What planes/tools to look for at an antique show?

[robert146]

A sense of humor is important as you accompany your wife on your weekend search. You will need it after you find and purchase a few "bargains". Some years ago I purchased a box of hand planes thinking I could use them to learn how to tune-up a plane. I sure did learn a lot! I also wound up with a bunch of cleaned-up planes that needed missing parts. I still have them sitting on a shelf that I look at every day and chuckle at my ignorance. None of them are workable and the parts that are missing won't interchange.

You have received very good advice as to what to look for. I wish I'd known about this site before I bought those planes. On the other hand, I sure know what to look for now, and I'm pretty good at hand plane tune-up. The seller knew what he had: I just didn't know what I was buying.

The sense of humor???.......... I got hooked and can't stop looking for old hand planes to restore.

R.

[bandit571]

For those that prefer NOT to go outside and look at these places..

In one Sherlock Holmes case, Insp. Lestrade said something about the value of just getting out and looking at the scene, rather than just sit in a comfy chair by the fire..in order to solve a case.


Sometimes, one needs to go out and look around a bit, and use that as a way to learn what to actually look for.    All very fine to sit by the computer,  but sometimes a little "leg work" can help...if nothing else, it gets me out of the house, and, I could stand to "walk off" a few pounds.   It gets to the point that, somedays...I can smell the rust, and just follow my nose. 


Be aware, not all the "good stuff" will be out in plain sight.....sift through the piles, you might find a treasure under the junk.   Like that 6" brace.....was sitting in a PILE of old braces, or rather UNDER it. 

Walk slowly amongst the piles of stuff, dig through the "box lots".    Might want to wear gloves.....some of the stuff can be quite dirty.  
 

Those cloth bags Aldi's sells for shopping there?   take one along, much better than the thin, plastic Walmart bags the sellers would have.   Don't want to loose a treasure out through the hole in the bag...


Planes:  Pick the darn thing up and shake it.....if it rattles, put it back down.
   No rattle?   Look it over carefully, look beyond the rust & krust.....Parts may be in backwards?  
  Turn the lever cap over, to find out why it is on backwards....may be trying to hide a name?   Still have the gloves on?   Rub the area where a logo would be, and see what brand it is.   And, look for anything cracked or broken. 

Push drills:   Pick them up, this time you want to hear a rattle...coming from inside the handle, where the bits should be stored.  
Chisels:   You are hunting tools, NOT mushrooms.
  Chisels are usually by the box full at these places.....dig down past the mushrooms.  No handle, and no mushroom?   dig a bit, you may just find a handle sitting in there, or in the next box.   IF that handle fits the chisel you have...assemble them together, and buy it as a unit...

[Timberwolf]

For those that prefer NOT to go outside and look at these places..

In one Sherlock Holmes case, Insp. Lestrade said something about the value of just getting out and looking at the scene, rather than just sit in a comfy chair by the fire..in order to solve a case.


Sometimes, one needs to go out and look around a bit, and use that as a way to learn what to actually look for.    All very fine to sit by the computer,  but sometimes a little "leg work" can help...if nothing else, it gets me out of the house, and, I could stand to "walk off" a few pounds.   It gets to the point that, somedays...I can smell the rust, and just follow my nose. 
 

Be aware, not all the "good stuff" will be out in plain sight.....sift through the piles, you might find a treasure under the junk.   Like that 6" brace.....was sitting in a PILE of old braces, or rather UNDER it. 

Walk slowly amongst the piles of stuff, dig through the "box lots".    Might want to wear gloves.....some of the stuff can be quite dirty.  
 

Those cloth bags Aldi's sells for shopping there?   take one along, much better than the thin, plastic Walmart bags the sellers would have.   Don't want to loose a treasure out through the hole in the bag...


Planes:  Pick the darn thing up and shake it.....if it rattles, put it back down.
   No rattle?   Look it over carefully, look beyond the rust & krust.....Parts may be in backwards?  
  Turn the lever cap over, to find out why it is on backwards....may be trying to hide a name?   Still have the gloves on?   Rub the area where a logo would be, and see what brand it is.   And, look for anything cracked or broken. 

Push drills:   Pick them up, this time you want to hear a rattle...coming from inside the handle, where the bits should be stored.  
Chisels:   You are hunting tools, NOT mushrooms.
  Chisels are usually by the box full at these places.....dig down past the mushrooms.  No handle, and no mushroom?   dig a bit, you may just find a handle sitting in there, or in the next box.   IF that handle fits the chisel you have...assemble them together, and buy it as a unit...

.................
That's good advice, and I am sure it was "bought and paid for" with experience!!!!! BTDT..

