Coyote Jim Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 Still new so I need some input from you people who know more about hand planes. I want/need a No.6 and I was thinking about pulling the trigger on this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Stanley-No-6-Plane-Type-12-Sweetheart/162862310144?_trkparms=aid%3D555017%26algo%3DPL.CASSINI%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D20150817211623%26meid%3D62a74d08b7cc420db73f4467a0e3e6d8%26pid%3D100505%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D1%26&_trksid=p2045573.c100505.m3226 One thing that gives me pause is the blade. It looks to not have much use left in it. Am I seeing that right? Would a replacement blade be easy to get without costing me much money? Buying used planes is new to me and I am not above asking to have my hand held a bit. Any advice would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilgaron Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 Yeah that blade is shot, but you can get replacements from any of the woodworking retailers. How much it'd cost will depend on if you're going premium or just direct replacement. Looks like about $21 on Woodcraft's page for what should be comparable to the original blade https://www.woodcraft.com/products/woodriver-v3-replacement-blade-for-no-6-no-7-bench-plane?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PLA&utm_term=153919&utm_content=All Products Lee Valley/Veritas has a line of their more premium blades in various types of steel as I recall, although they probably run more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 I have a couple vintage Stanly planes all of them have gotten upgraded PMV-11 blades and chip breakers. Yes they are expensive and no they don't need to be purchased right away. The stock Stanly blades work they just are softer and require more frequent sharpening. That one looks pretty decent you could always lurk ebay for a dirtier one sold by a guy that doesn't' want to refurbish it and do the cleaning ect your self. Some of the prices of these vintage tools are getting to the point where it's becoming difficult to recommend them. After cleanup and a new iron there is a lot of time an money invested and some of the Lee valley or Lie Neilson planes are more expensive but will perform much better. Heck even the woodriver planes I've heard perform quite well. I say this but i have 3 old stanley planes a #4 a #5 and a #7. Is there any reason you decided on a #6? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmize Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 If you are looking for a longer plane for jointing boards to flatness. Why not go for the #7 Stanley it a lil bit longer an heavier which will make jointing anything over 3' easier for about the same money as that an probably not have to replace the blade right away. Because it looks to me for that much blade to be gone it may have been use with a heavy cambered blade as a scrub plane or maybe just a real busy cabinet maker. But with a little searching an lil clean up work you can find some nice ones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmize Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 Also if when looking at them online zoom in around the mouth an the base of the frog for cracks if it is cracked pass on it. An one thing that bite me on tenon saw one time is check the owner description for anything you may not be able to see in the pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coyote Jim Posted January 23, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 11 minutes ago, Chestnut said: Is there any reason you decided on a #6? Yes, I already have a nice #4 and I have a cheap Stanley Handyman #5 that I got for free(ish) that I will turn into a scrub plane. I want the #6 to flatten after scrubbing. The other reason is: I have no idea what I am doing! Would a #7 make more sense? I have good access to rough lumber and not a good way to flatten it. What I think is the right thing to do is scrub it, then flatten with a #6, then smooth with a #4. Sounds to me like a #7 would be better? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minorhero Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 I would buy a lunch box planer and skip the hand plane for flattening all together. There are definitely times where a hand plane makes sense but in my view unless you just adore hand tools and hate power tools, basic flattening should be done with a jointer and planer. It will cost more than a single hand plane but will save you many many many hours in just the first project. That's said if for whatever reason you still want to buy just hand planes I would not buy this particular hand plane. The reason being is that you are paying about twice as much for getting one that's in clean condition but with a broken handle. I would invest in a dirtier one that you can take apart and spray paint yourself if you feel like it or at least one that has more blade left so you don't have to immediately Buy a new blade to go with it. I own both a number six and a number 7 and a number 7 is better at jointing the edges but a number 6 is better a flattening the face which is what it sounds like you want to do, though honestly both could do either. You don't actually need to restore the hand plane to use it though but if that is something you want to do just do a Google search for restoring hand planes and you'll find a bunch of people talking about how to do it a few hours is all it really takes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmize Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 I use a #5 as my scrub plane also. When you are useing a 14" long plane (#5) to rough it out you doing some flatten at the same time so your plane should be longer. Where the #6 is 18" long not going to be a lot different level to it but a #7 is 22". The basic rule of thumb is an plane can flatten to double its length. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 I would keep looking. It looks like a nice plane, except for the repaired tote, and worn out iron. I'll see if I can find the video of me using no. 6's. I keep two of them for flattening. I use hand planes if the piece is wider than a jointer I have handy. One takes off about double of what the other one takes. I think one takes about 7 thou, and the other about 14. My 7 is cambered to take about one thousandth. I use stock irons. The panel in the video was the worst out of 32 for that project. The others went a lot faster. I ran the other side through a planer, and final finish with smoothers. Here's the video: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 The lunchbox planer is a good point if your not a hand tool zealot you probably have what is necessary to remove some minor twist or bowing to run the piece through a lunchbox planer to clean up the faces. There are probably resources on how to do this effectively but off the top of my head i don't know who or where they are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coyote Jim Posted January 23, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 2 minutes ago, minorhero said: I would buy a lunch box planer and skip the hand plane for flattening all together. I have one. I just love me some hand tools. I don't want to completely mill the boards by hand but getting the face flat with hand planes and then using that flat face as the reference in my power planer is right up my ally. If there is a time crunch I can always just use the shim/hot glue sled method. I will keep looking for a better option than the one I linked. 