No5 plane

[Zed]

I recently went to Sydney's Flemington flea markets for a gander looking for hopefully a second hand No5 plane in reasonable conditionthat I could recondition. In my ignorance I wished I would find a decent or half decent clinton (or dream, dream a Lie Neilsen...!!!).

Anyway the only things there were :

1) a couple of really old rusty stanleys and records in very bad condition, mismatched frogs and blades etc... and really not worth worrying about (you know the sort - real boat anchors...)

and

2) new stanley's (4.5 & 5's) in the box from the tool merchants...

Now my question is : Are these modern stanleys (No5 approx $110) worth it ? They look really cheap and nasty with plastic handles and crappy finish which I dont like at all.

Aside : ....
My wife (God bless her) came along and we seperated to look around (as you do) and I went hunting, I saw a nice little stanley block plane with a ticket of $55 and talked the guy down to $45 but he didnt budge any further. So when I met the missus (God bless her) we went to another merchant with the same plane (for more $$$) to show her what I wanted whereapon she went to the original guy and talked him down to $40!!!! She did the same thing a while ago with a Makita 9.5 Circ. Saw!!!

By the way Bunnies had the same block plane for $85!!!

When I eventually get my combo machine I think I'll let her do the talking - I can see it now "I want a present for my husband he wants a Hammer Combo C3-31 and I'm not paying any more than $5000, give it to me.... now"

[derekcohen]

Zed

DON'T buy a new Stanley or Record plane. You can make them work well, but the hours that you need to put in to tune them up requires the patience and dedication of a saint (not to mention the amount and cost of whisky that must be consumed as medication). Even planes from around 1950 and (preferably) earlier will require a good bit of tuning. However, the cast iron in the older planes is more stable and the finish is far superior. It is not unusual to find a new plane with a warped sole. That would bring endless frustration as it simply will not cut well.

Here are tuning tips for handplanes:

http://www.woodcentral.com/bparticles/plane_tune.shtml

This will give you a better idea of the areas that must be sorted out.

Also, the blades can be upgraded, and this will produce a significant improvement in the way a plane will work. See my review of the LN blade/chipbreaker combination (elsewhere). Clifton also have a similar offering.

Persevere in finding an older plane. Look on ebay:

http://search.ebay.com.au/search/search.dll?GetResult&SortProperty=MetaNewSort&query=plane&shortcut=2&ebaytag1code=15&ht=1&combine=y&st=2

Regards from Perth

Derek

[3Landerblue]

Speaking of Planes,
I used to have a Stanley number 4 but lost it in moving, had it since I was 14.
Last year I went to Bunnings to buy a new one, the salesman said buy that Chinese copy for $20 and a Stanley blade it will do the same job, I did and the performance is useless, I get about 3 runs at a piece of timber and it clogs up.

I think I need to buy a proper Stanley number 4?

[journeyman Mick]

It goes to show that while a salesperson's advice can be useful when it comes to buying product (paint, render etc) it must be taken with a grain of salt when it comes to tools and techniques. Even if, as they claim they employ a lot of tradesmen(and women) for their specialist knowledge you've got to ask yourself what sort of tradesman is going to work in a M10 or Bunnies. The answer in most cases I suspect is, the sort of tradesman who can't make enough out of his trade to make at least a shop assistant's wage.
Case in point: I was in a Bunnies a few years ago, a customer wanted something to cut some pieces of timber off flush to a wall, but didn't want to spend too much, so no recipro saw. The salesman, a "qualified" carpenter suggested a multi-cutter blade in an angle grinder (customer had a grinder) To those unfamiliar with multi cutters, they are a 4" TCT saw blade with a very thin kerf. They are banned from use on building sites as they are so dangerous. They are extensively used in aluminium boat building and I have witnessed some horrific accidents involving them. Hands hanging by a few scraps of skin, a welding helmet cut in half with a jaw cut almost right through and a spray of teeth and lips 10 M away, that sort of thing. When the salesman left the customer to decide on his purchase I told the customer of the dangers involved and suggested a nice sharp handaw would probably do the trick. Salesman came back, annoyed wanted to know what my problem was. I told him that the company might want to rethink selling this blade to Joe public, my supplier would only sell to trade on a written purchase order. Company might get sued if Joe publicl ost any appendages whilst using blade banned on building sites. I was told that it was no more dangerous than a grinding disc! So much for specialist advice!

Mick

[derekcohen]

"I get about 3 runs at a piece of timber and it clogs up".

3Landerblue, if you have a hand plane with these symptoms (yes I know you have likely tossed the Chinese one in question), the likely cause is (1) the chipbreaker is not sitting flush on the blade, so wood shaving get underneath and build up. You need to file the chipbreaker until perfectly flat, or (2) the blade is too far forward causing a too small a "mouth", which also clogs up. Here you need to pull the blade back slightly.

Regards from Perth

Derek