Is this a good plane?
For sale for $40.00
[OP]
Member
Is this a good plane?
For sale for $40.00
Contributor
If I were you, I'd pass. You can find a pre-war Stanley for about that price. It probably won't come with the box, but you probably won't care unless you are a collector. Someone here will have something better for the same money or less. In fact, I could probably come up with something for you if you are interested.
Zach
Your endgrain is like your bellybutton. Yes, I know you have it. No, I don't want to see it.
Guest
What Zach said. If it were priced at $10, I'd still pass.
Member
From what I can see in the picture, it doesn't look too bad. It appears to have a wood knob and tote, as opposed to plastic and a metal depth adjustment knob instead of plastic one. When you see plastic on a plane that's almost always an indication that you should pass. If the asking price was $20 or less, I'd say go for it. But at $40--pass.
Member
I've heard some brand names were rebadged versions of good planes made by Stanley or other quality manufacturers. I have no idea if that was the case with this one. If it was the case, that would be a good deal on a near-mint plane.Originally Posted by Howard Miller
Personally, I would only consider buying it if I could pick it up, take it apart, and look at the quality of the machining and whether the parts fit together well. For example, some lesser planes were made with no machining between the base and frog (just rough castings where they fit together). It would be really hard to make a plane like that work well.
If you can't nail down these issues, you should pass on it. Although...it might look nice displayed on a shelf. My mother loves old tools she can hang on the wall or put on a shelf as a decoration piece.
Jim
Member
+1. (I wish this site were more tolerant of brevity).
Contributor
When I consider what I have found for much less, there would have to be a good reason for me to spend $40 on a hand plane.
I am curious as to why it has the Sears name and not the Craftsman name.
I am also curious as to who made this plane. I do not know all the various makers real well. One thing that does stand out if the platform for the tote. I am not sure if that was Millers Falls or some other maker.
jim
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Member
the same plane is for sale on ebay, item #220499840927, with slightly more info, also asking 40 obo.
Member
Probably a good plane, under all that red paint!
It's a Millers Falls underneath. But for $40 I'd pass. You could get a genuine one for that price. The machining will probably be better and you could get the two-piece lever cap too, which is lacking on the custom labeled planes.
Last edited by Bob Barkto; 11-09-2009 at 4:09 PM.
Member
I have one (Craftsman) that I don't use. It is an old plane, probably from the 60's. The one I have is about the same quality as a Bailey from the same time. It looks a lot like a Bailey, but I don't know who made it.
With the Baileys being priced as they are on Ebay, I would buy a Bailey. Parts are available for the Baileys, and we know their quality. I have a #3 Bailey that IIRC cost about $30. I use it freqently. It will make translucent shavings for the length of the board being worked on.
Member
The old made in USA Craftsman planes were made by Sargent I believe. If you get one of the older vintage ones (made in USA), they're good planes, every bit as good as Stanley and MF, and can be had for a fraction of the cost of similar sized and vintage Stanleys and Millers Falls. However, $40 isn't a good price for a #4 sized plane in my opinion even for a Stanley or Millers Falls. It's on the higher end of what a Stanley Bailey #4 should go for. I'd say $15 to $20 tops for a #4 sized plane. They're as common as dirt.
Contributor
Those pictures do help to identify the maker as Millers Falls.the same plane is for sale on ebay, item #220499840927, with slightly more info, also asking 40 obo.
Unless you really like red, my opinion is an old Stanley Bailey plane is a better buy.
Often seen at yard sales in the $5-$10 range.
jim
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Guest
Pics on ebay suggest to me its a MF, albeit the lower quality version. "Sears" and not "C-man" designation also suggests this. Still overpriced at $10 and even then its a crapshoot if it will ever perform half as well as a $40 T17 to T19 Stanley. Amazing the interest it drew here, guess its the box...... heck, if someone wants a T12 (I think) #4 that needs some sole lapping for $40, I've got one for ya. It'll run rings around this one.
Member
I've got one exactly like it in my shop that I'm cleaning up for my FIL. It's not worth $40 IMO when compared to used Bailey that are often less $....even @ $20 I don't think it'd be a wise expenditure. It can probably be made to work ok, but just isn't made to the standards of some of the better Craftsman, Records, Baileys, or Millers Falls planes, and doesn't have as many adjustments....it's also not really worth the bother in comparison.
Happiness is like wetting your pants...everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth....
Member
I believe all you guys when you say you find these, but I fear I'll never have my own "You Suck!" moment.A few years ago I was watching the classifieds and looking for promising estate sales and yard sales to check out. I went to a number of them, but never found anything but total junk for woodworking tools.
One Saturday morning I arrived at an estate sale a few minutes after it opened and came upon a team of two guys who had brought their own high intensity work lights on stands into the basement. They were efficiently sifting through every piece of metal in the basement to find anything of value. They were professionals scrounging for old tools to sell. And that's how I learned that I wasn't likely to ever find anything useful at an estate sale in my neck of the woods.This was a rare sale that started on Saturday; usually these guys struck on Friday morning when I was at work.
Yard sales are less likely to draw these sorts of characters, but they're pretty hit or miss too (mostly miss). I decided that, considering I work full time and have 2 small children at home, that paying a reputable dealer $40 for an old Stanley was the best thing for me to do. The hunt for better deals is fun, but I just don't have the time....
For those of you who are finding great tools, keep posting them! It's still fun to read about them!
Jim
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