hi, after many months adventuring in the area of restoration of very cosmetically troubled handplanes, i am in the process of putting together a very graphic, image-based website on the plane restoration techniques that i found to work the best. i have actually enjoyed the process and look forward to doing more planes in my spare time.
there are often threads by people who want to get into handtools but balk at the price of new lie-neilsons or cliftons and are frustrated by the quality of new records or stanleys. my question is this: would people be interested in purchasing fully restored and tuned stanley planes with thicker replacement blades? if so, i am thinking of doing a few to start and seeing how it goes. i was thinking baileys, some block planes, maybe some 78s? any other sugggestions would be welcome.
p.s. for those die-hard preservationists out there, i am talking about restoring common planes that are functional but less than cosmetically pleasing…so the minty 10 1/4s and 196s are still all yours.
Replies
Sure people will be interested. You just have to be able to sell them on the idea that what you do is substantially different than what someone else does. For example:
http://www.supertool.com/601.htm
That's salesmanship if anyone buys one for that price, but it's a fine looker. You and Planewood ought to hook up and commiserate about the biz.
" To the noble mind / Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind" - Wm Shakespeare, Hamlet, III,i,100
I have cleaned up and tuned some planes to use. Keep me posted on what you do.
Alan / Planesaw
Interesting idea, I wish you the best. I like to do the same thing for my own user planes and I'd find your site helpful no doubt.
Steve
I might well be interested. Email me if you would like. I don't have the patience for reworking a hand plane. Now, that can't be true, since I do have the patience to build furniature. Just a matter of where one wants to put their patience, perhpas, and for me it is not in metal work. I once emailed planewood about buying a fully resored plane, fully fettled, but his work is more limited in scope. Lapping the sole is what I don't enjoy.
Hi,
You could do well if you have access to decent quality planes. I was really collecting alot about 8 years ago and got sidetracked into another business and sold most of my collection. I recently began re aquiring/upgrading my Bailey's and Bedrocks. The prices here ( San Diego,CA) are ridiculusly high. I've seen beat no way to use Bailey #7's going for $225! Things I bought and sold for $40 are now $80. Spend a week on eBay and you'll see the going rate which I guess is a market standard but things easily get out of hand. I've seen Bedrock 605's go from $75-$175 that appear identical. Now we have a "ceiling" of the LN prices ie: if the LN 604 1/2 costs $300 you'll be hard pressed to get close to or more than that for a Bedrock except a collectable from a collector. But if you can significantly undercut this price with a good quality tool you'll do well. I'd suggest you not only look at what the older tools are going for but keep an eye on the newer standards you mentioned.
I just got a #605 and dropped a Hock blade in it for $150 so it was a substantial savings over the LN and performs closely.
Anyway I could talk tools all day!! Please post a web address or an email so we can keep up with your progress and best of luck!!
N
Hi all,
Fascinating thread.
I just want to share my recent experience with restoration/state-of-the-art fettling (sp?). I bought a WW2 stanley 4 1/2 -- the ones with the heavy castings -- and had it precision surface ground at a machine shop. I put in a Hock blade, and two-piece clifton cap iron and for that final touch a wonderful Mike-in-Katy tote and knob (remember me from eBay?). I "scary sharpened" the iron, layed down an epoxy bed on the frog where the blade sits (I used the iron as a clamping caul to spread, etc. the epoxy- boy, talk about a wonderfully precise surface!) and then head-to-headed it with my stock LN 4 1/2 (w/A2 cryo iron also scary-sharpened). The results? No comparison- LN simply ruled. Amazing! It actually kind of gives me the creeps how much better it was. All that I can think of is that it is the frog-to-plane mating that explains it, though I can't imagine that is the whole story.
From my perspective- seeing the ol' stanley lookin' so fine; I find "her" more beautiful to look at, but come time for some fussy smoothing- I reach for my LN. After all is said and done, I would think that the cost to do to a Stanley what I did, it would approach the cost of an LN.
Allow me to put a plug in for Mike-in-Katy; great stuff for a great price!
Btw- does anybody have any experience with A5 Norris planes? How do they compare with LNs? Does the York pitch explain it *IF* you think that they perform better?
-Peter T.
Sounds like you compared a Bailey 4 1/2 to the LN 4 1/2. A fairer comparison would have been a Bedrock 604 1/2. Unfortunatly about the same price or more than the LN! I compared a 605 Bedrock with the LN#5 and for my purposes they perform close plus the more available 605 is less than half the price. I can easily get length of the board gossamer shavings from the 605 with a cryo Hock blade. With a Bailey not quite as good. I understand the LN shines on real onery woods like curly maple and such but some of my work was done on oak glue ups with the grain running 2 directions and it was planed glass smooth.
If you can't afford LN's look for deals on Bedrocks. They can't be beat for the money, say $100-$150 for a 605 or 606. 604-604 1/2-607 seem to get quite a premium and I'd spend the money on LN's without hesitation.
N
I to restore old planes but mostly for myself. I would be more interested in how you go about it then getting it done for my own tools. With that said I know several people who want me to restore tools for them but I won't because of time restraints on my part. They have offered me a tidy some to entice me but I still refuse. I would think that you would have a limited market that may bring a few extra dollars but I don't think it would be a new career for you. With that said I was wrong once before but no ever found out about it.
Scott C. Frankland
Was the Newfoundland Wood Worker now the Nova Scotia Wood Worker.
i don't want another career (or even a real business)..its just something i enjoy doing and if people are interested, the few extra bucks here and there could support my antique tool habit. thanks for the imput.
I think you'd find people interested, including myself. The question is whether you could do it profitably. Once you factor in the time involved and "pay" yourself a decent wage for the effort, I think you'll find that your planes are getting up around the Lie-Neilsen range, or at least in the Veritas or ECE range, and then no one has a reason to buy from you. I just think the economy of restoring an old plane only works if you're doing it for yourself for free. But hey, you can prove me wrong.
Restoring old planes is a fairly messy concern. If you like to do it, then GREAT! - it's good therapy. If not, then send them to me! I've done somewhere over 100 now and have quit counting.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy
PlaneWood
mike-
sorry! i didn't mean to imply i was cutting into your business in any way..i just figured i'd sell some of the duplicate planes i have already restored or am in the process of restoring that i have no use for in my own shop. btw, do you know where i can get premixed japanning formula? bill gustafson (sp?) and liberty paint have not returned any of my queries. and you are right..it is a long and messy job- but very satisfying when it is finally over.
ATTENTION ALL:
If anyone already owns a plane and wants it restored, send it to mike...from what i've seen, he does fantastic work.
regards,
-eric
Eric -
I didn't assume you were. After all the planes I've restored, it's still fun!
I make my own japanning. Have you tried Liberty Paint Co. in Husdon NY?? Call them at 518-828-4060.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_KatyPlaneWood
So... what to you have and how much? I need some planes and can't afford LN but am frustrated with the quality of new Records and Stanleys. While restoring old Stanley planes actually sounds fun, my wife would be happier if I got my new shop up and running and started working on the cabinets in the new addition.
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