Unknown handlpane

[woodsworth]

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]

Don't know anything about it but it look nice. If the price is low, I'd take it.

 

[woodsworth]

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]

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]

Cast steel = quality, Mathieson = quality.
If the price isn't silly, I'd buy it. How much is the seller asking?

 

[woodsworth]

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

 

[toolsntat]

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

Hi, the key question is do you like/need it enough to make the price irrelevant based on the principle that if you are ABLE to buy at the time there will be other times items turn up for very little by comparison :wink: :wink:

Steel sole?
Dovetailed ?

Does that lever cap pivot or lock in position behind the round bar???

Any more pics?

Very nice in the condition its in (unpolished!!) and dare say it would take a sweet shaving

Seen that size before and love the cute shape to the side of the front bun....

Price.... £70ish would be better... under£40= cheap.... Makers name= ?

Take a quick peek at some second hand tool sites and see if anything comes close....

Andy (with collector head on :lol: :roll: )

 

[woodsworth]

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]

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,

 

[woodsworth]

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]

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

yes deffinetly a user made plane, I would offer probably £60 and would sell for about £90, I would say the mouth would be on the large size? they usually are on the user made planes,

 

[woodsworth]

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

 

[wizer]

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?

 

[lurker]

Cast steel = quality, Mathieson = quality.
If the price isn't silly, I'd buy it. How much is the seller asking?

Yeh but;

IMHO the blade is from a woody Mathieson & the plane is nothing like a Mathieson (which would be worth a bundle).

 

[Smudger]

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

 

[woodsworth]

The plane is in an antique establishment. I haven't asked him if he can go lower in price but my instinct would tell me he would sell it cheaper if i waved a bit of cash at him. If i could afford it i'd get it myself because it would be useful and even then i wouldn't pay £110.

If your serious about it let me know what your bottom line price is and i'll ask him on saturday if he will accept it. You just never know. I've never seen planes like this so i have no idea what is what, but after seeing one i want one myself. What i do like about this one is that it is square and not shaped on teh sides so if you wanted to use it on a shooting jig you could.

Most i've seen after looking on the internet after discovering this one are steel on the sides not brass like this one, that makes it more unique in my opinion, but again like that opinion counts for anything.

Any how if your interested let me know and i'll check for you.

 

[mahking51]

In my opinion its a user made with a nice Mathieson iron.
I buy these for anywhere from £40 to £55 needing that much work; £110 is waaaaay over the top but if its at an antique shop that is why.
I have about ten or twelve like this and am slowly working my way though them, quite satisfying when they come out right.
There seem to be lots of planes about at the moment and prices are down though the Henley I am after at the moment will not be cheap...
Just missed a Howkins D to complete my set which has hacked me off no end.
Cheers,
Martin

 

[woodsworth]

could you post a pic of a completed one?

I can see how this becomes a slippery slope now.

 

[Martin Cash]

This seems like it could be a nice plane to use. It isn't clear, but that looks like a tapered iron from a wooden plane.
One of the problems with tapered irons in user tools, is that as the iron wears and is re-sharpened, the width of the business end of the plane iron shrinks in thickness. This effectively opens the mouth of the plane, making extra fine shavings near impossible.
This is one of the reasons why top-end infill smoothers like this used parallel irons.
If it had a parallel iron it could be worth near the asking price.
Cheers
MC

 

[woodsworth]

Thanks for so many replies and opinions, i've learned a lot through them. Seen this little thing on ebay USA it reminded me of the one i seen.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260552073090&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:GB:1123

I can't believe how much he wants for it.