Is this plane worth saving ?

[Greg Dekeyser]

I'm new here...I did a quick search but didn't find much. I'm also new to wood working in general so I don't have nearly the experience you guys do...

When I bought my house I found an old plane stashed away in the garage.

the handle is broken, the knob is cracked, the bottom is not flat and its rusty! I'll have to drill out one of the handle screws too since its broken off....

I took a few pics. Its an old craftsman (or maybe just craftsman parts on an other plane)...I don't know anything else about it...its says "Made in USA"

i ran it across some sand paper to see if it was flat....so the pics show the wear pattern.

is it worth putting the effort to flatten it and make a new handle and knob?

thanks! I appreciate your input!

-Greg

[Jeff Skory]

Hi Greg,

Welcome to the Creek. Great place for info.

I've just started getting into handplanes myself in the last few months and have restored a few at this point. Based on what I know at this point I would pass on trying to fix this one up. Craftman handplanes are not known for being very good and this one will need a lot of work. Better to find a used Stanley at a garage sale, flea market, or even on ebay that is in better shape than this one. That way when you put in the effort to fix it (can be considerable) you'll have something that works better.

I'm sure you'll get lots of other answers from the more experienced guys.

[Johnny Kleso]

I would say no it's not..
It was not a quality model when new..
You can find some nice Stanley (Bailey Models) for about $25 on eBay Collectable> Tools or Garage Sales for even less and they would make a much better plane to start with....

[Charles Davis]

Run away from that as fast as possible! That plane would most likely turn you away from ever hand planing again. Like Johnny said, grab an old, undamaged Stanley Bailey off eBay for around $25. That would be worth tuning up and using.

Chris Schwarz just made a blog entry related to this decision making process: http://blog.woodworking-magazine.com...ping+Crap.aspx

[David Romano]

It looks as though it was made by Millers Falls, based on the red painted frog. I have a Craftsman #7 Jointer plane with a corrugated sole and nice working action, that I think is pretty nice. If you've got the time, I'd try restoring it a bit. At the very least, you'll get some practice and the next time you are considering restoring one, you'll know what you are getting into. There is a good chelating agent rust remover, Evapo-rust. Never used it, but it gets raves.

Dave

[Bob Haverstock]

Greg,

This is not a high dollar plane, but you really can't hurt it. I have one just like it, and I use it. I think it is a good plane to start into the vortex with.
You will learn alot fiddling with this one, after all, it is your first plane. It will teach you to sharpen and adjust. I just remembered that I have a black toted Stanley that looks like its sister. Well, it might teach you more that your wanted to know!

Now, study up and get at it.

Bob

[George Beck]

Is it worth saving? I guess that depends on for what purpose. Here are some ideas;

1. You can spray paint it and call it "art"
2. You can smash walnuts with it
3. Make a great shop door prop
4. Sell it to Cracker Barrel as interesting nostalgia (Craftsman "made in USA
5. Mount in on a sign as an ornament
6. Bury it in a time capsule

As a woodworking tool? Not so much

[Werner Huber]

@ george:

very creative!

[Dominic Greco]

Greg,
If it were me, I'd save it for a rainy day project when I felt up to the challenge. Soak it in Citric Acid (available from Wine/Beer making store) or Evaporust (available from Harbor Freight, and there is a discount coupon for HF floating around somewhere here) and then clean it up.

Like someone said, it'll be a exercise in restoring a plane. I mean, how much worse can you make it! Then when you're done, you can do what you want with it. I've taken a couple of "beaters" like this and tuned them up to the point where they worked and then have donated them to newbie wood workers.

[Greg Dekeyser]

Given the ratio of "yea" to "nays"....I'll pass on putting any effort into it.

a while back i bought a small block plane from wood craft but had no idea how to take care of it...so it got some surface rust. I just watched a video on FWW that shows how to flatten and care for a plane, so that's taking care of that problem. It should be in decent shape as soon as i get more sandpaper (ran out last night)


I'll keep my eyes out for the Stanley stuff....is there a way to tell them apart from the more modern junkier Stanleys (that might just be neglected and look really old)? a link or recommendations on how to ID and what to look for would be awesome


thanks for the recommendation guys!

[jerry nazard]

It was possibly made for Sears by Millers Falls, who made some very nice planes. I would take the time to at least clean it up a bit, sharpen the iron, and at that point decide if it is worth restoring. There is much you can learn about planes by working on a junker.

I have a restored Millers Falls 4 1/2 that is one of my all-time favorite planes. Give it a shot: you only have a little time to invest, and you might get something nice out of it!

[Richard Dooling]

There are other resources but this is a good place to start. This link takes you to Patrick Leach’s well researched information on tools - especially Stanley Bailey hand planes. The link is to a genteel message he would like you to read before proceeding to his content pages. He’s a bit opinionated about some things like transitional planes and the #6 fore plane, but I’m sure he has a good heart.

http://www.supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan0.htm

This link is to pages that will help you date planes by feature and helps by boiling down a lot of content into concise statements. Check out the Plane Dating Flowchart. It also references Patrick Leach's site.

http://www.hyperkitten.com/tools/stanley_bench_plane/

.

[Richard Niemiec]

I've been diddling with old planes for about 15 years or so and suggest that wise men learn from others' experience, so do yourself a favor and don't bother. Its totally unremarkable, likely MF but their secondary line, not in particularly good shape and the frustration of a newbie trying to make it work properly will dampen your spirit and verve for the hobby. Personally, I would not have accepted it if given to me for free, it would just take up space. But, if you can find about 10 more and chain them together, they'd make a great boat (small boat) anchor. Just my view.....

[Jim Koepke]

My opinion of this plane is that it needs more work than it may be worth.
The width of this plane is not mentioned. If it is a 2 inch blade, it is definitely a door stop. It looks like it may be a 4-1/2 size plane, 2-3/8 inch wide blade. Those are a bit harder to find in the wild.

My bottom line test on a plane like this is to give it a try on the edge of a board. Nothing is done to the plane for this test unless, if the blade is dull, give it a honing. It is mainly a tactile characteristic. My evaluation is based on how the plane feels taking as thin of a shaving as the plane can up through taking thicker shavings.

My judgement is then made on how the plane feels. If it works and feels good, then it may be considered. Currently, my accumulation of bench planes is pretty much complete. That said, I still have problems with turning down a bargain, having bought another #7 (type 7)yesterday.

One of the things that turned me off to Union planes is the lateral adjuster seems a little weak. Other than that, Union planes are pretty good planes.

If you have some metal working experience, then getting the broken screw out may not be a hard job. Otherwise, it could be good training.

The Chris Schwarz decision tree is an interesting read. My decisions are based on similar and a few other items. Because of my not really "needing" more bench planes, it has to be a deal good enough that the plane could be resold and at least breaking even, or it is being bought for someone else at cost. My preference is to buy Stanley planes made around 1930 or earlier. That is just my preference and not a knock on planes made later or by different makers. Many of the later planes and those made by different makers are very fine tools. Stanley planes made from 1920-1936 tend to command a premium. I avoid paying premiums. The frog adjusting screw is a nice feature. I seldom use it. It is easier to just have another plane set up for a different adjustment. The #4 and #5 are good sizes to have multiples set up for different types of cuts.

A few years ago, a free plane like this would have really made my day. Now, it would be a project fighting for time with all of the other things on my long list. Amazing how busy one can get just by retiring. Though not so bad that going back to work has crossed my mind.

jim

[phil harold]

It has to be better than no plane at all

Fix it up it can only get better