$5 dunlap jack plane

[Daniel Rode]

I found a Dunlap plane that I was able to pick up for $5. 13 3/4" long, so it appears to be the equivalent of a Stanley #5. I understand that these are or marginal quality but I think I can clean it up for use as a dedicated shooting plane. I read that some were made for Sears b Miller Falls but that's about all I know. My wife picked it up, so I haven't see it in person yet. For $5 I'll use it as a doorstop (coat hanger?) if it won't cut wood but it looks complete and should take a standard 2" iron.

Any guess what age it might be? 50s, 60s, maybe? Anyone here own one of these red-handled beauties?

dunlap_5_plane.jpg

[Jim Koepke]

I have a #3 sized Dunlap plane that bears a few features indicating its being made by Millers Falls.

Yours looks like a later model with some cost lowering features. Not enough to indicate who may have been the maker.

That does not mean it can not be made into a usable shooting plane or other use.

jtk

[george wilson]

Careful using the word "equivalent"!! But,with some flattening of the sole,possibly squaring up the sides as needed,and maybe a new iron(if needed,the old one may be fine),it looks like a perfectly usable plane.

Dunlap was a second tier line of tools made for Sears,though I have no idea who made it. At that time,it most likely would have been made in USA,or at least Western Europe.

The things I've mentioned could equally apply to old Stanleys,or other planes as well.

[Jim Belair]

It would as well be a good choice for a scrub plane, a forgiving application.

[Stew Denton]

I have a Dunlap, and the bed and bottom of the frog are "as cast" on mine, they are not milled. Schwarz mentions somewhere that in his classes he has tried to tune up such planes, with cast, not milled, bottoms to the frog and bed, and he has never been able to get one to do really fine work.

I would not spend any significant money trying to get one milled. If you can try to work on it by hand, spending little money, it might be worth trying.

Stew

[Daniel Rode]

+1

I mostly dimension stock with machines but a scrub still comes in handy for lots of stuff. Wide boards, for one. If it doesn't work out as a shooting plane, I'm sure it will make a fine scrub plane

[steven c newman]

I had one of those. The iron is a METRIC width, and is a hair narrower than the standard 2" width, enough that a replacement 2" iron will not fit. Iron on mine was stamped as "Made in West Germany" So, that kind of narrows the time frame down a bit. Iron was actually quite good. Sole was flat enough for a jack plane.

Bottom of the frog is flat. On the #3 sized one I had, the bed is cast/machined into a slope. The result is a York Pitch. About 50-55 degrees. Still have the #3 sized one, and it also has a metric width iron. A 1-3/4" wide Stanley iron would not fit it.

That bolt for the cap iron. Wasn't that good. Seemed to work loose in use. I do have a spare, IF you want it, as I placed a "regular" lever cap on the #5. SDC13699.jpgThe #3 Dunlap, after a good clean and refurbSDC13639.jpgand a look under the hood. Note the frog seat. It is cast/ground into an angle, the bottom of the frog is flat. SDC14585.jpgAnd the base of the #5

[Daniel Rode]

The good news is that the plane was complete and aside from some minor rust was in great condition. The bad news is that the sides are nowhere near square to the sole. So it's not going to be a shooting plane. It's going to be a scrub plane.

I broke it down and tossed the parts into a bath of lemon juice and water. After soaking for a few hours, I hit all the surfaces with a 000 scratch pad, rinsed dried and applied a light coat of oil. The red paint on the knob and tote were badly chipped. I stripped it all off and then hit the wood with some dark brown dye and a couple coats of finish.

I added a camber to the iron and sharpened it up and put it in service as my new scrub plane. For $5 and an hour of work, I'm happy with the result.
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DSC02091.jpg

[Dave Lehnert]

Looks GREAT!