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I'll ask this question in a new thread since my other plane recommendation has mostly ran it's course

I've never used a hand plane and really know very little about setting up and using one. A recent Fine Woodworking magazine article was very good at describing how to setup and use a plane.

My wife's grandfather gave me an old Stanley 220 block plane several years back. After reading the article I took it apart and looked it over. One thing I don't like is you can't adjust the gap between the blade and the opening independent of setting the depth of the blade.....but I'm not sure the impact of this.

Anyhow, my other post someone mentioned the possibility of buying an old Stanley......so I wondered if this one is worth playing with. From what I've read online, the 220 is not a popular user plane and are mostly used for parts for other popular planes.

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

It is certainly worth a quick sharpening to see how you like it. I don't really find adjustable mouths to be completely necessary, it is a cool feature with unquestionable value, but in real life a sharp plane without an adjustable mouth can cut just fine. Since you already have it, give it a test run to see how you like the size and heft, if nothing else you will have some information when you go to buy a fancy new one.

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Jordan Aceto
Ithaca, NY

As others have posted -- take the time to sharpen it up right, lap the sole and have at it. There are many good tutorials out there on Plane setup -- and if you follow them, you will be pleased. The razor sharp blade makes the biggest difference -- and taking time to learn how to reliably put a razor sharp edge on your iron makes them cut right.

The stanley #220 is one of the highest selling planes in the world -- so they aren't all that bad. The blades sharpen up nicely and take an edge that is just as good as any other carbon steel blade out there... (Even Hocks)

Good luck

John

Thanks guys!!!

I'm going to give it a try as you suggested. I'm working on getting the sole flat now......almost there. Next will be work on the blade. Spent mothers day with my folks and just now getting home so I haven't got to work on anything since around noon yesterday.

I'm curious what some of you think about the Stanley 60 1/2 low angle plane? Seems some of them have an adjustable mouth while some don't. Seen some for around $60 but not sure what's a good price for one.

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

A couple of questions about reworking the 220.

A lever on top rotates to lock the blade in place. The pin holds the liver in place and the pin rotates in place when the lever is rotated. This pin is fairly loose. Would it be wise to rotate the lever to the fully locked position then peen teh end of the pen to remove teh play?

Also, what cleaner can I use on the plane? I considered oven cleaner but it may be too harsh......or it might remove the black (is it called japaning?). Any suggestions?

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

What is Japanning?

Mike

Mike,

I may not have used the term correctly (not sure). I was referrring to the black finish on the plane. Hope that helps and maybe someone with a little more knowledge will chime in.

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

Yep, the black stuff that metal planes are finished with. When old planes are sold, there is often a description of % japanning, as in "80% japanning left"



I dunno, i would try it as is, sometimes things seem a bit loose, but the plane works fine once the blade is locked in.



Plane collectors are really picky about how planes are cleaned, for a plane that may be valuable at some time (probably not an issue with your plane) i would look in to what is and isn't frowned upon. I personally don't know, because i don't care, if it is a user plane (the only kind i am interested in) i clean them with steel wool, sandpaper, whatever. I sometimes belt sand all the japanning off the sides of block planes, because it can leave black streaks on nice clean top wood. Not that you or anyone else should do that.

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Jordan Aceto
Ithaca, NY

If your plane has rust on it, a product called evapo-rust has worked well for me. I got mine online but I later found it at a local auto store.

http://www.evaporust.com/

Joe