So there was this 4 1/2 at the antique store

[Carl Grover]

4 1/2s are sort of rare down here. I ran into one at an antique shop today for a Jackson. This one was a real late model though. High knob, kidney lever, and the ugliest tote I've ever seen. It was all black but it was like it wasn't even wood or something. It was pretty badly rusted which I know I could fix but the thing that got me the most was the feel of it in my hand. The tote was too small for me. I've never had this problem with any size metal Stanley plane. Did they change the overall shape of the real late model totes that made them tight in your hand? 


carl

[hbmcc]

Do you see any oddly shaded blue where black typically was? Also, my latest USA made #4 (blue, not black) had black plastic instead of wood. Of course, they may have soaked the thing in alum to shrink the handles. [Humor] My plastic works didn't feel smaller. Just uncomfortable. But, I can't imagine a 4.5 being made or offered by Stanley during the dive into junk-all paper-weight end of life period.

[Admiral]

They only made them in the US until about 1960, which I think was too early for plastic handles, and it would have black japanning or paint, then production did continue in the UK.  Totes did get slightly tighter but not as much as you describe; did it have perhaps a replacement tote, as it should have a tote with a secondary screw like that of a #5, if not, then likely it was the wrong tote.

[Carl Grover]

I did notice that the front screw on the tote had a lock washer under it. Could be the tote wasn't original.

carl

[Admiral]

Ahggg, you always have to look out for abnormalities; false screws that bugger up the person threading in the sole; a big no no is a non standard secondary screw on the tote of 4 1/2s and higher, as well as washers.  I generally pass on those examples as you are buying a pig in a poke.  After a while you can recognize what tote belongs and doesn't belong to a Stanley plane; also cap irons that don't look just right.  These are the telling signs of a frankenplane, and buyer should beware unless you're buying it for parts.  Sometimes the iron and chipbreaker are wrong, and will lead to the inability to adjust the plane properly.  Believe me, I've been burned once or twice with mixed part planes; that's why I have a boneyard......

[JimReed@Tallahassee]

Ditto on the frankenplane. Poorly replaced parts are a bad sign. Sometimes these parts can be upgraded and the plane can be saved. But sometimes they are a sign of a plane that will never be able to hold a job.

[Bibliophile 13]

I've got a washer under the front screw of my 4 1/2. It's a WWII-era model with the plastic depth adjuster knob. The screw was bottoming out in the hole before it tightened fully on the tote. Perhaps the wood shrunk too much? Or perhaps the screw hole wasn't drilled/tapped quite deep enough to begin with? I'm told that these planes were made by novice machinists because the regular workforce had all gone to war--hence the thicker castings that were a little harder for a novice to ruin.

Anyhow, it sounds like a replacement tote. The 4 1/2 has the same size tote as the #6 and #7, I believe.

[Carl Grover]

If I remember correctly, the washer under the tote screw was a lockwasher.

carl

[tshiker]

I would run far away from that plane! Vintage 4 1/2's are not that rare and can be had for 60 to 70 bucks all day long on that auction site. If it's just about the hunt...well I can certainly understand that!

[Carl Grover]

Yeah I'm gonna pass on this one. I've bought too many planes in similar condition so I know what it's going to look like after the cleanup. The lock washer/weird tote thing it's got going on pretty well seals it's fate to the antique store shelf for me.


carl