Stanley Planes

Re: Stanley Planes

Tim Caley - Little Rock

>#4 or below for smoothing

#6,7,8 for jointing - planes get longer, wider, and heavier as number gets bigger.

These are the ones that I am familiar with. Let's see if the other folks have others to add.

Re: Stanley Planes

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>The basic bench plane, the one everybody pictures when thinking "wood plane," when done by Stanley and others (almost every modern maker) who adopted the general Stanley design, comes numbered 1 through 8. The higher the number, the longer the plane. 1 and 2 are very small and few people use them (though, of course, those that do swear by them).

Longer planes are better for jointing; shorter for smoothing -- though there are some who use a long plane even for smoothing.

Most people consider that 7 and 8 are for jointing, which is why they're called "jointers;" though 6 (fore plane, lots of theories about origin of name) works well on shorter boards (say, two feet long); and some people even use 5 (jack) planes for short boards.

Smoothing is usually 3 or 4, though, again, some people use 5.

To complicate it, they also come in 1/2 and, in the jack size, in 1/4 designations. 1/2 = wider, 1/4 = narrower, than the relevant number. Lots of people think the 4-1/2 size, which has an iron (blade) 3/8" wider than the 4, is the best smoother.

See Garrett Hack's "The Handplane Book," probably available from your local library, for more information.

I've got a #30 for jointing that's...

Scott in Douglassville, PA

>..pretty much a boat anchor right now. Metal's all prime, but the body needs, well, replacing...

Re: Stanley Planes

Charles

>I have a Stanley #8 that is pre1928 (I believe). I sat and sharpened the blade with diamond stones while watching/listening to a movie. I can shave hairs off my arm with the blade. It makes real neat curls when I plane mahogany. The plane cost me $45.00 at an antique store about 5 years ago. I would recommend you buy a used Stanley 7 or 8 or even a Craftsman jointer plane and start with that. You can upgrade to a Hock blade if you wish. I don't have the budget to get a LN plane. Have fun making shavings.

Re: Stanley Planes *LINK*

Wendell @ Murphy, TX

>The other posters have pretty much answered your questions, but I thought I'd throw out the link to Patrick Leach's webpage which has a ton of information about Stanley planes.

Wendell


Patrick's Blood and Gore

Re: Stanley Planes

Don Thompson - South of Miami

>The classic Stanley smoother is the #4.

The classic Stanley jointer is the #7.

Some might argue as to what is best, but I think that most would agree with the above classifications.

Next question? :-)

Re: Stanley Planes

William R. Duffield, on the Cohansey

>There are also the Bedrocks (no asociation with throwing of stones). For each bench plane, #1 through #8, there is an equivalent bedrock model, #601 through #608, which comes at a premium in price, and also improved performance. And then there is the optional corrugation feature. Stanley also made a corrugated model for most of its bench planes. You can tell those by the "C" suffix, for example #604¹/₂C.

Re: Stanley Planes

Ernie Miller Topeka

>Smoothers are generaly 7-9" long jointers are generaly 18-22" long. there are lots of good plane makers out there besides stanley so if you are looking don't sell your self short. There is also wooden versions of all of these planes but they are more likely to have serious problems. If you are looking for planes and new at it look them over good make sure there are no cracks or breaks especialy around the frog and mouth. Check to see if all of the adjustments move freely. Learn how to sharpen a blade. a dull blade can make a new bee take several steps backward on there progression to quite woodworking. Every one else answered the question right.

Re: Stanley Planes

John in NY

>I would agree in concept with the #4 and #7 but I use a #4 1/2 a #5 1/2 and a #7. The reason for this is that they all use the same size blade (2- 3/8") which means I only need 1 spare incase I need a sharp one in a hurry. I would also concurr that not only should you start out with an old Stanley but you should finish with one too. The new Stanleys are junk! If you want new... Anant at the bottom end and either Clifton or Lie Nielsen at the top. Veritas have a limited offering in the middle (price range middle, quality high!).

