Thread: Old Stanley hand tools

HI Briney,

Prices of those tools are a bit high if you ask me.
You can easily get a good #45 off ebay for way less than that and most if not all will be quite operational.
Whats the number on the drill? I got a little stanley #803 for a dollar or two, if its a bigger breast drill then depending on model number they can be worth a little more ~$20 -30 maybe. If your rabbet / rebate plane is a #90 then its sounds ok.
If its not then its possibly one of those #75? rabbets, which are usable and probably not too expensive. but a #90 is a much better plane and can also be used as a chisel plane.

check out ebay prices although the disadvantage there is you can't pick them up and look at them before you buy.

Steve

Thanks - I'll keep looking. I tried to negotiate the price down with the guy (he just sells old collectibles, no idea about tools) and he point blank refused!

Hi Brinesharks,
The prices do look high but I suppose there is an advantage in seeing the tools first. There are a number of excellent 'old tool' sellers on the web including ...
http://www.hansbrunnertools.gil.com.au/index.html

at least check the prices here first.

I also did work on restoring old timber aircraft but, other than dressing the timber to size, the required tools were very basic indeed.

Fletty

Originally Posted by brinesharks

3. Stanley combination plane (rebate and bull nose). This is fairly old and the paint is peeling. Blade is ok. Do these have a chip breaker like other planes? It seems to just have a flat cast plate that sits over the blade. $50

this sounds like a #78, see this page on Patrick's Blood & Gore http://www.supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan10.htm
they don't come with a chip breaker but should come with a fence
they are very useful


ian

Mate you'll be seen coming if you pay those sort of prices. I've bought one or two hand drills lately on epay for around $5 ea. The other blokes here know more about planes than I do however from what I've seen you could do a lot better if you look around a bit more and most of all be patient. The tool you just saw is not the last tool ever made by Stanley!

BTW there are other makes out there which will serve you just as well.

prozac

Thanks for all the responses - certainly helped me keep hold of my hard earned dollars!

I'll keep my eye out but I do like to have a good look over the tools first so I don't like to buy online.

Does anyone make new tools like hand drills, brace and bit, planes etc for a reasonable price? Veritas planes look great but I can't justify the money. The modern Stanley stuff doesn't seem too well made to my inexpert eye...

Find your local markets and have prowl around there, I picked up a Stanley USA No 7 in fair condition last weekend for $70 just needed a little TLC. Actually I have bought a lot of my hand tools at the markets. Or ebay.

Originally Posted by brinesharks

Thanks for all the responses - certainly helped me keep hold of my hard earned dollars!

I'll keep my eye out but I do like to have a good look over the tools first so I don't like to buy online.

Does anyone make new tools like hand drills, brace and bit, planes etc for a reasonable price? Veritas planes look great but I can't justify the money. The modern Stanley stuff doesn't seem too well made to my inexpert eye...

I think I have one or two spare braces, but no spare bits — I'll check

If I do you can have the brace for the cost of postage about $10.


ian

Thanks Ian - that would be great. I've sent a PM.

At the end of the day this is what I like about this forum ... the way one member will unselfishly help another member. And an often personally unknown member at that
ian have a greenie

Yeah, braces are fairly easy to come by, but bits are getting to be very expensive. I've started a little collection, but often they're in pretty poor shape and fairly pricey - decent sets on epay often get close to $100 which is pretty steep since you can rarely see what you're getting.

I've picked up odd bits here and there at markets for a dollar or two each, which is better as you can see if they're worth sharpening.