid $15. The other half wood planes are Sargent's numbers 3409 & 3415. Paid $15 & $25 for those. The block plane is a Stanley No 220. $15. The molding plane is stamped with "RW MACCUBBIN BALTIMORE." $18 for that one. The wood plane in the back was $15. It is stamped "Ohio Tool Co" and has "21" stamped below that. So overall, what do you think? Good deals?

I just got a notification about another plane I just won on eBay. Didn't even think I had bid on any. I may sell that one depending on what it looks like when it arrives. It is a "VTG WOOD HAND PLANE -DR BARTON & Co Rochester NY convex cut profile." It is like $5 plus $10 shipping.

[Ben Bowie]

Overall sounds like a solid deal to me, but what I think is a good deal might not be a good deal to others. Plane values are really variable based on condition, rarity, whether they have been cleaned/painted, if it has the box. Some guys only buy certain years, only wooden or metal body.. the list goes on and on. The important thing is that you enjoy them and you feel like you got a decent deal. I had the opportunity to buy a Stanley No 113 this past weekend at a swap meet. He tried to tell me he saw one on Ebay that went for almost $200. Guy wanted $75 for it. I bet one did go for $200, and I bet it was a 1877 first run. The one he was selling wasn't. When I came by his table later, the plane was sold. So someone thought $75 was a good price. Best advice I can give is check completed listings on ebay for the exact plane you are about to buy. It will give you a good indication of what the current worth is.

[Scott Adams]

I didn't think it was too bad. I will likely end up using the newer ones and displaying the others. I know a lot has to do with condition. I was surprised by the blades on most of them, they were pretty good for the age, but the wood planes--and the base of the Liberty were pretty rough, but I thought they were cool anyway. The guy had a bunch more, but I was running out of money. I have a $400 air compressor fund that I didn't want to dip into.

The way the guy priced these, is that he would go on eBay and see what they were going for and then price them under that. So I figured it wasn't too bad. While I don't know exactly what I am looking for, I know a little about what NOT to get. I laugh when I see "Super RARE" or "One of a kind" on an ebay site and I know better; I do my homework fairly well. Just folks trying to scam people out of more money.

[lowell holmes]

I you want to make those old planes sing check this link out. I have heir irons and breakers
in my three Bedrock planes.

http://www.hocktools.com/

[Scott Adams]

I you want to make those old planes sing check this link out. I have heir irons and breakers
in my three Bedrock planes.

http://www.hocktools.com/

That is a fantastic site! Just curious, would it be worth it, on some of the older wood planes (that not so highly valued), to run the base over a joiner, to flatten them out and use them? Also curious, when folks back in the day used their planes to the point of no longer flat, how would they re-flatten them? Or would they? I have a book on hand planes I just ordered from Amazon, but haven't had a chance to read it yet.

[Nicholas Lawrence]

“Back in the day” you would flatten the sole of a wooden plane with a jointer (plane). I know some people use long strips of sandpaper now, same as they would do for a metal plane.

I would think a modern powered jointer would be too aggressive for a plane sole, but I don’t own one so maybe it would be okay. You want the sole flat and smooth though, and the power jointed wood I have seen is not as flat as you can get with a hand plane.

If you are just going to display the wooden planes, I would not do anything to the sole. Just clean them up to the point you want, and then display. If you want to use them, I would clean them up, sharpen the iron, and try it before doing anything else.

I have three wooden planes that see regular use. One I had to do a little work to fit the wedge properly. One I had to reglue a loose handle. The third I did have to flatten the sole a little bit, and my advice is to go very slowly and remove as little as you possibly can. You can take it off, but you can’t put it back on.

Remember the sole needs to be not only flat, but also square to the mortise (which is usually, but not always parallel to the sides).

[Scott Adams]

Good to know! Thanks for the advice.

[steven c newman]

Before you go off and those "new" irons...remember, those old wood bodies were made to fit tapered irons. That Liberty Bell will NOT be able to use a Hock or most other new irons...the slot is made for that unique depth adjuster bolt.....and is a lot narrower than most others. Hock iron is a Stanley Type 21? Meh. Use the OEM one first....may surprise you.

[Scott Adams]

That liberty Bell will stay "untouched" and on a shelf. Too cool to mess with. From what I have read, there is nothing on those planes that is even interchangable with some of the other Liberty Bell planes...at least that is how I understood it.

[steven c newman]

Food for thought...
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