Thread: Stanley or Record No. 5 used, which one?

IMO that is a late Stanley and not worth $65. I would go the Record. Not saying it is any good (I know very little about Record planes) but probably better than the Stanley.

Personally I think they're both pretty overpriced considering the condition. I've bought much nicer for far less.

The newer Records were a better proposition than the Stanley's. The Sturt School were using Records in their workshops a few years a go for this reason. I also have a record 6 and like it.

TT

I'll add a vote for the Record. They seem to have kept the machining of the frog & bed up to scratch better than the later English Stanleys, on the 1/2 dozen examples I've been able to compare. But do check the soles and make sure there are no cracks in the side walls. I had a nasty shock with a Record #5 I picked up a while ago that had a crack across one of the side arches.

I think $65 is reasonable for a decent user in good condition. You can pay twice that from many dealers!

Cheers,

Thanks for the input on this, I was thinking the Record it has a thicker sole than the Stanley. As for the price, I spotted something else in there and will walk in with cash and bundle and haggle. We are in a town where half the shops have "Antique" on the door so prices are high but they all want to do a deal to keep the dollars flowing. Will see what happens. Cheers


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I agree on going for the Record, it is a nice plane.
I bought a Record No.5 new around 1975 and would not part with it, although these days I mainly use a Veritas Low Angle Jack

Regards
Keith

As a person who likes Record planes (and has far too many lurking in drawers and boxes) I would usually plumb for a Record over a Stanley, BUT...

They're both too new for my liking, but if I had to chose one from that photograph, I'd choose the Stanley - because the Record has a cheap, bent metal, one piece lateral adjuster. This indicates that it's definitely from the era of poor quality control, whereas the Stanley just might not be.

I'd suggest you take a piece of timber and try to take a shaving, on the counter in the shop. Try both planes. Then swap the irons between planes and try again. If one cuts a little better than the other, pick that one (if they haven't thrown you out on the street by then ). Ignore the sharpness of the cutting iron, which one feels the best in your hands - you can sharpen a blunt iron later.

My tuppence worth.

Cheers, Vann.

They are both as good (or as bad) as each other. The Stanley is a 1970's (possibly early '80s) build; the Record is post 1988.

Neither era produced "good" planes; however you can make them both perform as good as any;it just requires a lot of fettling and setting up. Adjustments such as moving the frog must be taken with care as it will twist out of square too easily. A "good" plane has a flat sole, a flat frog which sits square on the sole and can't wander from side to side, a square mouth and a flat frog surface for the blade to register on eliminating chatter. Sloppy depth and lateral adjustments are par for the course regardless of how good or bad a plane is and can be safely ignored.

Pre-WW2 Stanleys and pre-1956 Records are the ones to look out for; you can date both brands through these sites; Rex Mill plane type study and David Lynch dating Record planes

I agree with the other statements regarding them being overpriced; despite my normal preference for Records in this instance I would probably go the Stanley as it has been used much less but wouldn't go above $45 for it. The Record? Probably $30-35 and I'd turn it into a scrub plane/nail finder.

Ok, so due to all the knowledge and information that you all have shared with me on both of these planes I have decided to give them a miss. I'm in no hurry to buy so will look out at the markets and garage sale.

Thank you all for the amazing knowledge and for sharing it with the rest of us, I really appreciate your help [emoji106]Cheers Cal


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Another recommendation would be to pop up a wanted ad on Gumtree. It tends to come in waves but if you're patient you can get some great stuff without having to fight the masses. I've pretty much stopped going to garage sales and swapmeets these days, I get much better stuff just waiting for people to call me. Just yesterday I picked up a Stanley 4 in box with very little wear and a Stanley 130 double ended block plane for $20 each.

Originally Posted by Cal

......I have decided to give them a miss. I'm in no hurry to buy so will look out at the markets and garage sale.....

I think it's wise to take your time, Cal. Which planes you need, as opposed to want, is such an individual matter and something that only experience will tell you. That said, a #5 is a size that almost everyone finds useful at some point in their career.

Most of us acquire all sorts of tools when we start out, especially planes, that turn out to be not all that useful to us. There is this voice at the back of our heads telling us that all those models & types were made for a purpose, so we must need them. So we grab whatever pops up & spend lots of time fettling & polishing the things, but in the end, discover they are not really useful to us. As time goes by, you'll find yourself reaching for 2 or 3 of your planes on almost every job, and they are the ones you really need - send the rest off to good homes where they will get used. Which numbers are best for you is something you won't know yourself, for quite a while yet.....

Cheers,

Originally Posted by IanW

I think it's wise to take your time, Cal. Which planes you need, as opposed to want, is such an individual matter and something that only experience will tell you. That said, a #5 is a size that almost everyone finds useful at some point in their career.

Most of us acquire all sorts of tools when we start out, especially planes, that turn out to be not all that useful to us. There is this voice at the back of our heads telling us that all those models & types were made for a purpose, so we must need them. So we grab whatever pops up & spend lots of time fettling & polishing the things, but in the end, discover they are not really useful to us. As time goes by, you'll find yourself reaching for 2 or 3 of your planes on almost every job, and they are the ones you really need - send the rest off to good homes where they will get used. Which numbers are best for you is something you won't know yourself, for quite a while yet.....

Cheers,

I agree totally with taking your time. I've bought tools where I've compromised on the condition (or age), and usually ended up finding the one that I really wanted later. As bueller said, things come in waves, you can wait months for a decent #5 and suddenly there'll be three to choose between.

I have 2 No. 4's and they are great, my father has my grandfather's No. 5 and I used it a lot in the past. I moved interstate a few years ago and don't have the ability to borrow the 5 now, hence looking for one. It isn't that I am just starting out in woodwork, I have been playing with wood since I was a kid (grandfather was a furniture restorer/French polisher- he has been gone for years) I have some timber I milled earlier in the year and set aside to dry (it's going to be a while) will be making a dining table eventually from it. The 5 is just part of the plan. The 5 would be used regularly besides this. I don't think I have a tool in the shed that doesn't get used on a regular basis, I don't buy things just for the sake of it (can't afford to) there is always more than one way to skin a cat [emoji848]
Cheers Cal


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Originally Posted by Cal

.... The 5 is just part of the plan. The 5 would be used regularly besides this. I don't think I have a tool in the shed that doesn't get used on a regular basis, I don't buy things just for the sake of it (can't afford to) there is always more than one way to skin a cat......

Fair enough, I didn't mean to sound as pompous as my post reads..

I was thinking more about my own tool-acquiring journey when I wrote it. What I was trying to communicate was that I think it's difficult to impossible to know what's best for someone else, and that we all need to go through a bit of testing of different tools 'til we decide what suits us best. If you've already had extensive experience of a #5, then you know that's a size that you like to use and will keep, so I reckon it's definitely worth waiting and watching for a really good one to come along.

As I said, I think a #5 or equivalent is one of the most useful sizes in the pantheon of planes, so I can understand you miss the old one. For many a year, I got by with just a 5 and a block plane (though I would hate to have to go back to that stage now, of course!) so I well know there are multiple ways to get the hide off the moggy. Actually, the 5 I had was really my brother's, and I gave it back to him a couple of years ago. In the meantime, I had inherited my dad's old 5 1/2, which isn't in quite as good condition, but I've come to like it slightly more than the 5, somewhat to my surprise, as I thought I was rusted on to the 5...

Cheers,