Thread: Which plane to choose?

I had a friend ask me the other day if a $40 shoulder plane was worth it. I told him that the decision depended on how he valued his time. He could buy the $40 plane and spend a half day fettling and end up with a good plane. He values his days at $250 after tax, thus his $40 plane actually costs $165 and it could only be sold for $40. $165 is the current price for a small LN shoulder plane, and it could be used and sold for near $165. Thus, in his case, a new LN is a better deal.

A new Stanley is likely to need at least the same amount of tuning as an old Stanley and the market for old Stanley planes is much better. Look around for some good oldies and fix them up.

Originally Posted by rob streeper

I had a friend ask me the other day if a $40 shoulder plane was worth it. I told him that the decision depended on how he valued his time. He could buy the $40 plane and spend a half day fettling and end up with a good plane. He values his days at $250 after tax, thus his $40 plane actually costs $165 and it could only be sold for $40. $165 is the current price for a small LN shoulder plane, and it could be used and sold for near $165. Thus, in his case, a new LN is a better deal.

A new Stanley is likely to need at least the same amount of tuning as an old Stanley and the market for old Stanley planes is much better. Look around for some good oldies and fix them up.

Why I agree in the most part of your post, regarding having to tune a new place vs just tidying up an old plane (which would be quicker) i'm going to have to disagree on the cost for time argument. I believe personally that any time spent outside of normal work hours is either free, or extremely low rate. Only because that's not time that I would be earning money anyway.

If on a Sunday afternoon I put on some nice music, sat down with a nice glass of heartwood and polished and honed a plane for a few hours, I don't see that as anything but me time, and frankly that kind of relaxation appeals to me haha.

Tuning an old plane is very relaxing. If you can sharpen the blade and fettle the plane so it operates as it should you will end up with a smile on your face. An old plane has most likely already been through the hoops so as long as it is in reasonable condition overall and you know how to sharpen the blade and do the fettling, if it were me I would go for the old plane. One cannot beat using a plane that one has rejuvenated and then to see those paper thin shavings coming off with little effort is most satisfying.

Good luck

Router

Originally Posted by bubblegoose

Hi Guys,

If you had the option between a second hand #4 Stanley Bailey (made in england), vs a new #4 Groz for the same money, which would you go for and why?

And same goes for a #7 from both.

Old stanley vs groz? No contest. Old stanley.

It is a no brainer

Originally Posted by bridger

Old stanley vs groz? No contest. Old stanley.

This is what I was thinking. I haven't used a groz, and they look nice and all, but they are very very cheap. And I have heard nothing but bad things about them.

Old stanley would be my pick also. You will likely have to fettle a new Groz to get it going anyhow and as everyone has said the quality just aint there.
New stanley will be no better than a Groz however.
Regards
John

Thanks fro the feedback guys.

So something like the stanley that bunnings sell would be the newer one's to stay away from? But something like this https://virginiatoolworks.files.word...e-19-post1.jpg would be ok?

I really can't imagine any reason to go with the Groz. As everyone else has said: old Stanley. No contest.

Originally Posted by bubblegoose

Hi Guys,

If you had the option between a second hand #4 Stanley Bailey (made in england), vs a new #4 Groz for the same money, which would you go for and why?

And same goes for a #7 from both.

Does the phrase "you cannot polish a t*rd" ring a bell?

Regards from Perth

Derek

An old Stanley yes.
Not a new one from Bunnings.
4 or 4 1/2 are quite common on eBay.
One thing about restoring an old plane is you really get a feel for how they work.
U can strip them right down in under a minute, and see and feel everything.
This really helps you understand the workings a lot better.
Not that there really is much to pull apart tho.
How to get them working properly etc.
I tho, would also be putting in a new blade and cap iron the old Stanley ones, can and do work.
But the new ones from lee valley ect just work so much better.
So that's possibly another bit of cash as well.
Then maybe, some paint to it will cost you more than $40 AU.
But in the long run ,it will be well worth the effort and money

Cheers Matt

As said above, even a new Stanley would be better than Groz, Groz are rubbish

If you are planning a trip to melbourne, HPTAA is having a tool sale on the 24th of July.
You should find some good planes there.
http://htpaa.org.au/events/tool-sales

Originally Posted by justonething

If you are planning a trip to melbourne, HPTAA is having a tool sale on the 24th of July.
You should find some good planes there.
http://htpaa.org.au/events/tool-sales

Ah nice! I might have to check it out.

And thanks everyone for the feedback, you have confirmed what I thought would be the case. I will keep my eyes peeled on ebay as well as taking a look at the htpaa event next weekend.