Show us your handplanes

[drivesitfar]

All: found this Craftsman wood plane as i was organizing and it looks a lot like some of my Stanley planes. did Stanley make them and any idea how old mine is or where i can find the #'s to tell you?

nice stuff and Stupid Hippie's collection is way cool. What are the plans in your will for all those cool planes?

 

[ez-duzit]

The old Craftsman planes I've seen were made by Dunlap, IIRC.

 

[altersaddle]

Hey drives,

The U-shaped handle on the lateral adjuster makes me think this is a Sargent or Dunlap made plane. Stanley didn't start using that style until late in the production. Older planes have a two piece handle that looks like a fish fin:

http://www.brasscityrecords.com/toolworks/graphics/plane id.html

That page identifies it as a Sargent, but this Dunlap makes me wonder:

http://lumberjocks.com/NateX/blog/26374

What does the frog look like under the blade?

 

[drivesitfar]

EZ: thanks

AS: here's some more pictures maybe these might help with better lighting. this plane of mine almost looks unused. isn't it about 60 years old? thanks for the links too.

 

[drivesitfar]

AS: so according to your links my Craftsman might have been made by Sargent or Dunlap. it also looks like my Frog is one of the ones not to buy. any reason why?

thanks

 

[altersaddle]

drives: Yours looks fine to me. The ones to avoid are made out of pressed, bent steel - not cast iron.

A "missing" frog adjuster screw also makes it less desirable, but only if you're the type of woodworker who might be finding themselves adjusting the frog regularly. I can't remember having to adjust mine - although I'm also not planing wood every day.

I'm betting your hand plane would make excellent shavings.

 

[HenryAZ]

My modest bunch is not a "collection", as I didn't collect them so much as acquire what I needed to do my job working in a custom millwork shop. Right now they sit in a drawer, but back then they were part of my working toolbox. I mostly used the jointer and shaper for doing as much work as I could, and only used the planes for oopses, touch-ups, and finishing off stuff on the bench. Rabbet planes were the most useful, and the router plane next in line.

 

[drivesitfar]

Henry: very nice assortment and are they daily or weekly users? or ones waiting for the right job or retired now?

AS: thanks for the help and kudos. i'll post more of my wood planes as i find them and i know i don't have as many as Stupid Hippie, but i do have a few.

 

[StupidHippie]

All: and Stupid Hippie's collection is way cool. What are the plans in your will for all those cool planes?

That's a good question...I don't have a will. Guess I should get that sorted out!!!

 

[drivesitfar]

SH: you have a lot of cool stuff there that is for sure. we just did our will because with 5 kids and grandkids starting to show up we don't have much, but didn't want to have the kids not know our plans. for us it was $750 with a great attorney that came to our house. i'm sure you can do it yourself or find someone cheaper, but if we need to make a change he does them for free for the first few times until we have it tweaked.

ALL: so i was searching some old planes and found this Stanley that looks almost identical to my Craftsman. thoughts?

 

[HenryAZ]

Henry: very nice assortment and are they daily or weekly users? or ones waiting for the right job or retired now?

I've been out of the millwork trade since the early 1990's. Those planes were used from 1970 until then. One or another of the rabbet planes was used daily, as well as a bench plane. Surprisingly, the block plane not so much. The router plane saw use at least one/week. They were always the last resort, as in I couldn't quite get multiple shaper setups to match a sample profile perfectly. And they were often used during bench assembly, especially on larger items (like a mantel or entrance feature) that I couldn't just pick up and run to the jointer with.

 

[drivesitfar]

Henry: do you happen to have any pictures to post of the wood creations you made or repaired? nice story and even nicer planes. thanks for sharing

 

[HenryAZ]

Henry: do you happen to have any pictures to post of the wood creations you made or repaired? nice story and even nicer planes. thanks for sharing

Unfortunately, not too much into archiving my work back then. I do have two pix, each sort of unique millwork items. The first is a raised panel drop ceiling, done for a house in the Spring Valley section of Washington DC. The corner octagons are about 5' 6" across, IIRC. The open corner is where an 8-sided stairwell went through, with a helical staircase. I also made the raised paneling that lined the staircase "well". The stiles and rails are made from 5/4" CWP, with 3/4" raised panels. All of the orthogonal joints are mortised and tenoned, and it breaks into 4 L-shaped pieces, with dry joints, in order to get into the room. I had it in the parking lot (where there was enough room), to do a dry assembly and to sand the dry joints.




Second is an item I made for our shop to exhibit at the DC Home Show one year. It was not intended as a model of something to sell, but more of a "show-off" of what we could do. Over on the right, you'll see a bowed, triple hung window, made of white ash. We did actually generate some orders for triple hung windows, but none bowed, nor hardwood. The glass is not curved (we considered that, but too much $$); each pane is set into straight line rabbets. After the Home Show, it stood in our office.

 

[drivesitfar]

Henry: I wonder if Ryan (owner of GJ) and the Mods will make a woodworker's section for those of us that like both metal and wood products? that ceiling covering you made is amazing and i bet that triple window wasn't easy to make either. you sir have skills and thanks for sharing.