5 minutes ago, Tmize said: I use a #5 as my scrub plane also. When you are useing a 14" long plane (#5) to rough it out you doing some flatten at the same time so your plane should be longer. Where the #6 is 18" long not going to be a lot different level to it but a #7 is 22". The basic rule of thumb is an plane can flatten to double its length. I was looking for #7's and they are a bit more expensive then the #6's but for the reasons you describe I can see why a #7 would be a better option. Lot o' wisdom 'round these parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmize Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 That's what I do I have a 15" planer but do all my jointing by hand. Renaissance woodworker has a video on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmize Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 2 minutes ago, Coyote Jim said: I have one. I just love me some hand tools. I don't want to completely mill the boards by hand but getting the face flat with hand planes and then using that flat face as the reference in my power planer is right up my ally. If there is a time crunch I can always just use the shim/hot glue sled method. I went down this rabbit hole about a year ago an it has change how I do my projects now as I keeping getting more an more hand tools. Just wait til you get into joinery planes, molding plane, then the fun starts all over Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coyote Jim Posted January 23, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 Should I care about corrugated bottom? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 Just now, Coyote Jim said: Should I care about corrugated bottom? I personally have strong feelings against them. My #4 is a corrugated bottom and sometimes I'll catch the corrugation on a corner and damage it. The theory behind it is hogwash. The other draw back is if you wax the sole to reduce the friction the wax wears off probably twice as fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 I have one of each, but don't have a preference. When I was looking for planes, I didn't favor being corrugated or not. I don't wax plane soles, but I don't push down hard on them either. The corrugated bottom was just a marketing gimmick, so they could charge a little more for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmize Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 Me personal never had one. I always have steered away from from them but I have no experience with them either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjongsma Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 36 minutes ago, Chestnut said: I personally have strong feelings against them. My #4 is a corrugated bottom and sometimes I'll catch the corrugation on a corner and damage it. The theory behind it is hogwash. The other draw back is if you wax the sole to reduce the friction the wax wears off probably twice as fast. The only benefit to corrugated bottoms in my mind is that they're easier to flatten (since there's less material to remove). One other downside to them is that they're not as easy to balance on an edge for edge-jointing a board. I have several planes with corrugated bottoms, and they're fine, but if I had a choice on a new plane, I'd go for non-corrugated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 3 minutes ago, jjongsma said: The only benefit to corrugated bottoms in my mind is that they're easier to flatten (since there's less material to remove). One other downside to them is that they're not as easy to balance on an edge for edge-jointing a board. I have several planes with corrugated bottoms, and they're fine, but if I had a choice on a new plane, I'd go for non-corrugated. The flatten is a good point but you do that once ever. The flattening benefit doesn't really weight enough to overcome the downsides. The corrugations aren't as bad if you plane at a slight skew on edges. I'm probably making a mountain out of an anthill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmize Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 Hand tools are different for each personal even more than machine what works great for some may not for the next guy. But luckily in the used market it not as big hit a to the wallet as say a new table saw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barron Posted January 24, 2018 Report Share Posted January 24, 2018 If you are just trying to get boards flat enough to go through a planer, a 5 is all you need - you work across the board, not along its length, so a shorter plane is fine. If you are trying to get to “four square” a 7 is useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted January 24, 2018 Report Share Posted January 24, 2018 I seem to be the odd one out here, but I love my #6 and use it more than any other plane except my smoother. I use it for roughly jointing boards before they go through the planer. I find the #7 to be a bit heavy for it, but the #6 is just the right size (to me) for flattening with a heavier cut. I really only use my #7 to try and joint an edge or as a final tool before smoothing. My #5 only comes out if the board's really bad and I want to scrub down a corner is something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted January 24, 2018 Report Share Posted January 24, 2018 6 hours ago, Coyote Jim said: Should I care about corrugated bottom? No. A corrugated sole was designed to reduce friction and keep the heat down. I'm well into senior citizenery, and I've never seen, heard or made a plane sole hot enough to warrant corrugations. To keep your planes sole working for you, use candle wax or a light machine oil on it. I use Johnson's paste wax. These products do not harm your work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim DaddyO Posted January 24, 2018 Report Share Posted January 24, 2018 That's a lot of money for that plane. My collection of bench planes (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) only cost me $115 CDN and I got a block plane and marking gauge too. Mind you, they needed a little work, but not much. I would say that my least used are the 6 and 3. I am going to build a shooting board for the 6. I use the 5 the most, as a foreplane, the 7 as a jointer and the 4 as a smoother. Pretty standard set up and if you have those 3 it will take you a long way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmize Posted January 24, 2018 Report Share Posted January 24, 2018 I use my #3 as a block plane. I've been thinking about turning my block into a chisel plane I think I would at least get some use out of it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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