[Cody]

hey all,

i recently inherited a hand plane from my granddad. ill definitely do some research on it once i have it but for now i have two pictures. i was curious if anyone had some quick info on it or could direct me somewhere.

thanks a ton

Topic

[Neal]

#2027331

You will need much larger pictures, the plane is barely visible.

[Cody]

#2027332

I had to downsize them to meet the maximum size allowed on here. Hope these are better

[Mike in TN]

#2027342

Cody,

My guess is that you have one of the many Stanley or Sargent jack plane clones produced after the Stanley patents expired. These often had “made in USA” cast into the base without any other manufacturers information. They were sold through hardware stores at cheaper prices. You could try to clean the upper part of the blade to look for additional names on it. These cheaper metal planes can be tuned to do a lot of work including as a long scrub/short fore or general rough work. I didn’t see a frog adjustment screw the lateral adjuster didn’t look to be the normal Stanley type and the tote was not of the Stanley type. That are clues that this was probably a cheaper plane. It probably should be considered as a user plane with little collector value but one that could be put to work with a lot of TLC.

Have fun

[Cody]

#2027345

cool i definitely want to get it functional again. it seems pretty solid. some rust obviously but not like crumbling to pieces rusty. any advice on where to look for instructions for cleaning it up? and also where i may be able to find out more about it just for curiositys sake. thanks a lot for the info.

i did take it apart and cant find any other markings other than red chalk marking the top and bottom of a couple parts.

[Neal]

#2027349

Hand Plane Restoration

Go to YouTube and search for “restoring hand planes”. You will find quite a few videos. The *most* important thing after you remove all the rust (using Naval Jelly or Rust Free – there are other products as well) is to flatten the bottom and true up the sides. The videos will explain that process – start with Chris Schwarz’ video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlYDipD_5s4). I have done several planes this way and if you’re willing to put in the time and the elbow grease, then you can have a good, workable plane. Good Luck.

[Mike in TN]

#2027350

Plane restoration

There are several different methods and degrees of plane “restoration”. Based on the photos,  I would treat this as just bringing a cheaper quality plane to the condition for using it for rough work. Based on that, it would only need a “ruler straight” sole, a cambered blade, and a wide open mouth. I know that there are several ways to remove rust but don’t discount just using wire brush wheels and abrasive paper. A lot of “purists” would cringe at the idea but you aren’t talking about a museum piece in this case. If you do use the plane for rough work you don’t need to worry as much about getting a pristine edge and minor pitting in the blade wouldn’t be a big issue since you will probably be going over the work with finer planes or are leaving the rough finish in areas of the work that would normally be hidden from view (drawer bottoms, cabinet backs, or similar).

As Neil suggests, there are lots of good videos on plane restoration but I  would not be concerned about “super-tuning” this tool like you would a high end smoother, just a scrub or fore plane level rework which is much simpler and less detailed.

Have fun.

[rickg3]

#2027420

Plane restoration

Since it has no distinguishing marks, the only clues are the parts themselves. Department chains often commissioned planes from stanley, sargent or miller falls. That rear tote looks like some miller falls planes I have seen, but who knows?

It is up to you how much work you want to put into bringing it up to working condition. Some will say it isn’t worth fixing, others would restore it to mint.  I personally like the challenge of giving old tools a shot at a second life. Some become everyday users and some become paperweights and some are in between. If the sole is relatively flat it might be worth fixing up to see how well it works. I was given sargent hercules no 5 plane. I probably would not have bought it myself. I decided to clean it up and found that despite its light weight it was a passable jack plane.

[Author]

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