old planes

davch00 · June 14, 2020, 12:51:44 PM

I went to an auction yesterday to try to buy a couple of implements and these followed me home.

The wood one in the back is a Kleen Kutter and the metal one thats not broke is a Defiance by Stanley. I can't make out what brand the other wood one is. I was wondering if someone could give me any info on any of them. The two wood planes will probably be nothing more than wall hangers for me but if it wouldn't hurt the value or cost too much I might restore the Defiance to working order.

btulloh · June 14, 2020, 01:27:20 PM

Old planes do have a tendency to do that. Sometimes I look back and see a long line of 'em following me to the car and then I have no choice but to bring them home. :D But it's not a bad problem to have.

Those are old Bailey-type planes whether it says Stanley, Record, or whatever. Just about everything was made on the same pattern, maybe cast by the same company. A little Google time will get you to any number of websites about old planes and have a lot of tips on restoration, etc. Nothing in those four is rare so the real value is the value they give you from using or displaying.

The two top ones with the wooden soles can still be used effectively. If you don't have a jack plane or two, you should probably try to put one or both in service. You can treat yourself to a new Hock iron for any of them that's a good upgrade to any plane. That style with the wooden sole was the transition phase between all-wood and all metal planes. Not sure how long that phase lasted, but it wasn't real long.

Even that broken one at the bottom can be turned into a useful tool. If you clean it up and grind those ears back to the edge of the throat you can use it for cleaning up something that is close to an obstruction. Very occasionally there will be a job where it can come in handy and do something no other tool will do. You'll recognize when that happens, and if it's cleaned up and ready to use, it will get used. If you grind the bevel to create a high angle it can be use like a scraper. If you grind a low-angle on the bevel it can do things like pare plugs and provide a lot of control. Or you can hang it on the wall.

Nice find. Glad to see those planes found a good home.

Don P · June 14, 2020, 07:25:24 PM

I imagine your Kleen Kutter at the back is a Keen Kutter tool, this is a little blurb on the company,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keen_Kutter
google will turn up much more on them, they have a following among some tool collectors just like the Stanley, I've got one of those between studs in the shop helping to hold the building down.

low_48 · June 14, 2020, 11:35:02 PM

The wood sole planes are called transition planes. A marketing attempt to satisfy those that said wood planes would glide on work easier than metal. Companies even went to a corrugated cast sole to address the same situation. Less contact area, less drag. The biggest issue with making them a user plane is the mouth is usually way too large. It was a wear point, and it's tough to work a great curl with that much clearance. To make it a great user, an inlay has to be put in and filed to a fine clearance. Not sure where the collector market is today. I got really interested in the 80s and have an entire collection from #1 to #8 in both smooth sole and corrugated. A very high percentage of the collectors are now of the age that they are looking to downsize and getting ready for the final trip. Young folks need a couple of user planes, and that is it. I'd suggest you restore what you want to use and don't worry about value of collectability.

JV · June 19, 2020, 10:56:47 AM

The transition planes could be made into users. One dealer I know refers to them as suitable for burning. You either love them or hate them. The maker, the rarity, oddity, and condition make the price. The price has declined over the last few years because the old guys like me are not buying but selling. Kind of hard to get the young blood interested. I still like the sound and feel of a fine tuned hand plane. Certainly not as noisy as a "tailed apprentice."

farmfromkansas · June 26, 2020, 09:02:53 AM

Seems the collectible value of items is related to the generation of people who desire them. Old hotrods are much cheaper to buy than to build, think the 50's cars are right behind them. I had a 57 Chevy car that I used to wish I had kept rather than traded, now am glad it is gone. Have enough junk needing to be kept fixed. Been told the rabbit planes and such have come down in price. i have several planes, but try to keep them in sharp and usable condition.

Texas Ranger · June 26, 2020, 10:05:53 AM

one of a small collection, my grand fathers tool box gave me this one.

JV · June 26, 2020, 12:33:58 PM

Those old Stanley 45's were handy planes, actually worked pretty well. I have a couple of 55's that I have used but they require a lot of patience. The hollow and round set for the 45 is a plus.

farmfromkansas · June 26, 2020, 01:41:45 PM

One of my great Grandpa's came from England to Kansas in 1870, he brought a set of woodworking tools, including planes with him, they are displayed in the historical Museum in Junction City Kansas. They all have wood bodies, with wedges to hold the blade in place.

Texas Ranger · June 26, 2020, 03:19:52 PM

Kinda like this one?

Oh, others in my "plane" collection.

farmfromkansas · July 01, 2020, 09:33:38 AM

Yes, Ranger, he had a couple like that, and also a set of small wood body planes with blades that are shaped to make an edge on a board, like using a router but by hand.

Texas Ranger · January 20, 2023, 03:45:27 PM

Not a plane, but a Stanley No. 30 angle duplicator.

I may have posted this before, but, hey, I'm getting older. 8)

Texas Ranger · January 20, 2023, 03:52:39 PM

Here is a blade pack for the Stanley 45.

Don P · February 12, 2024, 09:56:02 PM

More of Dad's old stuff.
A plow plane and a tongue plane. I guess the plow was the predecessor of the Stanley combination planes above. They typically came with a small set of profile blades but not like the combination planes. This one just has the matching groove blade for the tongue plane.

