I bought a book by Paul Sellers called Working with Wood, and for the tool list I need to get a hand plane. He recommends a simple stanley plane. Would this plane be worth my time restoring? I have the time and knowledge to restore it, but I do not know jack about planes.
Add on question: What are your opinions on cheap fairly decent quality spokeshave? Thank you all for reading.
Posted Sep 23, 2015, 10:08 PM UTC
Before buying any plane you should have a good picture of the bottom, as pitting, warp or cracking there are the three main nails in the coffin of any plane.
If you're just starting out then I'd definitely do what you're doing (which I did) and restore a No. 4, but you can do much better for that money.
It also depends on what type of work you're doing. Consider buying a block plane first if you're doing smaller scale projects. If you're building a workbench then a No. 4 or 5 or even 5 1/2 is the way to go.
you should have a good picture of the bottom
Yeah, you can't judge a plane without a look at the bottom, esp. a good look at the mouth. Seller either doesn't know this, or hopes that you don't.
Before jumping in to the ebay market, check out a local flea market and your craigslist listings. The ebay world is in a seller's market right now, so prices are high.
If you go to a flea market, I will 100% bet you that you will find at least one number 5-sized plane, 80% bet you that you'll find several and a few number fours. That second bet rises if you are in an older area (Midwest, New England).
Paul likes his number fours, but if you find a good number 5 lying around, then get it. If your board is reasonably flat, it will smooth as well as a number 4, and give you more flexibility when working with longer boards.
The nice thing about going to a flea market is that you get to inspect the plane. Avoid planes with frog #1, but frog #1 will work fine. Look for planes that don't have huge clumps of rust, parts missing, or cracks in the casting.
If you pay more than $15-20 for a rusty #4 or #5 plane at a flea market, you are getting robbed - even here in power tool-centric California, rusty stanleys go for as low as $5-10 at flea markets.
Thanks for all the info. I have been to a few flea markets in my area, and I seriously went through every vendor and rusty buckets of tools and not found one stanley or equivalent plane! The only plane I have found in probably 6 hours spent at flea markets was a wooden one that had many cracks. I have checked craigslist and all stanley planes are $45-50. I am in the North Midwest. I cant figure it out.
Wow thats pretty bizarre. Look up the midwest tool collector association, they might have a swap meet soon.
Awesome, looks like there is a meet coming up, I will definitely check it out.
I'd say it was a goody but a little pricey.
Yes. But it isn't a $50 plane.
My favorite shave is the Stanley 53. If you are patient you can find one for less than $20. Like others have mentioned, if you only have one plane it should be a 5 and not a 4. I wish I could give you an easy answer, buy it I'm not sure if that 4 is good deal or not. For $60 shipped you can afford the best restore candidates. A shot in the dark is worth $20 or so. The devil is in the details. Before you spend $60 you should get over to Blood and Gore and read the section on Bailey bench planes. Then check out a type study and research the reasons between why buyer prefer type 13 over type 19 for example. It will go a long way toward explaining why some Baileys get ignored on EBay when seemingly identical planes are bid uo to ridiculous amounts.
Ok, I am not familiar with blood and gore. I am down to learn though. Is there a link somewhere?
I've restored a few planes and often the worse they look, the worse they are. So it's better to spend a couple extra bucks and buy one that looks cared for.
Yes, but not that particular one. You can get a no 4 for under $20 in the same condition.
That particular plane is a no 4 -- considered a smoother. Jack planes will generally be a no 5 or 5 1/2.
As far as spokeshaves, they're kind of a dime a dozen because there's nothing to them. Pretty much any of them will work, so just pick up a reasonably priced one at the size and bottom shape you need. You can pick up a brand new one for about $18, sharpen the blade, and be ready to go.
Hmm, ok thank you. I have checked craigslist and they are the same price as ebay. I have been to a few flea markets and no dice! Maybe I am going to the wrong flea markets as silly as that sounds? Thanks, that is reassuring about the spokeshave!