Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
old craftsman plane
Mark S. in Chalfont, PA
>Hello All,
Could anyone shed some light on this Crafsman plane given to me by a friend. He says it is very old. It was taken from his grandfathers house when he passed away.
Any information would surely be appreciated.
Mark
Re: old craftsman plane
Mark S. in Chalfont, PA
>Oops, Forgot the pic
another pic
Mark S. in Chalfont, PA
>
another pic
Mark S. in Chalfont, PA
>
Re: old craftsman plane
Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA
>Is it about 18 inches long? It looks from the photos like a No. 6 fore plane, a common bench plane size that's midway between the common No. 5 jack plane, an all-purpose plane, and the No. 7 jointer, used to get straight edges and flat surfaces on the wood. Some of us, a group in which I include myself, find them very useful planes.
One clue to its age is the logo - Sears used about six or seven different logos over the years. They used to have a listing on their website of the logos by year, but they seem to have dropped it. My vague memory is that the logo on yours is from the 1960s or so, which by my standards isn't old (since I'm from the late 1940s - it's gotta be older than me before it's "very old").
Some Craftsman planes are quite good; some of the later ones are quite not so good. Clean it up, wax the moving surfaces, and give it a try.
Looks like mine
jim_reed@marietta
>I have a Craftsman #5 jack plane from the mid 1970s and the colors look the same. My experience is that C planes from that era are good planes. The castings are thick and the planes are finished well. About the only place they cheesed out was with the handles (maple?). They are low on the collectability scale, but they make great users. I love mine and use it frequently. Sharpen up your blade and go to town.
Re: old craftsman plane
Ernie Miller Topeka
>Wasent there a link to that page some where on WC? I'm gonna miss that page if it is gone. I might have a hard copy I'll check the big book of facts.
Thanks All. I will use it.
Mark S. in Chalfont, PA
>
Re: old craftsman Logo history
Larry Clinton Frankfort, Indiana
>The link to the Craftsman logo release years is below. They must have moved it from where I first seen it a year or so ago.
http://www.sears.com/sr/craftsman/whyCraftsman/cr_wc_history.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=SEARS