Thread: Stanley Handles & Totes - RESTORE OR NOT?

Hi FF,
have you bought these to add to a collection or to use?
Collectors like to leave as is with minimal change to the patina.
If you have bought these to use, then who really cares. You can re-lacquer or whatever takes your fancy really. Stanley were turning out around 30,000 planes a week in their heyday, and unless your planes are super rare, then there are plenty left out there in the wild.
Personally, I like to use my planes, but I don't go overboard on resto's - a clean and sharpen and I'm good to go. I like to have the feeling of contact with those who have used the tools before - as evidenced by their ingrained sweat and grime -(patina).
I reflected on this some time ago on my blog.
Here

Cheers and happy woodworking ......
SG

Hi Scribbly, thanks for that. Definitely users. I hear what you say about the ghosts of planings past, but I don't think even they will be able to give me the assistance I need! I just got this thing about timber looking as good as it can.

Cheers, Brett

If you go down the restoration route the following sites are useful

Jim Davey Planes & Sharpening - Plane Tuning - Sharpening - Restorations

Hand Plane Restoration PAGE 2

www.rexmill.com - this one has a page on handle refinishing.

Cheers Pac Man, they'll be very useful.

Any photos of the rest of them?

Not yet, there's crap all over the bench, so I'll do that soon eh?

FF
I can't get to Blood and Gore at the moment, but that handle looks like ordinary hardwood.
I think that pre-WW2, stanley was still using Rosewood

you might like to do some type-ing to better date you planes' ages

Originally Posted by ian

FF
I can't get to Blood and Gore at the moment, but that handle looks like ordinary hardwood.
I think that pre-WW2, stanley was still using Rosewood

you might like to do some type-ing to better date you planes' ages

Oopsie, just checked which one I photographed, and that one happens to be the one Record plane (#3) in the bunch. The Stanley #5 with a 1902 patent appears to be Rosewood or similar, and the other two have had their handles replaced, I suspect (one looks quite new). When I can get all the clamps and stuff that came with them put away I'll put up some other pics.

Clean the old rosewood up and you might be surprised by what you find. My '02 No.7 and 1884 No.5 The horn on the 5 was snapped off and long gone when I found the plane. The replacement rosewood was a real lucky match.

BT