I recently dug out my grandfathers old hand plane. It is pretty rough, and I was wondering if it was worth cleaning up. I scratched through the rust and found a brand name I was unfamiliar with. On the lever cap and the blade both bare the name Winchester. The only making I could find on the sole were the numbers 3030. I have no idea at what time he would have purchased this plane or how old it could be. if anyone might be able to suggest the age or quality of the manufacture of this plane I would greatly appreciate your help.
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Replies
Winchester sold good quality hand planes under their own name (same guys that manufacture rifles and shotguns), and may have sold lesser quality (handyman-type) planes under another "house name"; my knowledge on Winchester planes is pretty spotty, but I think they were manufactured by Stanley. (I'm sure that someone will correct me if I'm wrong here.)
Age: most likely pre-WWII. I vaguely remember reading that Winchester was in the hand plane business from somewhere around the turn of the last century up until somewhere around the Depression or beginning of WWII; again could be wrong on either (or both) ends....
If it's not damaged (cracked casting, etc), then it's probably worth cleaning up, tuning up, and using.
The "3030" is probably a model number.
If you check on some of the hand tool forums/sites, you may be able to find some links to whatever history/documentation may be out there.
Hope this little bit helps.
Congratulations on finding your grandfather's plane; it's always nice to find tools that have a family connection.
Cheers!
James
Edited 6/1/2006 6:31 pm by pzgren
The Winchester name appears on many tools (saws, planes, etc). The quality was about the same as Stanley, Sargent and others. Many times the value is higher than equivalent Stanley planes mainly because of the association with the Winchester name - it has value in both the tool collecting and firearm collecting worlds.
THANK YOU!!!! for your replies I was wondering where I could go to find out a little more info one of you mention a tool forum. I deleted the E-mail so I lost who sent the reply. I curious if these were sold in Germany. Pre WWII is close to the time my family immigrated to the US. This may have have been something he bought used once they had arrived I guess, but I know my grandmothers brother brought over some tools and I was wondering if this could be one of them. I know this is some pretty in depth info but maybe someone knows a site I can go to. Thank you again for your reply.
Edited 6/3/2006 11:22 pm ET by miller
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