Thread: "Modern" Stanley No. 4 - Worth Keeping or Not?

I'd keep it, from my knowledge of planes the #5 is for more aggressive removal of wood and the #4 is for finishing/smoothing. The quality definitely did drop off sometime in the 60's or 70's but that's still probably better than most planes made today.

I would keep it. No5 is my go to plane also but I often use the 4. It is very handy to have both ready for use.

Sharpen the blade and try it out.

If it needs only a little tuning, and shows promise, fettle and use it. If it is a dog, does it have sentimental value enough to keep on the shelf, or to put the fettle time in one day to turn into a user?

Regards from Perth

Derek

Definitely keep it, at least until you find one you like better and replace it. The 4 and 5 were meant for different jobs. This one should be kept super sharp and tuned for extremely fine shavings that leave the wood smooth following flattening and straightening with the 5.

It looks like an Australian made version with a real adjuster, not just pressed metal. The worst feature would appear to be the plastic knob and tote. Sharpen the blade and break the sharp edges everywhere else and my guess is it should be a reasonable user. If it works OK you could then go to the trouble of removing the rest of the machining marks, make a replacement knob and tote and you will be well on the way down the addiction slope....

Chris,
I'm going to answer this from a different angle.
Please correct me if I'm wrong tho.
I have over time collected a fair few hand tools, and small machine tools, sanders ,small metal work lathe, drill press ,router table ext. Like most have here I imagine.

But this took a fair while, and a few tools ,have come and gone as I figure out were and what I'm doing with regard wood work.
So I brought some I thought ,I may need(want) or because they were trendy and all shinny.[emoji849] when I started getting seriously addicted to all this stuff.
But if I was able to look back 15/20 years ,a lot of my original tools are gone ,as I reviewed and developed.
And I got rid of the trendy shinny crap.


That with in itself , is evolving as my habits and life style(read money's available) change.
Right now for me ,it's all about tool making
Ironically.
But who knows what I will do next, I certainly don't.
What I'm getting at ,even if space is tight I totally understand the space problem.keep all your fathers tools for now, as you progress along ,you will soon work out what you do and don't need floating around in the shed.But this will take time as your desires and skill improve.
Even if the tools go in a box stuck in the attic
Then as you progress ,you can get them down and re look at the situation.
Will you need a number 4 Stanley in the future ?? Quite possible there a handy plane in my opinion ,but it took me twenty years to work it out.

Cheers Matt.

I have a Stanley No.4 of the same vintage, it was average until I flattened the sole, fitted a Hock blade and reduced the blade gap, now it is a gem. I am constantly taking super thin shavings and see no need to replace it.

Regards Keith

As the others have said, you 'need' a few planes in your arsenal. For me, a 'minimalist' plane kit would be a jack such as your #5, and a smoother. One set up for the grunt work, the other set up for the finer finishing work. I think a #4 is an extremely good size for a smoother, but preferences vary. Some like its longer, wider & heavier sibling, the 4 1/2, better. As Derek says, sharpen it up, set the cap-iron at a 'general purpose' .8mm or so back from the cutting edge & take it for a test drive. If, with a little lateral & depth adjustment, you can get it to make clean, full-width shavings that are reasonably fine, you're well on your way. If you can't get it to perform, it may be due to a number of causes but as you are new to the science, suspect yourself first! Chances are you haven't got it sharp or set properly but maybe it's because it's a bit of a dog that will need some/lots of work. Attempting to fettle even a not-so-good plane is a great way to learn what makes these things tick, so the time spent mucking about is often amply repaid.

The Australian-made Stanleys aren't often spoken of in glowing terms, but the construction was basically sound, and theoretically at least, you could have the basis for a very decent workaday tool. I had an Australian-made #5 (minted around the mid 1960s) that was an excellent user from new. It improved further with a bit of fettling and an after-market LV blade, and I reckon it was as good as any other #5 regardless of when or where it was made..

MY biggest objection is the plastic knob & tote - yuk! If you keep it, a fun exercises down the track would be to replace them with some nice, tactile wooden ones....

Cheers,

This is probably a relevant time to drop the phrase "Sharp trumps all". That is to say that getting the blade razor sharp will get you 80 - 90% of the way there.

....and a flat (enough) bottom.

Originally Posted by Luke Maddux

This is probably a relevant time to drop the phrase "Sharp trumps all"...

Americans eh - just gotta sneak their new president into the conversation .

Cheers, Vann.