21incher · February 22, 2024, 09:34:06 AM

Getting ready to dump a bunch of old tools from my dad on Craiglist that I never use. A bunch of old rusty planes, saws, auger bits and braces that are just taking up space. Wondering if any of the planes have any value. Only 2 are Stanley, a #5 with ribbed base and #6 that I think were my grandfather's and some general. All are rusty but not really pitted.

Don P · February 22, 2024, 09:42:18 AM

A corrugated sole, I've got one taking up room here somewhere too.
Time to roll, a plumber flooded a basement build out we did last year... job security I guess.

21incher · February 22, 2024, 10:01:15 AM

Quote from: Don P on February 22, 2024, 09:42:18 AMA corrugated sole, I've got one taking up room here somewhere too.
Time to roll, a plumber flooded a basement build out we did last year... job security I guess.

Looking at ebay, that ribbed sole seems to be the most valuable of everything. Good luck drying that basement out.

wudshp · February 23, 2024, 10:49:54 AM

The 6 is older. It has a smaller brass knob and shorter front knob. Its also less common size than the 5 next to it. Still fairly common and not as in demand as the longer 7 or as in demand and less common as a number 8. The 5 is everywhere and value reflects that. Corrugated soles didn't used to matter much for price. They made lots of each. Maybe that's changed. They were marketed as easier to push as metal planes were harder to push than wooden soles. The other bench planes did not have much market or value in the past and I doubt that has changed. Google Patrick's blood and gore for more specific information if you want to get into the weeds on age and find out more about the stanley planes by model.

Take a look at the dado plane. At least I think that's what it is from the picture. I don't recognize it but it appears to be aluminum. Sometimes those have more value. Id guess maybe $50-80 for the 6 and less for the 5 if you reach a wider market. Local markets really vary. If you list clean the sawdust off and take good enough picture so buyer can see the condition of the japaning which is the black finish and show the blade length. Those are a pair of pretty useful planes that you might enjoy putting back to work as an alternative.

Larry · February 23, 2024, 12:55:59 PM

I somehow accumulated a bunch of them years ago but sent most of them down the road last move.

These are the only ones I have left. Decided to either use em or send them down the road also. Using seemed the best choice. I have a small one at the top than a 6, 7, and 8.

Been watching utubes about restoring and using them. Course I needed to buy a diamond 300/1000 grit stone, lapping fluid, and a sharpening jig.....only money.

Think I still need a high grit water stone for the ultimate edge.

21incher · February 23, 2024, 03:10:56 PM

Quote from: wudshp on February 23, 2024, 10:49:54 AMThe 6 is older. It has a smaller brass knob and shorter front knob. Its also less common size than the 5 next to it. Still fairly common and not as in demand as the longer 7 or as in demand and less common as a number 8. The 5 is everywhere and value reflects that. Corrugated soles didn't used to matter much for price. They made lots of each. Maybe that's changed. They were marketed as easier to push as metal planes were harder to push than wooden soles. The other bench planes did not have much market or value in the past and I doubt that has changed. Google Patrick's blood and gore for more specific information if you want to get into the weeds on age and find out more about the stanley planes by model.

Take a look at the dado plane. At least I think that's what it is from the picture. I don't recognize it but it appears to be aluminum. Sometimes those have more value. Id guess maybe $50-80 for the 6 and less for the 5 if you reach a wider market. Local markets really vary. If you list clean the sawdust off and take good enough picture so buyer can see the condition of the japaning which is the black finish and show the blade length. Those are a pair of pretty useful planes that you might enjoy putting back to work as an alternative.

Thanks. I was going to put the lot on Craigslist for 50 bucks, Maybe I will start a little bit higher. The aluminum dado one also has an adjustable saw blade for some reason on the other side of the blade.

21incher · February 24, 2024, 09:54:55 AM

That aluminum one is an Alumo 1A. I just looked it up and see it is a drawer bottom rabbit plane. That one seems to be a $35 to $45 plane without the extra trim blade. I may just list a couple individually to see if there is interest.

wudshp · February 25, 2024, 04:48:08 PM

An educated guess without a picture is the saw blade is there to score the wood fibers to get a cleaner cut on the edge of the groove. Prices are all over the place. I used to buy any good stanley complete and undamaged I could get for $20 or less 15-20 years ago. If you believe ebay thats probably impossible these days but watching facebook marketplace or craigslist its probably achievable for the patient in populated areas.

firefighter ontheside · April 16, 2024, 10:07:13 PM

I just won two planes in an online auction. One is a Stanley 45 for $20. I haven't had one so I thought it would be nice to have one on the shelf. The other is something I hadn't heard of. It's a Winchester brand jointer plane. I looked it up and it seems Winchester sold a line of woodworking tools for a while and the planes were made by either Stanley or Sargent. From the pics it looks like the size of a Stanley #7 for $40.

firefighter ontheside · April 18, 2024, 08:10:06 PM

My wife picked up the planes for me today, because I was at training for confined space rescue. They are in really good shape. I guess the guy was a collector and sprayed the plane with lacquer. The Winchester plane is a 3015 which was made by Sargent for Winchester and is like their 418. It is a jointer plane about 18" long. The other is a Stanley 45 in pretty good shape, but not much with it. They will both be wall hangers.