Stanley hand plane

[datzenmike]

An old Stanley hand plane came into my possession, I love old tools and can't bare to see it go to waste. I'm curious how old it is. I went to one site and there are 20 iterations from 1867 for the next 100 years. I had it apart to clean and oil and answered the multiple choice questions and is says... You’ve got a Stanley Bailey Type 3 Hand Plane, manufactured: 1872-1873... But I don't think so. It has the SsS Siegley marked blade. Siegley built them originally and Stanley bought them out continued to use the name on the blades from 1901-1927. So it may be at least this old. SsS was Stanley steel Siegley. 

 

 

 

I think the STANLEY on the front started in 1925???

 

 

 

 

Any actual carpenters out there?

 

SsS Siegley blade, no patent numbers only No 4 1/2 cast at the front, no raised boss cast around the front handle, corrugated bottom, does not say Bailey anywhere. No serial or size numbers anywhere.

 

   

[Duncan]

Not a carpenter, but I like old tools as well.  I like old Craftsman forged hand tools, and most of my body working tools are very old.  I buy 'em cheap and use them for life.

 

That plane is really cool..

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 5, 2021 by Duncan

[thisismatt]

I'm a carpenter, but I rarely use planes.  I have a couple Lie-Nielsen's but they are pretty specialized versions...a butt mortise plane and a chisel plane.

 

[datzenmike]

A plane is like a tire lever for changing tires. Who uses them today??? I used it this afternoon to strip dried bark off a maple walking stick. I usually cut live ones and slice it off with a machete. I didn't notice this one is newly dead and the bark doesn't peel. Thought a plane would work and it did. (well enough) It's nice working with your hands.

 

 

[thisismatt]

I know guys that still use them in the field a little bit, but it's just one more thing to haul around and I have other, more frequently used tools that take their place. I don't have the patience/desire to make things 100% by hand.. like hand cutting dovetails, no thanks

[john510]

I'm a carpenter and the only use i've had for those is to scrape uneven glue joints down when we clamp boards together.I've seen guys use them to plane a tight fitting door so it doesn't bind in the jamb.Down here in san Diego they sell them at swap meets and they're not cheap.That's probably worth more as a collector item than a tool you would use frequently.

[paradime]

Rarity drives the price for antique tool collectors, the actual value is in the hands of the user, so put it to good use. I believe the basic design of the Stanley/Siegley blades have remained constant and are interchangeable, so you can't rely on the blade for dating the tool. As for the channeled contact surface, so many were produced back in the day, they're still found in the bottom of a box at swap meets. They're kind of like a wheat penny from the 50s, the coin's actual value is in the copper it's make of.

 

I've had decades of experience wood working, from rough carpentry to furniture making, and I always had a Stanely in my shop and in my truck. Like John mentioned,  when you're making a living at it, doing things by hand isn't always practical. I only used them when I couldn't or didn't want to run an extension cord to my Makita 3 1/4, or didn't have my shop jointer set up.

 

Although you're only cleaning sticks, I don't think using a hand planer is the best tool for the job. My recommendation for stripping bark is a super sharp 10" draw shaver. If you want to kill two birds with one tool though, that Stanley is the way to go.

Edited September 5, 2021 by paradime

[datzenmike]

A spoke shaver? Exactly! Well I cleaned it up and oiled it. I won't use it for a door stop. Old tools, like Datsuns, are meant to be used.

[grannyknot]

That is an old plane, the channeled surface is something they did in the 30's-40's, as mentioned above, so many companies produced planes that were virtually identical to Stanley's product, so much so that you could mix and match parts which is why so many planes don't really match but work perfectly.

Here's and old Stanley/Bailey I have, clearly made in the US but with a Canadian made blade. Always a joy to use it when I can find something to use it on.

Value?  You see guys trying to get $80-90 for them all the time but really $15-20 is the going price that I've seen whether they are restored or rusted out.

Did someone say Spoke Shave?

I'm a bit of an old tool addict myself, if you want to turn this into an old tool show and tell thread I'm sure we could fill it with the stuff we all have tucked away.

 

Edited September 6, 2021 by grannyknot