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Thread: Anyone using a Stanley 5 1/4??

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
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    Attica, OH
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    Anyone using a Stanley 5 1/4??

    I stopped at a little flea market type place the other day. It's the kind of place that buys out estates and then resells all the junk...I mean, stuff.

    I found a box of odd and end tool parts, nails, sandpaper, and this and that. Among the detritus was the rotted out remnants of a Stanley 5 1/4. It was missing parts (though I found the cap iron in another box) and was rusted to the point that it was seized up. Cruddiness aside, it was a really neat plane. I loved its size and weight - or lack of weight, I should say.

    Anyone out there use a 5 1/4 on a regular basis? I kind of want one now. The one I described is the only one I can recall seeing in the wild, but I've never really looked for one before. I checked FleaBay and saw some nice examples, but the prices ranged from about $30 to $150+. Not sure what that's about. Are some types very rare and deserving of a crazy high price tag?

    I'm in a phase where I don't really enjoy using bevel-down planes with an iron wider than what's in the No. 4 and 5. I use the LV BU Jack all the time, and its iron is wider, but I rarely reach for my 5 1/2 or 607. Seems like taking any wider shaving than is necessary is just extra work.

    What say ye regarding the 5 1/4?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2004
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    Tallahassee FL
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    Although 5 1/4s don't get a lot of street cred, I like them. It is easier to push than a #5. If you find a good one or rehab a sad one, you will find many uses for it on your bench. Don't worry about missing parts--you can use a #3 donor for most items. Good luck in your search.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Norman, Ok
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    Yes, I used to use a 5-1/4 all the time when I worked for a custom millwork company. That and a block plane were the only planes in my toolbox.
    I really like the 5-1/4's size and narrow width iron.
    Are you sure you can't restore the 5-1/4 you have? As Jim said, many parts from a #3 (the iron, lever cap, and frog, assuming it's the right type) will fit.
    If you do have to look for one, the prices shouldn't be too high for an ordinary 5-1/4. The high-dollar ones are the 5-1/4C, at about $150.00, and the 605-1/4 and 605-1/4C, which can go for several hundred dollars.
    I'd advise you to try to restore the 5-1/4 you have.If you need parts, PM me. I might have some.
    Rick

  4. #4
    It seems like a very useful size. Lie Nielson discontinued their version of the plane. It is on my bucket lsit. the 605 1/4 is as mentioned above very rare...I have held one in my hands, but only seen one in my life as a woodworker.

    Buying vintage Stanley planes is addictive, I just found a Minty #6 for $45 (type 16, NICE) with the help of a fellow creek member.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Hachet View Post
    It seems like a very useful size. Lie Nielson discontinued their version of the plane. It is on my bucket lsit. the 605 1/4 is as mentioned above very rare...I have held one in my hands, but only seen one in my life as a woodworker.

    Buying vintage Stanley planes is addictive, I just found a Minty #6 for $45 (type 16, NICE) with the help of a fellow creek member.
    Chris, it's not in their catalog anymore but you can still get them to make you one. I have one but haven't had a chance to use it yet.

  6. #6
    Before I got a scrub I used a MF #11 (same as #5 1/4) with a big camber on the iron.

    They definitely are easier to push than a 5.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
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    Attica, OH
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    Rick, I didn't buy the plane. Decided it was too far gone for me. I'm burned out on major tool restorations. I enjoy a basic clean-up, tuneup and some fiddling to get an old tool back in primo working shape, but I've had enough of scrubbing rust out of tiny threads, dirty sandpaper, chemicals, sore hands and wasting hours doing all of the above. Sorry...my little rant for the day.

    I think I'll dig up a 5 1/4 this year. I travel quite a bit for work and can't hardly pass up an antiquish looking joint. I'm also on the lookout for a No. 6. I'm not sure why, but I feel like I need to add it to the row of planes on the shelf.

  8. #8
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    My first thought was that it'd make a nice scrub plane, but I think if I find one I'll use it as a jack/smoothing type hybrid. I've got plans to build a wooden scrub.

  9. #9
    Join Date
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    I use a Millers Fall No.11 when things are too short for the longer ones. It is also nice near the near of a long day of pushing #6s and #7s around. Little candle wax on the sole, and away we go. Before the #11? had a Stanley 4Square Junior jack....liked the millers Falls better. Mine also has no camber on the iron, I have a Corsair #5 for that sort of thing. It has an 8" camber.

    Just depends on what size of project I am working on.

  10. #10
    I have a beautiful #605 1/4. I don't use it because it's nice and rare. I would part with it if someone offered me a pretty number.

    There's no reason not to use it though, it's a great little plane.

  11. #11
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    The #5-1/4 was often the choice of high school shop classes. It is often called the "Junior Jack" for its relationship to the #5 Jack plane.