 

[Gidge]

Here is my small collection :

Stanley Bailey No.3 Jack plane

No name made in USA Block Plane

No name block plane (cheap import?)

 

[drivesitfar]

ALL: this thread hasn't had any new posts in a while so since a few members have been cleaning up their planes in their garage/shops i think it's time to revive this thread and see if any more planes can get some attention.

anybody have an old plane to post a few pictures of or a collection like a few members own feel free to as you have time.

also this past couple weeks these 2 garage gallery threads of Lyndon and SlimPickens show how they took apart their wood planes and make a few repairs and adjustments to get them spiffed up.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=317603

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99313

 

[gungatim]

LGR!

 

[jimreed2160]

Well if you like handplanes, here is one that is rarely seen. It is a Stanley #196 curved rabbet plane from pre-electric router days. They were made from 1912 until 1934 and were used to cut rabbets (ledges) on curved stock like window trim. I picked this one up from the bargain bin because it lacked an important piece--the blade.

Well I fab handplane blades and cutters, so I thought I would give it a shot. The degree of difficulty was enhanced since there was nothing to go by. I had to prototype in cardboard for the basic shape and then finish grinding by trial fits. The skewed edges added a little excitement to the build. Here is the blade after heat treating and final sharpening.

Sorry that I don't have an action shot, but it does work great. I am ready if a curved rabbet project ever comes my way.

 

[jimreed2160]

Chamfering is an age old woodworking technique for relieving sharp corner edges. Under stress and use, the wood fibers on a sharp edge wear away and round over. Chamfering is a way to dress the edges to prevent uneven wear. Chamfered edges also add visual interest. So of course, Stanley made a chamfer plane. Not only that, they actually made a chamfer plane set. The base plane was used to make chamfered edges on stock with the blade adjustable so you could vary the width of the chamfer. An additional bullnose bed was added so you could plane to the stopped edge of stock. Later they added an adjustable scratch stock bed so you could scratch a decorative moulding on the chamfered edge.





I use this plane frequently in my woodshop. Rare is the woodworking project that could not be improved with a chamfered edge.

 

[crguy]

Well I fab handplane blades and cutters, so I thought I would give it a shot. The degree of difficulty was enhanced since there was nothing to go by. I had to prototype in cardboard for the basic shape and then finish grinding by trial fits. The skewed edges added a little excitement to the build. Here is the blade after heat treating and final sharpening.

The 196s had a blade & chipbreaker - how come you didn't make it that way?

 

[jimreed2160]

The 196s had a blade & chipbreaker - how come you didn't make it that way?

I guess I could add one but it works just fine without it. Thanks for looking.

 

[ez-duzit]

Jim--nice find.

 

[Hartwell]

I have to ask, what is the make/year on that drill press?

 

[Farmer J.]

Hi, some lovely planes on this thread, and beautifully displayed collections.. Here's my modest set that serves me well, they don't look very shiny as they're covered in rust prevention gunk.. They may get treated to a shine up soon though.. They were all bought new by me around 30 yrs ago and used occasionally for odd jobs.
All have 'Made in England' cast into them and stamped into the blades.
-Stanley Bailey No 4
-Stanley No 102 block plane
-2 Stanley spoke shaves, one flat and one convex face. Both have stickers confidently saying 'Malleable UNBREAKABLE Iron'...
-Honing gauge 'Stanley No 50 A' and 'Eclipse 36'

 

[kentenn]

I've been trying to amass a well rounded collection of Stanley planes. I typically restore and tune up...

 

[LesserSon]

I've had this little guy for a few years, without really knowing much about it. A year or two ago I decided to give it a clean-up. The tote still has a shear near the top, but I epoxied a chip of walnut on to replace a missing chunk at the base. (Yes, I know it should have been rosewood, but I don't have any of that, and I think the walnut looks fine anyway. And yes, it should have been cyanoacrylate, but I didn't have any of that either.) Pretty sure I used clear shellac on the tote and knob. Sharpened the iron and used it to square up the corners of a small wood box I was refinishing. Nice little thing. Put it away and nearly forgot about it.
Fast forward to Sunday flea market, I bought a "repaired" No6 (more on that later), and in researching that, discovered that my little guy is a rather desireable collectible.
This is a Stanley No1 smooth plane, type 8 (1899-1902).
One question I still haven't answered is what the three linked ovals are on the tote. They remind me of the Utica logo, but I suppose they could have been put there by a former owner as an ID.

 

[RivennHewn]

Lesser,

I have no way of knowing for sure, but it looks like an Oddfellows Temple logo.

FLT = Friends, love, truth.

Just maybe?

 

[LesserSon]

Thanks!

 

[crguy]

This is a Stanley No1 smooth plane, type 8 (1899-1902).
One question I still haven't answered is what the three linked ovals are on the tote. They remind me of the Utica logo, but I suppose they could have been put there by a former owner as an ID.

Most likely an owners' mark. A valuable collectible plane.

