Replacement handles for Stanley planes

Re: Replacement handles for Stanley planes *LINK*

Sandor in Boyds, MD

>The replacement stanleys are plastic....

Mike In Katy can set you up.


http://pages.sbcglobal.net/mike_in_katy/PlaneWood/Default.htm

Re: Replacement handles for Stanley planes

William Duffield, on the Cohansey

>Yes, you do. Stanley changed the angle of the tote bolt at least once. They also made other subtle changes to tote shape over the years.

Same with knobs. Whether or not they mount in a ring makes a difference in the bottom profile.

Stanley's replacements witll by dyed hardwood or worse. If you want real rosewood, you should order them made by Mike in Katy or by Paul Bordonaro via Joel at Tools for Working Wood.

Re: Replacement handles for Stanley planes

Jeremy Osner

>Thanks, Sandor and William.

Re: Replacement handles for Stanley planes

Jim in Burlington Ontario

>Lee valley sells replacement handles made of rosewood.

Re: Replacement handles for Stanley planes

Todd Hughes

>I think you can find original handles on ebay with out trouble. When I sell them on there excellent ones normaly got for $15-$20 somtimes a bit more. Don't know why sombody would buy a repo when an original can be got for the about the same price.....Todd

Replace or Repair?

MarkSmith

>I have a question - how hard should one try to repair the original, and when is it time to give it up and get a replacement?

Premises:

1. The plane owner has fallen well down the slope

2. The plane owner intends to use the plane at least once in real woodworking

3. The plane owner is not a bona fide collector, but on the other hand doesn't want to do something needlessly stupid with respect to preserving as much original parts as possible.

Mark

Re: Replace or Repair?

Todd Hughes

>I don't think any repair would be as strong as one that wasn't repaired.....If you replace it with the proper original Stanley tote don't know who could ever tell it was replaced or for that matter what difference it would make since you are using orignal parts....Todd

Re: Replace or Repair?

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>Most planes are not collector's planes. If you've got a broken handle, repairing it won't reduce the value any further anyway.

I've glued totes (rear handle) split all the way across. For some reason, on the two I've acquired with broken totes, the tote was split about halfway down; this must be a stress point. Regular carpenter's glue and one of those plastic trigger-type clamps now sold by Irwin worked just fine.

The replace/repair dilemma is always the time and skill vs. money tradeoff. At the point that you think you'll spend more time than it's worth, it's time to take another approach.

Out in my backyard is a Studebaker truck (this is relevant, really) waiting for me to have time. One of the reasons I like Studebakers is that Studie drivers are more interested in having a drivable vehicle than in having a rolling museum piece. The idea is to use the tool, whether it's a plane or a truck - unless it's a Duesenberg or something else worth over a million dollars or the plane collector's equivalent.

Re: Replacement handles for Stanley planes

Jack Guzman from Maine

>Jeremy,I found myself with a few broken totes and the same questions you're asking.I tried gluing them and wasn't too successful.I decided to try making my own. It turned out to be alot easier that I thought.The most difficult part is getting the angle of the through bolt hole. A bevel does this nicely.If you need more info on my results,just ask.If you don't wish to do this,get a used one. They are plentiful on ebay.---Jack

Re: Replacement handles for Stanley planes

Scott in Douglassville, PA

>After seeing what Jack came up with, I decided to try my hand at replacing the plastic knob and tote on my late model Record #4. It wasn't too difficult. Jack's writeup is in the archive if you want to try; I deviated from his method slightly, and didn't use a bevel gauge at all. Lemme know if you're interested.

The great thing is, you can rasp away until it fits exactly how you want. I made the tote much thicker than the plastic one (a little over and inch at its widest, which fits my big hands much better), and got to use some of the gnarliest, punkiest, pretty claro walnut that I've ever seen (thanks, SB!).

Good luck, either way.

Scott, who has two more totes to make

Nice...thems purdy...

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA

>

Re: Replacement handles for Stanley planes

William Duffield, on the Cohansey

>Very nice looking, but you realize you have now created a new problem for yourself, don't you? How are you going to be able to live with the contrast between the walnut and that blue paint? Ugh!

That plane was ugly to begin with...

Scott in Douglassville, PA

>The original plastic parts were a lighter shade of brown, so the visual change isn't too hard to deal with. The change in use, however, is remarkable. Seriously feels like an extension of my arm (as trite as that sounds). I didn't know a tool could feel so good in use.

Don't worry, the 5 and 7C are getting cherry totes, and will look groooooovy. ;)

Scott

Re: Replace or Repair?

Kevin French, Antrim NH

>I bought a few planes on ebay that have broken totes. you can get them cheaper. I have repaired all of them. I brush in Deglosser on the broken ends to remove any grease and later use polyurethene glue with a double screw clamp to add pressure. Scrap and sand down any malunion and it's ready for any finish you want to put on it.

Someday I may replace them, but for now I'm using them.

Re: Replace or Repair?

paul womack

>Scrap and sand down any malunion

I once repaired the tote of a Marples (not Record Marples, but original pre-merger Marples).

Sadly, the previous owner had not only broken the tote in the middle (usual place), but had used it fo a long time subsequently.

The joint was (consequently) very badly mangled and worn.

To repair the tote I planed a flat on the base piece, added a (parallel) repair piece, then planes a flat on the base of the tote tip and glued that on. I then had a simple remodel jobs to merge in the patch piece.

Measuring the correct angle for the 2 planed flats, and holding the small tote pieces whilst planing them was "challenging" (*), but I still get a big kick out of seeing that repairs, but otherwise original tote.

BugBear

(*) Short version - I used the bolt hole as the angle reference for measuring, and made a small jig so I could hold the tote fragments in place on my shooting board.