    My first foray into purchasing a pair of #5-1/4s was an ebay auction. Of course it was one of the few plane sizes not in my shop and I leapt without looking real close. The two were likely from a high school shop full of hormone addled teenagers with fits of anger taken out on the shop tools. I have seen ground meat that looked in better shape.

    They sat in a box for a few years. In the meantime another member who lives in the Pacific Northwest was kind enough to send my one in wonderful shape. It has been a handy addition to my fleet. It gets used often as the perfect plane for the job.

    Since then one of the beat up #5-1/4s has been turned into a scrub plane. At one time all my wood came surfaced on four sides. After finding a few local mills and milling some of my own wood a scrub plane made sense. It is a great size for scrub work. If the cracks around the mouth eventually give way, well then there is another cracked base to take its place.

    So, my feeling is if one is working rough sawn lumber, there may be need of two in the shop. One that can be a beat up mess for a scrub plane and one in good condition to use like a small Jack plane.

    As to the #6 mentioned, I find it a very useful plane as a short jointer or as a large Jack plane for flattening a panel or a long board. I like them so much I have two. Though the second one was purchased because it is a type 4 and only cost $10 with many parts missing.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  12. #12
    Join Date
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    I've got a 5-1/4 set up with a 5" radius on the blade. I use it when a scrub seems like too much and a jack (8" radius) isn't fast enough.
    AKA - "The human termite"

  13. #13
    Veritas sells a No. 5 1/4W for $249 which I've found tempting. Here's how they compare it to the Stanley 5 1/4:

    "Our #5-1/4W differs from the original [Stanley] in many ways – mainly, ours has a wider blade and the mouth is 4-3/8" behind the nose, unlike the original at 3-1/2". For better accuracy, an extra-long sole in front of the blade makes it easier to keep the sole flush to the wood when starting a cut. Combined, the mouth location and sensitive feed adjustment let the #5-1/4W serve as a jointer for most cabinet work.
    . . . .
    The body is fully stress-relieved ductile cast iron. The surface-ground 12" x 2-1/2" sole is flat and square to the sides, with extra-large side wings for stable shooting. The bubinga front knob and rear tote provide excellent control and comfort. A combined feed and lateral adjustment mechanism make blade setting easy and accurate. The 2" wide lapped blade is a full 1/8" thick, made in your choice of A2, O1 or PM-V11® tool steel."

    I've never seen a Stanley 5 1/4, and probably wouldn't be a great judge of its character if I had, but I get the impression that its bad rep comes from the generally awful condition they're in after getting beat up in trade or high school classes then stored in a basement for 30 years. So it's entirely possible that a Stanley in good condition would sell for about as much as other bench planes--perhaps there are even buyers who'll pay more for the nostalgia factor...






  14. #14
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    Curtis,

    From what I know about the Bedrocks, I agree with Rick. Seems that the big market for size 5 1/4 planes was high school manual training classes. Not many schools would spring for the extra cost of the Bedrock planes vs the Baileys. When the kids grew up and became carpenters, maintenance men, handy men, farmers, and even just hobby woodworkers, they bought #5, if they were going to buy a Jack plane, and in those situations the Jack plane was the main seller.

    There just aren't that many #605 1/4 Bed Rocks around, and since the Bed Rocks are loved by collectors, the size 5 1/4 Bed Rocks (the 605 1/4s) go for premium dollars, due to relative rarity.

    On the other hand, schools eventually sold off quite a few of their older shop class tools, and there are a lot of the Bailey 5 1/4 planes around so they bring a lot less. If the shop teacher ran a tight ship, some of those Bailey school planes aren't too bad. I just looked at Ebay, and $30 for a good vintage type 11 to type 14 Bailey plane seems to be a starting point for the Bailey 5 1/4s and some end up selling for about that. I did see folks wanting the $150 range Bailey 5 1/4s out there, but those over priced planes will be on the market on Ebay for a long time.

    As an example of the overpriced planes, I see folks asking $300 (and even quite a bit more than that) for Stanley 605 Bedrocks that has been fixed up to look nice frequently. If you look 6 months later, almost all of those overpriced planes will still be there, if the guys have not reduced the price.

    What I am saying is that someone ASKING that $150 for a Bailey 5 1/4 plane, and them getting that for it are two very different things.

    Stew
    Last edited by Stew Denton; 01-29-2016 at 9:39 PM.

  15. #15
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    It took me quite a while on an auction site to find a 5 1/4 at a reasonable price. I gave up on the 5 1/4C and bought a regular smooth bottom version. I bought a PM-V11 blade from LV for it, also fits my two #3's. I have about an 8" radius on the blade of mine, at the moment. I am still working on the blade fit, I may have to widen the mouth to get the Veritas plane blade to fit. As others have mentioned it is a very easy size to work with.

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