Thread: Stanley no 8 (which is more a 7 1/2) - searching for blade and chipbreaker

I’d be tempted to carve off the “8” and mould a “7-1/2” from bog or similar before repainting! Talking of which, black engine enamel gives a not-too-shiny gloss that doesn’t
look out of place.

Anyhoo, you might try “Anant” in India, they make an 8 and can supply an iron and cap iron. Their irons are no worse than English Stanleys for hardness and flatness but you’ll probably find the postage is as much as the parts.

Check this ebay store Items for sale by thefindersco | eBay they have all sorts of bits & pieces. I fixed up an old Falcon Pope No.4 a while ago, that didn't have the original blade and got one from The Finders Co, that looks almost unused for $20 delivered.

So is it a sawn off Number 8 or a genuine 7.5 ?

Certainly makes you wonder where/why that last 50-odd mm went - there'd have to be a good story there!

As I'm sure you already know, the 8 is the widest of the bench planes in the series, so its cap-iron is unique to it, & it's one of the less common sizes, so your chances of stumbling on a spare cap-iron are pretty remote.

It's a bit of fiddly job, but you can make a cap-iron without any fancy gear. To get an exact copy of an original you'd need to find some steel that's a shade less than 2mm, and work out a way to put the raised bend on it. A single bend can work just as well and is a lot easier to organise (which is no doubt why most after-market cap-irons are made hat way). It's also a lot easier to source 3 or 3.2mm steel, which is more appropriate for that style. I like using 3mm stainless steel, which is not too hard to come by as offcuts. It cold-works ok for the amount of bend you need to apply, & polishes up very attractively. This is a way I figured out to bend the plate (post #10). The main things to be careful of are grinding a neat, even curve and getting a good flat so it contacts the blade back evenly. You don't need much of a bend, in fact it's hard not to over-do the bend with my primitive jig....

Cheers & good luck with your restoration.....

Check with Hans Brunner. First home of fine old tools
He used to have quite a pile of spares.

I have a record #8 blade.
Id want $50 plus postage from 2137.
H.

Hi all,

thanks for the great responses. That is very helpful. Currently the plane is soaking in vinegar....

I do like the idea to actually replace the current No8 label and make it look like a 7 1/2

However I hope I did not start a rumor that Stanley actually made a 7 1/2. No they did not. This was definitely a No 8 before as the number is still on it. I assume that most likely in it's past life it got dropped or experienced a crack or damage to it's heel somehow. The owner at the time then probably ground the end off to make it look nice again and he did do a good job I'd say. Or maybe it was just too long for his tool chest and he just cut it off..... Or he plainly suffered from muscle fatigue and removed some weight Who knows.

I was able to source a record chipbreaker with an iron attached for an acceptable price. Hopefully they work.

@clear out: Thanks for that. I will keep that in mind should the other blade not be good. I might come back to you.

@IanW: I was planning on taking your advice and make my own chipbreaker, but then the other thing came along. However I am planning to also make my own planes some time and will keep your posts in mind for that. They are amazing.

Hopefully soon I will show the restored plane.

Hi,

I finished restoring the poor short #8. This is how the poor thing looked like when I got it:
20190805_150618[1].jpg

I cleaned it all up, a new lick of paint and sanded and waxed the knob and tote. Found chipbreaker and blade from a Record #8 and here is the finished product. It is back in business and I am pretty happy with it. May need a bit more tuning, but that's ok. Look at the big pile of shavings...

20190814_090807[1].jpg20190814_101509[1].jpg

As you can see I actually went ahead and removed the original No 8 label and placed a new "No 7 1/2" at a position where it would have been been if Stanley ever made one.

I took wax moulds from a Carter 7 and a Carter 5 1/2. I do not have these from Stanley so the Carter style had to do. Then I used Gorilla Weld Epoxy to fill the moluds and stick them on the plane body where I wanted it to be. After the Epoxy was dry I couldn't remove the wax, so I had to carefully use my heat gun to melt the wax and leave the epoxy behind. A bit of clean up with the Dremel and it turned out quite OK. I did test out if my paint would adhere to the epoxy on the left over I had from the mixing and so I knew it would work.

20190807_141549[1].jpg20190810_150858[1].jpg20190810_173440[1].jpg

For the rest of the clean up, rust removal, etc. I followed the typical procedures I learned from various YouTube clips.

So what do you think? It is probably not the most helpful post as this is not necessarily a common problem I assume

A double hit; first you get a unique jointer AND you managed to find a use for a couple of Carters!

Originally Posted by Cklett

.... So what do you think? It is probably not the most helpful post as this is not necessarily a common problem I assume ...

I think your little numbering touch is a hoot! I only wish I was a fly on the wall when some future rhykenologist is pontificating on the little-known & extremely rare Stanley 7 1/2 - "only a very, very few known to have been made...."

Cheers,