Hand tools

I finally received the plane I won on eBay.  The seller mailed it quickly after the auction ended, but due to the Memorial Day weekend I didn’t get it until over a week later.  The “unboxing” went well, although the box itself was a bit ruffled.  The corner was broken out and I could see the end of the plane.  The only padding was a paper bag.  Fortunately, the plane was okay.

I was able to quickly determine that it’s a Type 11, my first choice in Stanley plane types.  The three patent dates mean Type 11 or 12; the low knob and small adjuster nut indicate a Type 11.  A quick look showed no serious defects, no cracks, no missing parts.

Given the amount of crud on the plane, it was obvious it hadn’t been cleaned in quite a while.  It had been used, however, as the handle, knob, and blade adjustment nut were clean.  Whoever owned it before didn’t care much about appearances!  The blade was still pretty long, so it hadn’t been sharpened a bunch.  Good news.

Taking the lever cap off was easy.  If the lever cap is difficult to get off, it means either something is frozen up or it was put on too tight.  Too tight often means someone tightened the lever cap with the screw instead of the lever (not a good thing).  The frog attach screws also came out easily.  Things were still looking good.

Wow!  Lots of crud around and under the frog; apparently, it hadn’t been removed in quite a while.  Not a problem; actually a good sign.  Why good?   Many people tend to overtighten screws and/or use the wrong size screwdriver, which can mess up screw heads.  These are in great shape.

Next, the blade.  If it’s too rusted on the non-beveled side, it won’t be useable without lots of work.

Both blade and chipbreaker look pretty good.  I see no major pitting on the blade near the edge, although it’s a little hard to see until it’s cleaned up some more.  The other end of the blade is bent, but I should be able to fix that.  The chipbreaker looks great.  From what I understand, the black on the underside is from the heat-treating process.  Usually, it’s not this clean and consistent.  Another good sign.

Here’s a photo of all the parts.  Everything looks great and I think this plane will clean up very nicely to make a great user.

I was amazed at how much crud came out of the plane, so I included it in the photo.  As for the rest of the parts, I’ll discuss how I clean them up in future posts.  When the plane is complete, I’ll be selling it on eBay.  My current #5 has been with me for a long time and I don’t need another one.

I just purchased a plane on eBay.  Not that I need another  plane…  I just wanted to describe the steps I take to tune up a bench plane, and I neglected to purchase a suitable plane last week at the quarterly Old Tool Swap at Anderson Plywood in Culver City.  Just plane forgot…

The plane is a Stanley #5.  It’s a little hard to tell in the photo, but I think it’s a Type 11 – low knob, no raised ring around knob, no logo on lever cap, small adjuster knob.  When purchasing old Stanley bench planes, the Type 11 is my first choice; I like the low knob.  Types 11 through 16, however, have the main features I’m looking for:  frog-adjusting screw, rosewood knob and tote, and the frog is accurately located front and back (more on that later).  If you want more info on Stanley plane types, there’s plenty on the web; Google this if you’re interested.

The seller only posted the photo above and this description “Nice #5 Baily wood plane.  Blade is a Stanley with the Sweetheart mark. Handle has a chip removed at the top; but no cracks. A few spots of lite rust. This is as found, has not been cleaned.”  Bidding started at $9.90 and shipping was $13.03.  Perfect for my project.

When purchasing an old plane, I have the following questions:

1. Is anything cracked?  Cracks on the body around the mouth area immediately disqualify the purchase.
2. Are all the parts there?  Parts can be replaced, but I’d prefer to not mess with hunting down replacement parts.
3. Is the blade salvageable?  No pitting near the tip, lots of blade left, and flat.  Ron Hock and others make great replacement irons, but this will add about $35 to the plane.  Ditto for the chipbreaker, but at a lesser cost.
4. Is there a lot of rust?  Surface rust is no problem, but when parts are really pitted, I’ll pass.
5. Are the handle and tote salvageable?  No serious cracks.  A chipped handle (like this plane) can be fixed, but some damage isn’t worth fixing and will require replacement.
6. Are the adjustment knob and lateral adjusting lever working well?  The brass adjustment knob can get pretty trashed where it interfaces with the Y-adjusting lever, or the knurling can be worn off.  The lateral adjusting lever rivets can be loose, the washer may be missing, or the little tab at the far end of the lever can be loose or missing.  The knob is easy to replace, but replacing the lateral adjusting lever is tricky business.

From what I could see in the photo, everything looked pretty good, but I needed more info.  I emailed the seller to see if he could supply some additional photos.  He did, emailing me three pics.  They showed the underside of the body around the mouth; the blade/chipbreaker and lever cap; and the area behind the frog.  Not great pics, but enough for me to determine what I’d spend on the plane.

I decided my maximum price would be $35 including the shipping, which worked out to a max bid of $21.97.  No one was bidding on the plane, so I hoped I might get it for much less.  Turns out, I got the plane with a winning bid of $12.47, for a total price of $25.50.  I quickly paid, and the seller shipped it the next day.

As I write this it’s on way from Connecticut to Southern California…