What to look for in a wooden plane?
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- This topic has 8 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 10 years ago by yesouisi.
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Hey, everyone – I’ve had a trawl through the forums and haven’t found a suitable thread to post this in…
I’ve been out around the borders this week looking for someone who can suitably assess/price and maybe even buy items which have come from my late grandmother but which we simply don’t have the space for (China, cutlery, odds and ends, and books. So. Many. Books… They’re taking up precious garage space whilst a Dolomite Sprint languishes on the drive!) and in one antiques place, I spotted a few old wooden planes tucked under a table. I didn’t have time to examine them properly but noted that each was priced under a tenner.
I should be back there this weekend, and would like to go back armed with a bit of knowledge; What should one look for when stumbling across a vintage wooden plane? Obviously, small marks on the sole can be remedied or smoothed out using another plane but regarding the iron, wedge, throat et cetera, what’s what?
I also spotted a very nice looking brass Macrome spokeshave there as well but he’s asking £55 for it and a bit of online research says that seems to be around £30 too much.
Thanks in advance!
Edit – should I revive the irons with a bath in citric acid to start with?
Welcome!
I would look for no major cracks, or splitting, and a decent iron. The iron should have no pitting, surface rust it’s ok because that can be cleaned off. If there is some pitting, I think it’s ok as long as it will not effect the cutting edge. Most issues with a wooden plane can be repaired easily. Check the sole to make sure there is some thickness left. I’ve seen where people have glued soles to the bottoms of worn out planes, but haven’t tried that myself. I have bought several vintage wooden planes, jointer, fore plane and a coffin smoother and probably spent less than $50 (US) for all and that is including shipping. By far my favorite one is the fore plane and I use it all the time for thicknessing lumber. It was the best $15 I spent on woodworking. I would say use your best judgment and if the cost is inexpensive, buy one and mess around with it, I don’t think you will regret it and you will learn what to look for when buying future planes.
Good luck!
8 May 2014 at 11:31 am #56908@yesouisi i buy a couple of wooden planes each time i go to boot fairs of secondhand shops i only pay a couple of pound each for them one day i’m going to sit down and have a good look at them and see what to do with them ,if nothing else the wood will come in handy but i would rather use them as intended .
Great success!
Spent twenty quid and got:
Wooden die with “ROBT SORBY 1” engraved on it… No idea of the intricacies of this thing. Need to get the rusted screws undone to look inside. The iron seems to be intact and there is a steel bolt with square brass nut on one side which unscrews but seems to do nothing! Any tips on how to back out these screws? Owners stamp of J.Tully.
A Holbrook round/molding plane – may have been adapted from a rebate plane as the sole is ‘cleaner’ and the iron shows a fairly clean edge. Iron is around 23mm. Owners stamp of P.Butterfield.
A rebate plane, possibly user made, has a 20mm slightly skewed iron.
Three smoothing planes. The first has a 54mm iron and appears to lack a maker’s mark. Owner’s stamps for T.Kerr and C.Tully. the iron appears to be Alex Mathieson; The second has a 50mm iron, also appears to lack a maker’s mark and has an owner’s stamp for D.Dunbar. The iron is a Robert Sorby ‘Kangaroo’ and it is missing its wedge; The third is an A.Mathieson & Sons plane with 56mm iron, all present and correct!
Also found a J.Dixon (Joseph?) Round knife for my leather working.
And the best bit? Twenty quid for the lot!
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You must be logged in to view attached files.10 May 2014 at 7:35 pm #56981@yesouisi ive used a screw extractor in a cordless drill in the past with good results i found it easier to drill a small hole in the the head of the screw as these extractors work using the reverse gear of your drill good luck, you look like you got a great bargain with these planes .
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