Reply To: bullnose plane Stanley no 75 vs rebate no 78

I’m going to agree and disagree with Patrick Leach. He starts out his piece on that plane with

“ This is a cheap, little rabbet plane, that is very useful in the shop”

I agree with the first part and think he should have quit before the comma.

The no 75 was made for almost a century. It was cheap in 1879 ( cost 50¢ USD in 1906) had several revisions and got cheaper made as time went along. I got one because one of my mentors had a pretty nice version that had a squirrel tail handle that functioned pretty well. Unfortunatel, by the early seventies, the string had run out on quality, and by 1973 production stopped right after I bought mine.

By the time I got mine, the unboxing revealed a plane with poor warped castings, bad machining , a mouth that wouldn’t plane anything thinner that a dime, and a poorly tempered blade. Unless you can find an old one made BEFORE the sweetheart era, I’ll agree with Dave that you should pass on this plane or the modern Kunz version still made.

After much fettling and frustration, I accidentally left the plane on the job. I was only a couple blocks away when I realized where I left it. I didn’t turn the truck around to retrieve it. It’s probably still in that bank. No self respecting woodworker would use it.

Worst stanley tool I ever bought, certainly the worst new tool I ever bought, and my stable is 95% Stanley.