Found a No. 5 can you confirm?

[Peter Hartman]

I picked up this No. 5 yesterday. Seems like it is in pretty decent shape for $25 bucks. From what I can tell it appears to be type 13 made between 1925 and 1928. The casting seems to be sound and the things that should move seem to be fine. What are your thoughts on this one?


On a side note I ran across a Shapeleigh plane, looks to be about the size of a No.4 and I also found a Sargent. From what little I know, these may be made by the same company? Can anyone give me any more info on them.

[Mike Brady]

You got it right on the No.5, at least from what I can make out in the picture. Nice find. Fair price. You can grind off the mushrooming on the top of the iron (better yet, file it neatly). Take everything apart and clean it to your liking. You may need something like PB Blaster to get the frog screws out. Check the sole with a straight edge. If it close to flat, leave it alone except for rust removal. Reassemble, sharpen and learn (also enjoy).

Those #4's are so-so at the marked price. I would only invest in Stanleys, personally.

[Chris Hachet]

Agree with only investing in Stanley's.

I have a near identical #5 that I bought back in the 1980's and I have been using it regularly for the last 25 years or so. Mine is a type 13 also.

NICE find!

Chris

[Patrick Harper]

Very nice find. I'd agree that it looks like a 13. You can't beat that for $25. Put her to work!

[Judson Green]

Agree with Mike B. above, just clean her up a bit give her a good drink of oil and get her working again. Really you only need to spend time on the iron and chipbreaker. Remove the mushrooming, flatten the back, put a nicely radiused bevel on and sharpin it up. Polish the leading edge of the chipbreaker and make sure its mating the iron back, no light between.

She's sure to be a workhorse.

[steven c newman]

The sargent #4 would be the keeper of the two #4s. Had a Shipleigh's for a while.....it can be made to work. Shipleigh's did not make the planes, others did for them. It may be a Sargent, Stanley, or even a PEXTO. Pexto brand called Worth had that blue-green colour, and a steel frog ( aka "Toad"). The Pexto I had also had a white lever cap. Pexto parts can not be used on other brands of planes, either.
SDC14441.jpgPEXTO Brand

[Peter Hartman]

Thanks for the info Steven. The asking price for the Shipleigh is 80 or 90 bucks. I am not even considering that one. I am minorly interested in the sargent though. Are there any websites out there that will help identify the exact model?

Alright here are a few more pics of my No. 5. I plan to clean it up completely.







And I found one more that had no markings at all that I could see, but it was pretty cool.

[Greg Wease]

Sargent type study here: http://www.timetestedtools.com/typin...ch-planes.html

Are you sure that Sargent isn't welded at the toe? Hard to tell from the photo.

[don wilwol]

That Sargent 409 would make a decent user. The Shapeleigh looks to new and chromey for me. The #5 looks great. For $15, I'd leave the tranny. It looks to be Stanley made, but it needs a lot of work. If you could get it for $5 it would be a fun project.