a new bench plane

[Ken S]

I purchased most of my bench planes in 1972. ( #4,5, and 7, all well cared for 1909 vintage Stanley Bedrocks).  Since then, I added a #6 Bailey from a now defunct antique store in Opal, VA and a $15 #5 Bailey from a local antique store.  No bench planes added in over fifteen years.

I just purchased a nice #3 type 11 (1910-1919 vintage) Stanley.  The price on ebay (49.95) was on the high side, however, the plane is in very fine condition.  It will require only a minor tune up an should be a trooper.  Ernie Conover taught me how to tune bench planes.  I am looking forward to the pleasant task.

The smaller size should work well with a lot of my work.  At 62, I don't plan large projects.  Also, it will be a nice beginning size in a few years for my grandchildren.

This size will be set up as a finely set smoothing plane.  I don't plan to adjust the throat opening once set.  It won't see heavy duty use.  The quick set frog of the Bedrock or Lie-Nielesn  would be wasted on me.

Any #3 users out there?

Ken

[Dakotapix]

Hey Ken -- I acquired a nice old no. 3 Stanley from a tool chest of an old shipswright after he died. His family was selling his tools. However, I sold that on eBay after picking up a newly released Lie-Nielsen no. 3 at a reduced introductory price. That must have been at least 12 years ago. That size is very nice but I also like the fours, fives and a particular favorite size is the Stanley 5 1/2 that I plucked off eBay some years ago. It has enough heft so that it'll do the rough removal prior to smoothing. It can also do some jointing on smaller pieces.

I wound up with quite a few old Stanley's in my initial phase of acquiring and re-habbing old planes. I'm now in the processor of reducing that inventory via Craig's List and eBay.

[Ken S]

Thanks for the reply, Dakotapix.  My bench planes are almost all old Stanleys, either inherited or mostly purchased forty years ago.  The forty year old purchases were a set (4,5 and7) of 1910 vintage Bedrocks bought from the original owner.  I really lucked out; I had never heard of Bedrocks at the time.  The 7 is almost a Bedrock.  Someone borrowed it surreptitiously from the original owner, broke the long sole, and replaced it with a Keene sole.  As the Keene and Bedrock parts were interchangeable, it works fine.  The inherited planes are mostly 4s and 5s from my grandfathers, the 5 being 1991 vintage and still going strong.  I like using older tools.

I do think Lie-Nielsen and Veritas make some marvelous new planes.  I don't plan to purchase any more bench planes, however, some of the joinery planes look very tempting. 

My very recent move means I finally have a workshop.  I had been using an unheated Ohio garage shared with a car and storage.  With 24x30' of shop space in a heated and air conditioned dry basement, I can finally move forward.

Have you replaced any of your Stanley lades with  Hock or similar blades?

I have toyed with the idea of adding a 3 for many years.  Reading Chris Schwarz' Handplane book inspired me.  It might also be a good started plane for my six and four year old grandchildren when they are a little older.

The 5 1/2 seems intriguing.  Would you recommend a nice old Bailey/Bedrock or a new Lie'Nielsen or Veritas?

Ken

[Dakotapix]

I recently sold a Bedrock 608c that I found at an antique shop in Wisconsin several years ago. It was just too big for the kind of work I need to do. I still have three 604's, a 605 and 606. I'll be keeping the 605 but plan to sell off the others. The 5 1/2 I own is probably something like a type 14 Stanley. The Bedrock versions in that size generally command a lot of money because they're relatively scarce.

The real sleeper in my plane inventory is the fairly newly released Stanley version of the old no. 62. It is part of the "Sweetheart" series introduced by Stanley a couple years ago. I picked it up from Amazon back in May for $109 and was sure that I'd probably send it back after I tried it out. Not so. Much better than I expected so I'll keep it. FYI this is basically a long, low-angle block plane.

[Ken S]

Nice deal on the 62.  The 62 strikes me as the kind of plane where the Tormek would really shine.  Have you tried using different blade angles with it? It's on my possible wish list.  Actually, the wish list is short and has been put on hold until I get the new workshop up and running.

I feel the same way you do about the 8.  At this stage of life (age 62) planned projects are not so large.

I hope Stanley will stay the course with their new Sweetheart line.  Their quality has really slipped in recent decades. Now they have some tough competition.  That's a good thing. 

Ken

[Dakotapix]

I actually got the 62 to use as a shooter although I've yet to make a shooting board. I probably won't bother with different angled cutters although. The 62 is supplied with an A2 cutter, by the way and the standard Tormek stone is supposed to handle that steel with ease, I understand.

[Ken S]

One of the other tools stolen during the break in (in addition to my first Tormek) was my miter saw.  That puts a shooting board higher in my list.  I think the 62, with its low angle blade and long sole would be just the ticket for shooting.  I don't remember where I read it (it may have been one of the descriptions of Veritas' new steel).  The article referred to A2 as having very good hardness, but about the same heat resistance as 01.  That would make sense for plane and chisel blades.

Ken