Antique store planes

[mr_skittle]

I have been scouring the antique stores around my city and have found very little to get excited about when it comes to reasonable priced, usable planes. Most of them are either too bad of shape for me to bother with or ridiculously priced. I'm seeing "run of the mill" Stanley #5's prices at $80+ and labeled as rare. I'm sure that this is not atypical for antique dealers fishing for suckers, but its a real pain for someone who knows what these tools are worth and would take time if priced appropriately. I just wish I could find a vendor that regularly deals with tools and knows what they are talking about. I have found one shop that has a booth that is dedicated to tools but its 200 miles away. Every time I go through I spend an hour browsing and leave with no less that 3 planes. Here are some of the more interesting finds. Comments and opinions are welcomed.

Bedrock 605 1/2 for $80. The one behind it is a Bailey #5, also for $80. Regardless of your opinion on the Bedrock hype, most everyone knows that you can sell one for more than a Baileys, even with that fancy replacement front tote.


I believe this is a Craftsman rabbet plane with the fence and depth stop for $30. I considered buying it.



Not quite sure what to think of this Union #5 for $38. It was in good enough shape but the price was a bit high.


Last, and maybe least, is a #4 equivalent Victor that I brought home for $10. I think it should clean up to be a user.

[Phil S.]

I might have coughed up $80 for the Bedrock if its only problem was the knob, but certainly not for the Bailey unless it had something pretty special about it. Any idea of which type the Bailey was? I can't see enough of it to even make a guess.

[enjuneer]

The Bailey looks to be a Type 16 or 17 as it has the raised rib on the nose.

[Phil S.]

Your eyes are better than mine, Bob. If that's the case, the owner would likely be insulted by my offer.

[mr_skittle]

There was nothing particularly special about the Bailey's plane in the background. You can get a similar one completely tuned up and ready to go over in Swap & Sell for probably the same price, it was an easy pass. If I was in the business of tuning up and reselling, $80 for that bedrock could probably net a decent profit upon reselling.

That was a very keen indeed on Bob's part. Once you know what to look for, I guess identifying the types isn't very hard.

[Mike Brady]

Why not just get planes here? There's not one I would buy there for any amount of money. When you are looking at basket case or off-brand planes they need to be cheap. Do you know how much a decent front knob can cost? If you want guidance on planes to buy here just PM someone who says he is willing to help you look through the S&S listings.

[mr_skittle]

I have bought a couple of planes from the Swap and Sell board. I have a full suite of quality users that I've collected over the years, but I am specifically looking for some planes that require a bit of restoration. I teach some handplane classes for beginners and since it is so difficult to find these sorts of fixer-upper tools in my area, I am doing the legwork for the students and will supply planes for the rehab portion of the class. Once the students get bitten by the bug, I'll direct them over here to find some quality planes that won't require any extra work before using, besides a sharpening, which I'll also be covering in the class.

Is there any input the Craftsman rabbet plane? 30 bucks seems like a decent price considering it has both the fence and the depth stop.

[DFJarvie]

Any flea markets in the area ones that sell more junk than antiques? You may have better luck there.

[blackhat]

Looks like the Sargeant(?) equivalent to a Stanley 78. If the iron is salvageable, and no major flaws, I would consider it a decent price.

[AHill]

I got a Bedrock 603 at an antique store several years ago. A rounded side one like the 605 you show. You can negotiate with most sellers who sell through antique stores. If you have the time, ask the front desk to contact the seller with your offer. Sometimes you can get them down to a reasonable price, especially if you "bundle" the deal with something else in the booth.