Reasonable price for vintage #4 and #5

[Daniel Rode]

Tom and I are in contact. It's a more expensive route so I'd have to put off getting a #4 for a while but a #5 done by him will be dead flat and square which makes it a perfect shooting plane for me.

Drop Tom Bussey a line.

He rehabilitates older planes to a condition
rivaling today's "boutique" planes at a fraction
of the retail price.

[Greg Portland]

I'm looking to pick up a Stanley Bailey #4 and #5 in user condition. I'm willing to do some basic cleanup but nothing too drastic. Based on my experience with my 1905-1910 #6, I want something pre WWII if possible. These should be as common as grains of sand.

What's a reasonable price for these planes. Is there a better place to look other than eBay?

I'm fairly new to hand tool woodworking and I've been happy with some old Craftsman planes and an old Sargent 422C. I've used old Stanleys and these are just as good once everything is tuned and sharpened. I've heard that old Miller Falls is another good option. The most I've paid was $35 for the Sargent and that's because the antique store thought they had a Stanley (blade was Stanley, rest was Sargent). I have a Veritas low-angle block + rear grip (got as a gift) and use it heavily. It's adjusts better than my other planes and is rock solid but I'm not sure that would justify the cost delta to people starting out. If it only takes me another 15-20 seconds to adjust the other planes then that's not a big deal for me.

[Stew Denton]

Hi Daniel,

I spent some significant time looking at the sold prices of Stanley Bailey #4s about a month ago. I specifically was looking at type 10 to type 15s, because those are the ones I was and am interested in. When I priced these types collectively as a group, I included shipping and the cost of replacing any broken parts. For example, if the tote on a plane was broken, I would include what a replacement Ebay tote would cost including shipping and then added that into the price. I then tabulated the price over the period of time that I looked at, made it into a histogram and found the mean price of the planes and then looked at the price range over which covered the lions share of the planes.

What I found was the mean price of a plane in good user condition, price determined as above, was about $60. Now, in many or most cases, the plane would need to be cleaned up, and would have some mild to moderate corrosion. I didn't price ones that I thought were so far gone as to be rust buckets, or would take a lot of time to restore. Price ranges ran from about $40 to about $80. As with any auction, the planes in better shape tended to sell for more, but not always.

Sometimes folks got bargains it seemed, and part of the time I would think "how did that plane sell for that much money?"

At any rate, for the period of time that I priced the planes, a price of $45 was a very good price, and most of the time the plane was going to cost you around $60.

If you are willing to stick it out and bid fairly often, you can get a bargain, but there are enough folks watching planes on Ebay I seriously doubt that you are going to get an incredible bargain. Thus if you wait long enough you can save $20, but the bargains that are much less than this are very rare.

I have enough #5s that I no longer even look at them, nor the prices

Regards,

Stew

[don wilwol]

A nicely cleaned and-or restored, tuned and sharpened #4 can easily go for $80-$100. If you've ever restored a hand plane you know the seller isn't making a fortune. If you're up to tuning and cleaning yourself, it depends on your willingness to hunt for a deal. Antiquing is what my wife and I do to lose the rest of the world, so the time doesn't count. If you enjoy it, then deals can be found. I've paid as little as $5 for some restorable planes. I paid $10 for a type 1 Sargent 409.

If time is money for you, then find a reputable dealer or one of the guys on the woodworking forums who re-sell, and get one ready to go. If you want to restore but don't want to take the time to hunt for it, there are a few of use who re-sell that way as well.

Deals can be found on ebay as well, but it also takes time.

Its all about your interest.

[ken hatch]

Josh at Hyperkitten is a better option than eBay and costs very little more up front but in the long run is cheaper because of the eBay burn rate. He gives a good description of the tool, sends it, if you like you pay for it, if not send it back to him. It is that simple. I've never had to send one back because it wasn't as described.

[Mike Cherry]

I recently got a bedrock 7 from Tom Bussey and it is easily,as someone mentioned earlier, on par with a modern premium plane.

[Daniel Rode]

This may seem backwards to some but I'll probably sell my Wood River #4 in favor of a vintage Stanley Bailey. I have a modern Stanley #4. While is absolute junk, I very much prefer the weight and style.