Well, is it too late? Stanley #4

Re: Well, is it too late? Stanley #4

Christopher Fitch @ Memphis

>No you did not make a mistake...for buying a doorstop.

:)

Well, is it too late?

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA

>Could be. The quality of the new Stanley planes is a far cry from what it once was. Check the sole for flatness. Sharpen up the blade and give it a try. You'll probable have to do a far amount of tweeking to get it to preform well. If not ebay it. You'll probaple make your $$ back. Good luck1

Depends

jim_reed@marietta

>Some of the recently mfg Stanleys are pretty good quality. I purchased a #4 1/2 last year and it is top notch except for the cheesy plastic handles. I say tune it up and try it out. Make sure you get the blade sharp enough to shave with. Good luck.

Give it a try

David Miller from Iowa

>Hey, almost any plane can be made servicable for general use. Tune it up as Scott suggested and see how long it takes before you reach its limitations. By then you'll know what your next plane will be.

Re: Give it a try

Vic P

>Sounds like a steal... Just purchased a great looking "vintage" Craftsman #5C on Ebay, came in original box used maybe once. very nice looking ........ doorstop :~(

I'll try to sharpen it, and work with it, but something tells me at best it will be the one I leave in plane (pun intended) sight for the burglers. Then I can hopefully get some of my money back from the insurance company.

Good learn on

Charles McKinley

>You wont have to worry about hurting it. You can practice flattening the sole and sharpening and not worry about ruining an expensive new or vintage plane. If you can tune it into a good user great. If you keep it around for people that want to plane down nail riddled doors it will probably work well enough for that too.

Have fun with it.

Chuck

Thanks... and...

Fred in NC

>appreciate your honest comments.

I guess I got a cheap tool for a cheap price, which is not too bad. The idea to use it for fine tuning practice is very good. That is what I am going to do.

Thanks everyone !

Fettling Instructions

Don Thompson, Cutler Ridge, Florida

>The problem with new Stanley planes seems to mostly be quality control, so you may have a good one - or not.

This article in the WC Articles & Reviews section, has good tips for fettling a plane. Just skip the cleaning/de-rusting steps.

(P.S. I have one too, that someone gave me. It has been sitting on a shelf.)

Re: Well, is it too late? Stanley #4

R.J.Whelan

>Fred ... my brother-in-law bought one of these at a garage sale and gave it to me. The one he bought may have been an exception but I was able to get it performing pretty well with surprisingly little work.

#1 - get a new iron

#2 - build or buy a new chip breaker

#3 - replace the knob and tote - plastic will give you blisters in short order

Good luck ... rj