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For a while I have been hearing people around here talking about good old stanley planes being the way to go- especially Mr. Todd Stock. I had a cheap stanley plane from home depot that I was using to flatten neck blanks among other things. With that POS it took about an hour and a half to true up a neck blank.

I finally gave in a got an old stanley off ebay and refurbed it. I used it for the first time on a neck blank the other day. It was true and flat in under 3 minutes. WOW! So thanks for all the tips around here. Maybe if I listen to all of them, this lutherie thing will become a cake walk....

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I also started to upgrade my planes and it makes a huge difference. The only issue now is I don't have any money left to buy more

My metal planes are all very old Stanleys. One was inherited from my father (who probably owned it for thirty or forty years before giving it to me forty years ago). One was given to me by a friend. One was given by an uncle. The oldest (a long jointer) was purchased at a yard sale for $16. I believe it is an 1890's vintage plane, but it was kept in good shape by its former owner, and it looks no more than 10-20 years old. If I do my job keeping these planes clean, sharp and well-tuned, they work beautifully. Old Stanleys seem to be everywhere if you haunt the yard sales and flea markets. They can be great tools. Mine are all better than my personal planing skills, but that is a different matter.
Patrick

Glad to hear you like your old Stanley. I just got some old Stanley Bedrock flatsides, 604, 605, and 606. Currently restoring 604 and 605. I just posted a thread about them.

I like old Stanley planes too. I'm always perching ebay for them. You have to watch though. Sometimes you get a good one and sometimes you can get a bad one that no matter what can't be refurbished. It's a crap shoot....Mike

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Another day, another dollar.

Nice.

As for old planes, I just now started using one and enjoy it a great deal. I'm not sure how old it is, but it was my dad's and I think my grandfather's as well. A friend from the AGF refurbed it for me, so now I'm learning how to use it and take care of it properly. Since I've gotten it back I've been keeping a close eye on CL. There have been a few come up, but I've just not been in the right place at the right time to snatch them up. I'll keep on the hunt, though, because I now have a new obsession

Here's the before shot


And the after

Thanks, Todd. I didn't do the refurb, though, so I'm not sure what all was done. It took him about a week to get it back into shape though.

Todd,

Roger had a thread with lots more in-progress pictures of his plane restoration

viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=34880&p=458732

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Jim Hansen