Reply To: Silverline #4 smoothing plane
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I will echo much of what others have already stated on here and add a few points.
1) Silverline Planes. I bought a No 6 Silverline plane relatively recently. I bought it new and for a ridiculously low price as the packaging was alleged to be imperfect.
I am happy with the plane but there are significant pros and cons with it. Cons: The amount of fettling I needed to do with this mew plane was much more than I have ever had to do with any other plane. All my other planes were bought second hand and varied enormously in condition. (The used planes generally needed cleaning, rust removal, a little sole flattening, freeing the moving parts, sharpening (sometimes regrinding) the iron.) The Silverline needed considerable work on the iron and the sole was without doubt the furthest from flat of any plane I have encountered. It took considerably more time to sort out this plane than any I have renovated. The sole is still not completely flat but I can use the plane and it is OK for my purposes. Apart from the faults and the time to resolve them, I would say this is a very poorly made tool and Quality Control is probably an alien concept in Silverline factories. Anyone who has renovated several bench planes and has the time and patience could do what I did and turn a Silverline plane into an ‘OK’ tool – but it will never be great. Anyone who lacks that experience should avoid this make. A final point is that the iron on mine, after my efforts, appears to be fine but others have criticised the steel as soft – so I suspect that the QC of the that part is also lacking. The iron can be hardened if necessary – but that is still time and effort and you have to know what you are doing. Alternatively you can replace the cutting iron with one from a reputable manufacturer – but that obviously adds to the cost. Ironically, the one ‘part’ of this plane which was fine was the packaging!
A number 4 plane is the most commonly used and most commonly available plane and there are a number of ways acquiring them at reasonable cost:-
1) Do not get too hung up on the ‘Stanley’ name. When the Stanley patents ran out, many companies started producing Stanley ‘knock offs’. Many of these copies are every bit as good as the Stanley originals; some can be even better; some were even made by Stanley itself. I have yet to come across an old knock off which is worse than an old Stanley – though I am sure they must exist. So, if you have the chance of acquiring an old copy of a Stanley, you may well end up with a bargain.
2) Try to buy from somewhere near home – either from local sales or from local ebay sellers. If you can collect the plane, rather than have it posted, you obviously save that money. It also gives you the chance to outbid most of the other bidders who have to factor in postage costs. Last, but by no mean least, you can look at the item before you part with your cash. If there is a major fault which has not been declared or is not visible from ebay photos then walk away and do not buy the plane.
3) Stay with a cast iron plane body – do not consider pressed steel. Most you will see will be cast iron but always check.
4) Keep your attempts to save cash in perspective – especially with a number 4 plane. The No 4 plane is the one you will probably use much more than any other and, if you are starting out, will probably be the first plane you acquire. However young you are, a ‘bailey’ type plane will outlive you if you look after it. Viewed in that that context, these are fantastic value for money – even if you do pay a little more than you may like.
5) Do not try to save money by buying a cheap modern plane which is not a Bailey type. The types using replaceable blades are particularly bad. The types with two knurled nuts for blade adjustment have also earned a bad reputation. Apart from many other faults, these types of plane often have some key components made from plastic. Avoid these planes like the plague!
6) Make sure the plane is complete. Buying a missing component is possible but usually expensive.
7) Consider bidding on ‘job lots’ of tools with things you want and things you do not. I have acquired some terrific bargains in this way. Either sell the unwanted tools immediately or renovate and then sell on.
8) Use a sniping app on ebay. It removes the temptation to get carried away and bid higher than you intend.
9) Do not buy tools in a hurry but buy them ahead of when you need them. That gives you time to get them clean, sharp and ready for action when needed. Keep a list of the tools you want to buy and prioritise the list. You can deviate from the list and the priorities if opportunities arise but that may mean delaying a priority purchase if you are sticking to a budget.
10) Always check out ebay sellers before bidding. I try to avoid any with an approval rating of 99.7% or less. Look at sellers’ other items for sale – it can be very illuminating. You may save postage costs if you purchase two or more items and you can always ask a seller to hold on to an item until other auctions have finished. If a seller is mainly dealing with items which are not tools, then their tool listings may be less than perfect. Sometimes listings can be incorrect and/or incomplete. Knowing what I am trying to buy has helped me avoid problems but also netted me a couple of bargains by very careful checking of the listing and photos.
Hope this helps.
- This reply was modified 5 years, 10 months ago by Ken Tee.