Thread: Stanley #7

Hi Lappa,

Corrugated soles were introduced to reduce friction resulting from sole to wood contact. Not too sure how effective they are in this respect. I have a flat soled #7 and never notice friction to be a problem, but I keep them oiled during use with the rag in a can. I don't think there's anything wrong with the corrugated ones either, I own a flat soled one cause that's what was available.

Regards,
Zac

I have a pair of 7's, a 1920's Stanley and a modern Anant (Indian!). Both cut equally well but the Indian model is much more of a PITA to set up.

The only corrugated soled plane I have is an Australian Stanley 4; on both hard and softwoods I feel no real difference between it and a flat soled 4. Unless you are edge jointing very short veneers the corrugations will have no problems on thin stock; the toe; heel and mouth areas are full width of the base. Probably for me the only advantage was that a corrugated sole flattened quicker when fettling. I have not seen them cheaper than flat soled planes; if anything it has been the opposite.

You can pick up a pre-WW2 Stanley 7 for around $100 on Ebay.

Thanks Chief. I haven't seen a reasonable one under $160 and most are over $200 on flea bay and private sales. There are not a lot around at the moment. Tool exchange have a flat sole 7 for $275 and a corrugated for $195. A lot of the cheapie have cracks at the mouth or mix and match bits and pieces.

I agree. Most sellers list north of $150, some upwards of $250.

What sellers are asking for, and what they actually get are two different things! I have a couple of search queries that I check every day, I picked up mygood '20s number 7 for $77 last year. You just need to be patient! Currently there are 4 7's on Aus flea-bay; the only fair-ish priced Buy-It-Now is the antique type 2 for $476. The "Stunning Vintage" 1990's offering is the only one of the four that WILL sell; and will probably go for under $100. The other two English will be relisted in a weeks time. Any English 7 priced at greater than $100 is unlikely to move.

Lappa, the debate of corrugated vs smooth soles has come up from time to time over he years. So far, I haven't seen anything to convince me they are sufficiently superior to spend more money for one! As Fergiz says, a bit of lubrication makes a world of difference, and I would add that a sharp blade makes even more, when it comes to push resistance.

I've never seen any figures for the supposed reduction in friction that grooving makes, and I suspect that any difference would pale into insignificance compared with the reduction a few swipes of paraffin or oil gives you. My choice is a block of paraffin rather than the traditional oil pad, but either do the job (avoid bees' wax as it tends to be sticky rather than slippery). Lubricating the sole makes a huge difference when you have a fair bit of planing to do.

Way back I was nervous that waxy residue might affect glue joints, but I've been waxing plane soles for 40 years or more now, & have not struck any problems from that direction....

Cheers,

I have a corrugated sole. Not for any other reason than the rustbucket of a plane had one attached to it. I found a complete No. 7 in a garage on Gumtree for $30. It required more work than any other plan I've picked up, but for the price I had to get it.

I've also used a 7 with a flat sole pretty extensively and I can't tell a difference. Once they're waxed, they both slide smooth as silk. I'm with Ian in that I always wax the sole of my 7. I may forget to do it with other planes, but the jointer needs it.

If I were you I wouldn't let it effect my decision too much. If it's cheaper, great, but if not, grab the flat one. I'd be looking for a better deal on one though. North of $150 is more than I like to pay for a plane.

Good luck,
Luke

Thanks for the replies. I've been using commercial candles which apparently are petroleum wax? It's not an urgent purchase so I have time to wait. I can't fit a jointer in my shed and I had to straighten some timber for joining. I used a Stanley 5 and had reasonable success, but can see the benefits of a longer bed plane.

Aaahhh the No7 ... great looking piece to adorn the workshop wall .... but really folks how many of them out there actually get used in real production.

My Pope Falcon (circa 1950) is just too heavy and difficult to get a good run up with .... prefer the Stanley SH No 6 any day.

Hope No 7 enthusiasts are not offended ... that's just my preference.

Regards

Rob

I've only ever used beeswax on plane soles, but the blend of wax I use is much harder than the stuff you find in craft shops and the like. It is intended for lubricating the thin whipping lines used to prevent fraying of rope ends and used to be fairly easily obtainable from chandlers. It lasts a LOOOOONG time.

Originally Posted by Tahlee

Aaahhh the No7 ... great looking piece to adorn the workshop wall .... but really folks how many of them out there actually get used in real production.

My Pope Falcon (circa 1950) is just too heavy and difficult to get a good run up with .... prefer the Stanley SH No 6 any day.

Hope No 7 enthusiasts are not offended ... that's just my preference.

Regards

Rob

I'm open to being persuaded if a #6 with do what I'm trying to do, which obviously is to flatten planks for jointing.

Originally Posted by Chief Tiff

What sellers are asking for, and what they actually get are two different things! I have a couple of search queries that I check every day, I picked up mygood '20s number 7 for $77 last year. You just need to be patient! Currently there are 4 7's on Aus flea-bay; the only fair-ish priced Buy-It-Now is the antique type 2 for $476. The "Stunning Vintage" 1990's offering is the only one of the four that WILL sell; and will probably go for under $100. The other two English will be relisted in a weeks time. Any English 7 priced at greater than $100 is unlikely to move.

No. Ebay AU Recent sales are listed here.

https://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_...c&LH_PrefLoc=1


Six planes $159.50 and over. Then One at $146 that looks Ok at first glance but has substantial pitting on the bare metal surfaces and I am 99% sure has not been stripped and cleaned and is going to have all sorts of parts seized up. Including the brass adjusting wheel which looks like it hasn't moved in about 20 years. 20 years spent under water.

Next one down down is in the 120s for a plane with prohibitively serious issues, including a cracked mouth.

I'm not saying it's impossible to make a good score, but it is not normal or common, and it does not represent market value.

Corrugated soles cannot make any difference to the friction coefficient.

If you think about that for a moment, friction is the effect of weight over drag. Given that the weight difference between a corrugated sole and a flat sole is negligible, effectively the same weight is being dragged across a smaller surface contact area.

The net difference would be unmeasurable.

On the other hand, corrugated soles would be easier to flatten; If you're the guy that has to have a jointer sole flat to within a 1/10000" across the sole.

As a user plane; my advice? Buy a good condition plane that is flat enough and don't worry about the rest.

Originally Posted by Tahlee

Aaahhh the No7 ... great looking piece to adorn the workshop wall .... but really folks how many of them out there actually get used in real production.

I'm by no means offended, but I can certainly offer an opinion on the contrary. Mine gets used for any build involving boards more than a couple of inches longer than my No. 5. I don't really consider a board straight unless I've gotten a nice shaving from the No. 7 off of it. I would call it one my my most important tools.
Cheers,
Luke