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Thread: #7 going rates

  1. #1
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    #7 going rates

    I have been looking for a Stanley no7, or no8, for a long time now and it has been hard to find a decent one at a fair price. I have been scouring eBay, craigslist, and marketplace but everything I come across is either expensive or has a major flaw. I noticed most no7's are currently priced at about $125 plus another $25-$30 for shipping. Is this the going rate and do I have to bite the bullet and pick one and be done or should I keep holding out? I'm not saying I am a cheapskate, but I know they can be had for $100 or even less. I have been patient, but it's been a long hunt. Thanks for everyone's opinion.

  2. #2
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    Sent you a PM Jason.

  3. #3
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    Jason,

    I believe the the Bay auction site is often pretty expensive, although I have bought a lot of woodworking stuff there, because you almost never see hand tool woodworking stuff show up in my area, and when you do, it is seldom of the vintage when good tools were made.

    Garage sales, estate sales, and flea markets, on those few occasions when I have found desirable tools, have been much much less than on that auction site.

    Stew
    Last edited by Stew Denton; 03-23-2020 at 3:01 PM.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stew Denton View Post
    Jason,

    I believe the the Bay auction site is often pretty expensive, although I have bought a lot of woodworking stuff there, because you almost never see hand tool woodworking stuff show up in my area, and when you do, it is seldom of the vintage when good tools were made.

    Garage sales, estate sales, and flea markets, on those few occasions when I have found desirable tools, have been much much less than on that auction site.
    Stew,

    I hear ya! It's very slim pickings in my area sometimes. I have found some great deals on the more common sizes of planes but anything no 6 and above and no 3 and below is very far and few between

  5. #5
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    My first #8, which was fantastic, was easily under $100. I gave it to a friend figured I would just get another. The next one was over $100 and not nearly as usable. If it were easy to get one for under $100 I would have just replaced the one I have. as it stands, I intend to try to fix the one I have, but I do have a nice #6 so I just use that as my large plane.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jason Buresh View Post
    Stew,

    I hear ya! It's very slim pickings in my area sometimes. I have found some great deals on the more common sizes of planes but anything no 6 and above and no 3 and below is very far and few between
    Planes other than a #4 or #5 do not show up as often because they were only purchased by woodworkers. Many homeowners had one or two planes for maintenance around the house.

    To get 'the good stuff' one has to be early to the yard and estate sales. This is what the folks who sell on ebay do. My first #7 was purchased on ebay from someone local to me for ~$40. My second was found in an antique shop with spaces for different vendors. It cost $21.25 with tax. It had been on the shelf for a while and had been passed up on many visits before. It was purchased with the intent of turning it over to another SMC member who expressed interest in rehabbing a #7. They decided they were not interested in such a daunting adventure. It is now my only #7, the other one was sold in the SMC Classifieds.

    Here is the story of the rehab > https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?114373

    It takes a lot of effort to find an old plane. Remember that stores like Habitat for Humanity, Goodwill and many others have constantly changing inventory. This means stopping in every chance you get. That may be hard during our current situation.

    Sometimes a "Want To Buy" advertisement in one of the local free shopping papers will get more results than you can handle. One of the members here does that (or at least used to) and runs a business from it.

    jtk
    Last edited by Jim Koepke; 03-23-2020 at 3:06 PM.
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  7. #7
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    Jason,

    I did look on the "sold" on the auction site, and there were a few #7 Stanley Bailey planes that sold for around $100, which included shipping, but not a lot. A small number sold for $90 or so and even a bit less, but not many.

    Several of those had "issues" such as: 1. needing a lot of restoring, 2. being older than type 10s, which don't have a machine bolt frog adjustment machine screw (this is not an issue with some folks like Jim, who do just fine with those), cracks, significant chips missing, a missing part, pretty rusty, broken totes, etc. However, there were a few that were just fine. (I consider a tote that is broken but still 100% of the tote still there to be a very fixable situation.)

    I think that you will have to pay around $100 (this includes the shipping) on the auction site to get a good plane that is all there, having no cracks in the metal or chips out of the lever cap, or other significant issues, but will need significant time and elbow grease to put in "really nice...ie: looks nice" condition. Less time to get it into "good user" but "not pretty" condition. You may have to wait a while, but based on the "sold" listings I think you should have one for that amount within 2 or 3 months if you are willing to go the $100.