Re: #601

Moses Yoder in White Pigeon, MI

>Sorry Sir William, couldn't resist mentioning that "Stanley" never made a #601, just to make sure newbies wouldn't go out looking for one, so technically the "Bedrock" #601 was never made, although there is a Patrick Leach model "Bedrock #601" available (or used to be). The #602C is the rarest of the Stanley Bedrock planes, and will sell for a good bit more than a #1 if it's in good shape.

OT "Hypothetical" question

cooper suter

>How do you think the Ebay market would respond to a complete run of user grade "common" Bailey's?

What I mean is a lot of solid users (but not cleaned or tuned) from #3 through #8 w/the fractional sizes thrown in.

Anyone seen this done?

Anyone wanna put on the Karnick the Great hat and guess at a final value number?

Some thing I've been kicking around to help kill the pile.

Coop.

Re: OT "Hypothetical" question

Clay Craig in Miami

>So, with the fractional sizes 'thrown in,' that's 9 planes by my count - 3, 4, 4.5, 5, 5.25, 5.5, 6, 7, and 8.

Obviously this will depend, for untuned planes, very much on condition. Tuning 9 planes is a chore, but it might be worth the effort to clean them at least with a 'lick and a promise,' just so they photograph at their very best. I also think that quality/clarity/size of photos is important to draw in multiple bidders. My best ebay 'steals' have been on blurry bad photos with vague copy, where maybe few realize what it is or are willing to take a risk.

As part of your 'DIY special' you might consider including some 3M sandpaper and a printout of (or link to) the Scary Sharp page and one of the several great plane-tuning guides found online. Then describe in the copy how any buyer can, by applying the package's 'ingredients,' a few common tools and liberal elbow grease alone, create a set of tools whose performance will rival those costing many times more.

You would need to be sure that they have no mortal wounds, and set out in detail what you have confirmed. (E.g., "I have checked these to be a user's set - they have no chips or cracks in the soles, totes or knobs other than those clearly visible in the photos; all are complete with original [or Stanley-interchangeable functional equivalent] frogs, adjusters, screws, chipbreakers and blades. etc., etc.")

Ideally, you want to get 3 or more dilettantes bidding (I should talk), who will find this one-stop-shopping package from someone who knows his stuff utterly irresistible.

Now, none of this answers what you wanted - a price estimate. My guess ain't worth much - IMHO Todd Hughes will be among your best sources there ... Todd?

Let us know if you do it, so we can 'watch' the auction.

Clay

Re: #601

William R. Duffield, on the Cohansey

>Gotcha, Moses! I was hoping someone would fall into my trap. :^)

You are absolutely correct. Stanley never made a #601. (I was very careful with my wording to avoid implying that Stanley made one.) According to his website, the Leachmeister still offers a flat top Bedrock #601 for sale. Having examined one, I can attest to the fact that it is an impressive piece of nanotechnology, complete with the three screw slots behind the frog, lateral adjuster, and everything else it should have.

However, if we wanted to pick nits, Superior Toolworks was not the first to offer a #601 type plane. Whether or not it carries the numerical designation, Lie-Nielsen's #1 is, in design, a round top, pre-lateral Bedrock. No, it does not have the slick frog adjuster that Type 5 and beyond Bedrocks had, but neither did any Type 1 through Type 4 Stanley Bedrock, in any size. it's 40% of the price of Patrick's, and you can get it in brass or ductile iron.

All the rest of the Lie-Nielsen bench planes are also based on the later flat-top Bedrock design.

Re: OT "Hypothetical" question

Sandor in Boyds, MD

>Didn't someone a few months ago (last summer?) sell an almost complete set of Stanley Bedrocks on eBay? If I recall the bid went up over $1k.

Anybody else remember this?

Sandor

Re: OT "Hypothetical" question

Ernie Miller Topeka

>I'll go $450 but there are alot of idiots out there and it could go higher.

Re: OT "Hypothetical" question

Moses Yoder in White Pigeon, MI

>The 4-1/2 and 5-1/4 are not that common, and usually bring good prices. I think if you wanted to get rid of some 4s and 5s you could put a couple 4s and a couple 5s in a pile, then throw in a 7 or 8 and a decent block plane with an adjustable mouth and you might do pretty good advertising it as a complete kit.