 

[LesserSon]

This was the only plane I owned or used for years. An Ohio Tool Co 04. The iron is stamped with the globe mark (1893-1907?). The left side is too faint to make out "Columbus, O" but "hio, USA. Auburn, NY" is visible. Likely made in Auburn, but too late for prison labor (1874-1877), as I had once thought.
It was my grandfather's, and for all I know, my great-grandfather's (he was an actual carpenter). The tote and knob were black when I got it, but wear had revealed the wood, which I liked better, so I stripped and refinished them clear. 9" sole, 2" iron, about 3lb.
It has survived my ignorance and abuse.
Last pic shows it sitting next to a Stanley No3 in need of some tlc.

 

[LesserSon]

Working on cleaning up a #28 Stanley Rule & Level Co transitional plane. Here are the frog and irons. Right-hand thread on the depth adjustment. The cutter has a hole at both ends of the slot. That added to the three patent dates on the lateral adjustment lever make me think this is closer to 1888 than 1892.

 

[LesserSon]

Another project: resuscitating a flood victim.
Stanley Bailey No3 smooth plane type13 (1925-1928).

This must have been in beautiful condition before submersion. Came to me caked in mud. Still, I have hope. The rosewood is as good as can be expected - really, just some fine checking at the base of the knob.
I do not plan on polishing it, but rather carding it to a lustrous plumb. A lot of vintage people seem to think this involves leaving the rust on and gooing it up with linseed oil, but my goal is to remove all the hematite and leave only a thin layer of magnetite. I think it should look its age, and anyway, I think the pitting would make a mirror finish impractical without removing a significant amount of perfectly good iron.
Last pics show the lever cap in process, then the final sheen posed with the cap iron for contrast.

 

[Cope]

Stanley Bailey No3 smooth plane type13 (1925-1928).
Another project: resuscitating a flood victim. This must have been in beautiful condition before submersion. Came to me caked in mud. Still, I have hope. I do not plan on bringing it up to bright steel, but rather a nice plumb blue. A lot of vintage people seem to think this involves leaving the rust on and gooing it up with linseed oil, but my goal is to remove all the hematite and leave only the thinnest layer of magnetite possible. I think it should look its age, and anyway, I think the pitting would make a mirror finish impractical without removing a significant amount of perfectly good iron.
Last pics show the lever cap in process, then the final sheen posed with the cap iron for contrast.

I would like to see the finished product. I have a 3C that's just a few years newer than yours. I really like planes from that vintage.

 

[LesserSon]

A frog apart...and back together.

 

[crguy]

A frog apart...and back together.

Looks like you're spending way too much time on that plane for what it's worth.

 

[LesserSon]

I absolutely am, dollars-and-sense-wise. But it's a hobby, not a vocation for me. Plus, I confirmed today with my father that it is a family heirloom. My grandfather received it from one of his brothers-in-law, the same source as a Disston / Millers Falls mitre saw combo from the same era. So it's my custodial duty to undo the flood damage it received while in my father's care.

Before and After.

 

[LesserSon]

So not all good news. The body was badly pitted in places, and I suspect, not a good piece of iron to begin with. The frog and irons came out well, and the rosewood is in good shape. I'm going to give myself some time to reflect on what to do with the wood.

 

[jimreed2160]

Pitting on the side is unsightly, but should not affect use. How does the sole look?

 

[ez-duzit]

Pitting on the side is unsightly, but should not affect use...

Actually the pitting will tend to tear up the user's hands and make it virtually unusable on a shooting board. I wouldn't want to own it. But perhaps the worst of the pitting could be filled to minimize these issues.

 

[Jim C.]

Looks like you're spending way too much time on that plane for what it's worth.

Actually the pitting will tend to tear up the user's hands and make it virtually unusable on a shooting board. I wouldn't want to own it. But perhaps the worst of the pitting could be filled to minimize these issues.

What's up with you guys today?

I've cleaned up more than my share of old hand planes that were less than cosmetically perfect, and were in need of more time and in some instances, more money, than they were worth from a re-sale/profit perspective. In the case of a family heirloom, sometimes it's a no brainer. You do the rehab for reasons other than financial gain, monetary value, etc. There's something good about giving an old tool a new life, particularly if there's a known back story.

As for pitting and imperfections, well, that might be true about shooting, but that's just one function of a bench plane. Lesserson's plane can be used for a variety of other tasks depending on how he sets it up, grinds the iron, etc. The tote and knob look to be smooth and in good condition so tearing up his hands doesn't seem too likely.

I'm not trying to start a fight here. I guess I see some value in rehabilitating old tools and tend to take a "glass half full" versus "glass half empty" approach to them. If you're fixing up an old tool to use, then throw the time and money argument out the window. It's really just a labor of love. If you're in it for the profit, resale, etc. then I guess one would need to use a little more discretion, and still, some collectors don't want a tool that's been restored, cleaned up, re-finished. Usually such a tool is seen as having been de-valued, and a lot of guys shy away from them. Best to get an old tool, put a little (or a lot) of time into it, enjoy the process, and then start using it.

Jim C.