    To add to what Jim wrote above, the carpenters also bought a #4 or #5 plane, BTDT, if he was going to buy only one plane it would almost always be a #5, if he had two, mostly they would be a #4 in addition to the #5. The same is true with building maintenance men, etc. As Jim mentioned, normally only woodworkers such as cabinet makers, etc. (or perhaps fairly well to do Gentlemen Woodworkers) bought the other sizes.

    Stew
    Last edited by Stew Denton; 03-23-2020 at 3:26 PM.

  8. #8
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    I did look on the "sold" on the auction site, and there were a few #7 Stanley Bailey planes that sold for around $100, which included shipping, but not a lot. A small number sold for $90 or so and even a bit less, but not many.
    Also consider these are planes that were bought by people who likely list a lot of things on ebay. They get up early every day to make the rounds or show up at yard and estate sales.

    A few of my planes came from purchase of what was thought to be a junker for parts. Some of them turned out to be better planes than the ones needing the parts and are still being used on my projects.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  9. #9
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    Jim,

    Good point. I have bought "parts" planes too. I have also gotten in a hurry to bid on a "real bargain" before time ran out that I regretted and had to buy parts for. Any time I have had to buy a part, the "bargain" cost me more than it would have just to buy a good plane in the first place. I have learned the hard way (fortunately not too expensive a lesson or two) to be darned certain of what I am bidding on. If I can't see every side and bit of the tool in the photos, I DO NOT BID, no matter what the price, unless only bidding on it for parts.

    Stew

  10. #10
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    Good point. I have bought "parts" planes too. I have also gotten in a hurry to bid on a "real bargain" before time ran out that I regretted and had to buy parts for. Any time I have had to buy a part, the "bargain" cost me more than it would have just to buy a good plane in the first place.
    My last #8 was laughingly labeled "my most expensive $5 plane." It was purchased at a Habitat for Humanity ReStore with a broken frog. It could have been used as is without a lateral adjuster. A replacement frog cost me ~$35. There was a little profit in selling it.

    Often finding parts will cost more than the plane. Though my days of keeping an eye on the market are mostly in the past. It seems everyone on ebay thinks something a century old is worth at least a dollar per year of age.

    If the current situation calms down by the end of summer, there might be some good bargains to be had from all the people staying home and cleaning out their homes from sheer boredom. Keep your cash ready.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  11. #11
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    Wow. This post is making me wonder what century I live in. $100 for a No. 7? Not what I’ve seen on eBay over the past year, unless you want a total rehab project. Other posters are correct: these are rare in the first place. They come up about 1 or 2 a month at most. When you can find one they cost between $200 and $300 (I don’t bid).

    I am perfectly happy with the Bed Rock 607, which I got “Fast and Free” for $275. It still needed some work, but now it works as well as or better than my Lie-Nielsen number 4 1/2. So I figure a valid price comparison is a Lie-Nielsen No. 7, which would’ve been over $200 more after shipping.

    To the OP I would recommend tooltique in England. Right now there is a number seven in the price range I described (£225, which I guess is closer to $300). But that guy sells planes in pristine condition.

    Depends, I guess, on whether you want a vintage tool you can get into shape relatively easily, one that works great out of the box with a little honing, or a major refurbishing project. I went with option 1.

    But it did not cost $100.

  12. #12
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    There are two other ways to get a No. 7......Find the Millers Falls No. 22....or...the Ohio Tool Co. No. 0-7......

    I'm still looking for the 22....but...I do have the Ohio no. 0-7. plus a Stanley No. 7c.....I really can't tell much of a difference between the 7c and the 0-7....
    (No, I ain't saying where, or how much I paid for my 2...)
    Tool Cabinet build, jointer 7c.JPG
    Stanley No. 7, type 9...got used just this past week...

  13. #13
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    I recently purchased a #7 from a fellow Creeker for $125 including shipping. Nice working plane with a Hock iron. I think it’s a fair price, and frankly, I wasn’t interested in spending months looking to save $20 or $30.

  14. #14
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    Yesterday, I saw a #8 go for $50 + shipping in good shape. It was dated 1875 (ish) with a wood body and metal upper. Steve is the king of finding these things for a good price and fixing them up it seems.

  15. #15
    One other option is to make a long Krenov style wood body plane. That's what I did. It's not as convenient as a Stanley because of the method of adjusting the iron but if you only use it occasionally it's fine.

    This one is 20 inches long and uses an iron and chip breaker from an 1800's antique plane. The iron and chip breaker was purchased on eBay long ago.

    Mike

    Long-plane-01.jpg
    Last edited by Mike Henderson; 03-24-2020 at 1:07 PM.
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

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