Unknown handlpane

woodsworth · Furniture Maker Joined: 07 Nov 2009 Posts: 432

I happened upon this little guy and wondered if anyone collects these or knows anything about them.

Just wondering if I should buy it. If so what are they worth

wizer · Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2010 4:12 pm Post subject:

Don't know anything about it but it look nice. If the price is low, I'd take it.
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woodsworth · Furniture Maker Joined: 07 Nov 2009 Posts: 432

Well the price isn't all that low, so i thought i'd ask people who are more knowledgeable on these things. It is about the size of a number 5 but a lot wider and a lot heavier. I'm thinking it would be great for joining guitar tops with a bit of clean up and set up.

I was looking at the pictures again and noticed that the blade says cast steel. I've never seen that before on a plane.

Aled Dafis · Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2010 4:51 pm Post subject:

It looks user made to me, I've never seen that shape before. The other thing that suggests that it's not a "production" plane is that some of the screws are countersunk just below the surface.

Being user made doesn't mean that it's no good however, so if it's in good nick, and the price is right, I'd go for it.

Cheers

Aled

Smudger · Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2010 5:52 pm Post subject:

Cast steel = quality, Mathieson = quality.
If the price isn't silly, I'd buy it. How much is the seller asking?
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woodsworth · Furniture Maker Joined: 07 Nov 2009 Posts: 432

He is asking £110 Just seems like a lot of money

toolsntat · Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2010 7:42 pm Post subject:

woodsworth · Furniture Maker Joined: 07 Nov 2009 Posts: 432

It is a steel plate but no dovetails. The leaver cap does pivot. The thing that struck me about it is the weight for the size. The thing that made me second guess it was no dovetails. If it was a bit longer i would of snapped it up as i've been trying to get my hands on a No. 7 Stanley type plane.

matthewwh · Posted: Sun Feb 07, 2010 1:28 pm Post subject:

It looks like a reasonable tool and at £110 I reckon it's about on the money, cleaned up and properly tuned as a user it's probably worth about £175.

The iron will probably be excellent, and there is no problem with cast body rather than a dovetailed one - in fact it's probably more likely to be square.

Assuming there is nothing structurally wrong, have a look at the sole and the mouth as these are the two most important elements in terms of how it will perform - or rather how much time you will have to put in to make it perform.

Given the size it will either have been used as a jack or a smoother, smoothers are generally treated more kindly than jacks. If the camber on the iron is visible without putting a straight edge up to it then the chances are it has been used as a jack.

If the sole is true and not deeply scratched or pitted it's worth considering, the mouth should be tight enough that you should be able to just slip a doubled over piece of paper through it. Check for pitting on the back of the iron, this will have to be flattened and polished at least 1/8" back from the edge so the better nick it's in the less you will have to do to it.

Good luck,
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woodsworth · Furniture Maker Joined: 07 Nov 2009 Posts: 432

Thanks for your reply. I've decided not to buy the plane. Another member has offered to sell me a much better one for a better deal. A very generous offer. If someone is interested in the one posted though let me know as i can get it for you at cost plus postage. I'll even try offering him less for you if it is something you want but don't want to pay that much. Never hurts to ask, but i won't be able to see him till next weekend.

Just PM me thanks

OldSchoolTools · Forum Newbie Joined: 05 Jan 2010 Posts: 46 Location: UK

woodsworth · Furniture Maker Joined: 07 Nov 2009 Posts: 432

The whole thing was big and even though the mouth was big the blade when lowered almost closed it up at the front.

wizer · Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 10:25 am Post subject:

out of interest, what would be involved with fixing it up? Would the wood be replaced or just sanded\re-finished? What work would be done on the body?
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lurker · Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 11:08 am Post subject:

Smudger · Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 1:29 pm Post subject:

Very probably. I do think the price is steep, but people will pay a lot for one-offs.
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