I just picked up an old plane that I know absolutely nothing about as I know absolutely nothing about planes in general. This one and a Stanley block plane make up my entire arsenal of planes.
Anyway, back to the one I just picked up at a second hand store for $25.00. It says on the body of the plane that it is a Bailey No. 5 made in England. On the iron and frog it has Stanley. The plane looks to be very old but doesn’t look to have ever been used. Certainly the iron has never been lapped or honed.
It came in what seems to be the original packaging. The box also has Stanley No. 5 on it along with a picture of the plane.
What do have? Anything? Nothing? Did I throw my money away?
Thanks,
Harry
Following the path of least resistance makes rivers and men crooked.
Edited 2/23/2008 3:18 pm by harrycu
Replies
Harry,
Most of my planes are British Stanley and Record. (I do not have a large fleet, comparatively speaking).
The #5 I have was bought new in 1968 for me by my father. I still use it now, but prefer the Record #51/2 which I got later, second hand . There is nothing wrong with that #5-compared to those of today.
Could you post a picture or two so we can make comparisons? Is the box orange coloured, with green writing and images? I think the chances are good that you have a good one, especially as it has not been much used.Philip Marcou
Edited 2/23/2008 3:43 pm by philip
Quote: "Most of my planes are British Stanley and Record. (I do not have a large fleet, comparatively speaking). The #5 I have was bought new in 1968 for me by my father. I still use it now, but prefer the Record #51/2 which I got later, second hand . There is nothing wrong with that #5-compared to those of today.Could you post a picture or two so we can make comparisons? Is the box orange coloured, with green writing and images? I think the chances are good that you have a good one, especially as it has not been much used."
Yes, Philip the box is orange with a green label on one end. Someone at some time prior to my purchase had written $13.95 on the box lid with an ink pen. I'm assuming that's maybe what it sold for new decades ago.
The plane obviously has never been used because neither the iron nor the chip breaker have ever seen a stone. The sole has never been lapped either.
Does the iron go in with the bevel up or down?
I will try to get some pictures of it and put them up if I can figure out how to post pictures on here. I am not very computer literate. :^)
Thanks,Harry
Following the path of least resistance makes rivers and men crooked.
Yes, I am laughing at the seemingly ridiculous price on the box- I have some boxes with those sort of prices scribbled on them too-from long back.
The blade is supposed to go in bevel DOWN. It sounds as though you would benefit from some books and information on these planes-perhaps someone else can suggest some useful ones for you.Philip Marcou
Quote: "perhaps someone else can suggest some useful ones for you."
Yes, you are right. I know absolutely nothing about planes. I have never even used one enough to know how to hold it. :^)
Harry
Following the path of least resistance makes rivers and men crooked.
Harry,
Go to the Taunton site ad search books. There is a book called The Handplane Book. The author's name has slipped my mind. It will tell you how to "tune" the plane. Right out of the box, planes are harder to use. I think people get frustrated with them because theyaren't set up correctly and sharp.
If it is a pre-WWII bailey you have a good plane.
Frank
F
Garrett Hack. I believe Taunton is selling it now as part of a 2-pack.
Jim
Thanks, Jim
Harry
Following the path of least resistance makes rivers and men crooked.
Quote: "Go to the Taunton site ad search books. There is a book called The Handplane Book. The author's name has slipped my mind. It will tell you how to "tune" the plane. Right out of the box, planes are harder to use. I think people get frustrated with them because theyaren't set up correctly and sharp.
If it is a pre-WWII bailey you have a good plane."
Thanks for the info on the book...I will look it up. And also, how would I know if it is pre-WWII?
Harry
Following the path of least resistance makes rivers and men crooked.
Harry,
Here is a link to a site that will enable you to figure out exactly which series of Stanley plane you have and give you the years that the series was made in.
http://www.hyperkitten.com/tools/stanley_bench_plane/dating/dating_flowchart.html#Types%201-20
Each question answered will lead to another one until it is confirmed which one you have. It's actually kind of fun. I like to see if I can figure out which series that planes on ebay are. If they give you good enough pictures of the plane it's a piece of cake.
Rob
Thanks Rob...that site was very informative. From the information that I gleaned there my plane was manufatured somewhere between 1948 and early 50's. It has the rosewood knob and tote that are varnished and were mentioned to have been introduced in 1948 then some time later these wooden parts were painted black(not painted on mine). It also has the rounded top irons that were mentioned to have been introduced in the early 50's.
Thanks,Harry
Following the path of least resistance makes rivers and men crooked.
No problem Harry. Glad it helped.
Rob
The name of the author is Garrett Hack.
FB
It can't be too old then can it Philip with £13.95 scribbled on the box?
That price would only have been written after Feb 15, 1971 when UK currency went decimal. I suppose the plane could have been old and had languished on a shelf for a few years even then.
Prior to that the marking would have been £13-19, aka 13 Pounds, 19 shillings if I remember the conversion correctly. Slainte.Richard Jones Furniture
Richard,
I believe that this is an English made Stanley that was sold in the U.S. for 13 dollars & 95 cents. None of those silly British units, pounds are a unit of weight and shilling is what the partner does to lure people into a three card monte game. :^)
Rob
Somehow I failed to spot the $ sign at the front Rob. Obviously I wasn't in 'Alert Mode', ha, ha. Oh well. Never mind. I'll just move on to the next mental brain burp. Slainte.Richard Jones Furniture
You are right once again, Rob. :)
Harry
Following the path of least resistance makes rivers and men crooked.
Sgian,
In '68' I suspect the dollar to pound rate was about $2.80 = 1 and that $13.95 on the box was in dollars not pounds.
Richard,
Whether it be pounds or dollars it doesn't matter-the point I was making was that the Stanley planes of at least the early seventies were still okay, and I'm pretty sure that Record were still machining (metal planing) the soles around that time rather than belt sanding them with an open grit 36 belt....At the time as I recall tradesmen preferred Record though. Was Record ever made in the States?
Some other turkey could also have written his own price on the box with a view to making a huge profit (;)Philip Marcou
There is a dollar sign on the box...not a pound sign.
Harry
Following the path of least resistance makes rivers and men crooked.
Harry,
No matter what you didn't throw your money away. It is definitely worth $20 and maybe quite a bit more than that.
Rob
Thanks for the reply, Rob.
Following the path of least resistance makes rivers and men crooked.
Sounds like you got lucky, Harry. The venerable #5 jack plane can be a good all arounder. A planes value is based on it's condition, add an original box that's also in great shape and your plane is worth more than $25. Unfortunately, you have to keep your day job. #5s are common. It could be worth between $100-$200. A nice used one without a box recently sold for $68 on Ebay. Put it to work and have some fun.
This site has some interesting info on Stanley/Bailey planes. I don't remember if they address the British Stanleys. http://www.supertool.com/stanleybg/stan0.htm
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
Thanks for the reply hammer1 and the link it was very interesting.
Following the path of least resistance makes rivers and men crooked.
Is your plane painted with brown paint? If it is, throw the da---- thing away. Several years ago I ordered some new Stanley planes for the school where I taught. They put them up for bid and when they arrived I found that they were a cheap substitute for the traditional high quality Stanleys I had in mind when I wrote the order. If your plane has black paint, it probably is OK. The planes that I recieved were Stanleys but of poor quality and I don't know where they were made.
Edited 2/24/2008 6:42 pm ET by wdrite
Quote: "Is your plane painted with brown paint? If it is, throw the da---- thing away. --snip--snip-- If your plane has black paint, it probably is OK."
No, the plane has plack paint on it and just a little rust.
Harry
Following the path of least resistance makes rivers and men crooked.
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