Thread: Hand planes - why so dear ?

I have just finished (within the last hour) cleaning and sharpening and adjusting a very old Stanley no 7 jointer plane. There was a bit of rust, a lot of grease and grime, the blade was nicked and blunt and the chip breaker was pitted. Just about every moving part was tight or stiff with muck. But with a bit of effort and a lot of fun I now have a wonderful plane. It glides across the timber and takes full width paper thin shavings. I have never used a Veritas plane but if it was any better than my "new jointer" then I would be very surprised. "How much did I pay for it", you ask? Nothing! It was given to me!

Thats the way, Chook! My no.7 is almost finished being restored (I'd say fettled but I'm not that good yet), so I'm feeling inspired now. Restoring/sharpening/polishing my vintage finds is a great way to unwind, very rewarding. I digress.
As has been pointed out, the initial cost is small considered how long the plane will last: my no.5 was my great grandfathers! It's close to needing a new blade (I'll try and find a period correct blade when it comes to it), but it's in otherswise great nick and the first plane I learnt to use as an apprentice.
Old Stanleys are the go, I've got a cupboard full of them now (they breed, I swear!), so long as you check them over before you buy. Lots of antique stores have them laying around if you ask and generally don't want much for them. On the other hand I love my new Stanely 60 1/2 that I picked up from Bunnies, a bit rough to start with but 1/2hr of tuning soon fixed that and it hasn't missed a beat since.

As is always the case in life, you get what you pay for.

Since starting this thread, my father-in-law has given me a plane that he no longer uses. It hasn't been used in 10+ years & as such is somewhat rusted, dirty & generally in desperate need of some serious tlc.

I'll have a crack at cleaning it up & sharpening the blade. Will try & post a before and after photo.

Originally Posted by Ozziespur

Since starting this thread, my father-in-law has given me a plane that he no longer uses. It hasn't been used in 10+ years & as such is somewhat rusted, dirty & generally in desperate need of some serious tlc.

I'll have a crack at cleaning it up & sharpening the blade. Will try & post a before and after photo.

That's excellent. One of the best ways of learning about something is to try and fix something.

Ozziespur, there are a couple of excellent threads on this site about fettling and restoring old planes - worth looking them up if you want to tune your 'new' plane to get the best results.

The other thing to think of is that a plane will last 100's of years if treated well. I have one that belonged to my great-grandfather and another that belonged to my grandfather (both of them passed on to me by my father, and I'm exceedingly grateful to him for them). They will be passed on to my children and hopefully to theirs and theirs and theirs... So the oldest of my planes is probably 80 years old and still going very well indeed. That's a cheap tool...

The only plane I've ever bought new is a Veritas miniature shoulder plane from Lee Valley, which was a bit of a joke (but I'm happy I've got it!). The rest are old clunkers that turn into beauties with a bit of work...

Originally Posted by Poppa

Ozziespur, there are a couple of excellent threads on this site about fettling and restoring old planes - worth looking them up if you want to tune your 'new' plane to get the best results.

The other thing to think of is that a plane will last 100's of years if treated well. I have one that belonged to my great-grandfather and another that belonged to my grandfather (both of them passed on to me by my father, and I'm exceedingly grateful to him for them). They will be passed on to my children and hopefully to theirs and theirs and theirs... So the oldest of my planes is probably 80 years old and still going very well indeed. That's a cheap tool...

The only plane I've ever bought new is a Veritas miniature shoulder plane from Lee Valley, which was a bit of a joke (but I'm happy I've got it!). The rest are old clunkers that turn into beauties with a bit of work...

Thanks Poppa I'll have a search & see what I can learn.

Wow - an 80 year old plane is incredible.

Originally Posted by Ozziespur

Thanks Poppa I'll have a search & see what I can learn.

Wow - an 80 year old plane is incredible.

All the Stanley bench planes in this cabinet celebrated their centenary birthday last year & will still be in fine shape in another 100 years.... provided they are looked after by their next owner after me.

They are Stanley Type 11 manufactured in 1910

click for bigger image


The rusty blades have all been replaced since I took this photo

This has probably all been covered but if I was buying a new plane I would either get something like a Lie Nielsen which would be useable out of the box ($600.00 or so)? or buy an old Stanley/Record and do a LOT of work fettling it before I could use it.

I wouldn't touch a new Stanley - an old one is much cheaper and they would both take the same amount of work before becoming usable. And as someone else mentioned the new one is greener metal and would need to be flattened more often before it settles down.
If you put a price on the time you spend fettling a plane then the Lie Nielsen starts to look like the more sensible option.

To the original poster - if you are getting into fine woodworking then I strongly recommend doing a course on hand plane fettling and tuning.
Doing this took my own woodworking from grunting, axe-swinging level to effortless precision work (well, sort of) in a very short space of time.

Regards

Gerard