[Carl Grover]

A sense of humor is important as you accompany your wife on your weekend search.  You will need it after you find and purchase a few "bargains".   Some years ago I purchased a box of hand planes thinking I could use them to learn how to tune-up a plane.  I sure did learn a lot!  I also wound up with a bunch of cleaned-up planes that  needed  missing parts.   I still have them sitting on a shelf that I look at every day and chuckle at my ignorance.  None of them are workable and the parts that are missing won't interchange.  

You have received very good advice as to what to look for.  I wish I'd known about this site before I bought those planes.  On the other hand, I sure know what to look for now, and I'm pretty good at hand plane tune-up.  The seller knew what he had:  I just didn't know what I was buying.

The sense of humor???..........  I got hooked and can't stop looking for old hand planes to restore.

R.

This is it right here. After you've bought a couple of clunkers and spent umpteen hours of blood sweat and tears trying to clean them up then get them to pull a halfway decent shaving, you will know what is good to buy and what isn't. The knowledge and experience will be worth a whole lot more than the $5 you plunked down for that rusty Wards Lakeside or what have you.

One quick tip. Whatever you are looking at, hold it in your hand like you are going to use it. Some of the worst planes I've bought have had totes that were way too small for my paws. If it isn't comfy now, it will kill you once you start pushing wood with it.


carl

[Downwindtracker2]

For braces look for ones with rosewood handles, they were the top line. Or ones with fat chucks, these were the ball bearing models, also top of the line.

When I was an apprentice, we still used hand saws . A piece of advice from an old carpenter/shipwright on buying old handsaws " Get the handsaws with five bolts, the company wouldn't spend the extra money on another bolt unless it was a good saw." Of course I've learned there are some pretty fine ones with four bolts, but none with three that I know of. The quality of the sharpening ,I think is more important. Backsaws only have three.

A simple check with planes is to look for the frog adjustment screw. That being said, my best jack plane is without it, a purple Stanley, that includes a couple of Sweatharts and a Bedrock. I'm fond of MillersFall stuff.

[Tynyyn]

You guys are brutally honest with your assessments for flea market finds. I have a plane on my shelf I thought would be a delight to restore. After I pulled it apart I found it was just too rusty to do any work to. It had a stamped frog that made me scratch my head, a blade that had too many pits, and a handle that was so loose I couldn't apply enough pressure to the screw to keep it tight.

Those types of experiences make searching for tools much easier. I found a DE #8 jointer plane for 35 bucks and snapped it up. A couple hours later I have a fine jointer which takes whisper thin shavings. But my favorite is a Stanley #3. It is my "go to" plane in every situation. Twenty or so planes in my collection and I am still drawn to that one plane because it preforms so well.

I appreciate the sage advise and stories from the more experienced members of this forum. You guys are a wealth of knowledge and your thoughtfulness to give advise is beyond the expected. I thank you.

[®smpr_fi_mac®]

I really appreciate the advice, gents. I'm gonna go into it a LOT more wary now, and actually don't expect to actually pick anything up that I'm gonna want to buy, but I won't rule it out.

I'm not *too* worried about the blades; I intend on replacing some (if not all) of those I already have with thicker, after market bits in the future. Maintaining "original" equipment doesn't matter at all to me; I want tools that are to be used, not put on a shelf.

Thanks a bunch!

[Bill Wilson]

Good luck Brad!  And have fun.  That's important. 


The wife & I spent last weekend in the Lancaster, PA area.  That area has a pretty high density of antique dealers.  We spent the whole day Saturday browsing dozens of shops and probably hundreds of individual dealers' booths.  While tools weren't necessarily plentiful, there was enough to keep my interest and not get too bored at looking at still more dishes. 



What I've found is that antique fairs can be a mixed blessing.  They sometimes have nicer inventory, but the prices are often reflective of that.  The best hunting I've had, outside of an MWCTA tool extravaganza a couple years ago, are the outdoor antique flea markets.  You deal directly with the owners, not employees at a consignment shop, so you generally have more latitude for negotiation.  Also, these kinds of markets usually have more motivated sellers, because they would prefer not to pack stuff up and haul it back home.

Bottom line is that these kind of places force you to walk a fine line between being bold and being cautious.  You need to be bold, because it takes a bit if a "buy it when you see it, because it won't be there tomorrow" mentality.  I've kicked myself a few times for passing on something I should have jumped on.  But you have to be cautious so as to not drag home overpriced junk.  Since I don't resell stuff, I don't mind paying a few $$ more for something I really like, but it is easy to get carried away, so it's good that you are doing some advance prep.

[Downwindtracker2]

I find if I'm looking for something specific, I usually don't find it. But things do turn up, like a #6 Record plane. There is a lot of Stanley Handyman type planes, which are a pass. The good ones cost the same or less. When I started rust hunting I picked up a lot of brand name plastic handled chisels. But how many blue chip Marples 1" chisels do you need. Remember it can be a lot of work to bring a chisel around.

[®smpr_fi_mac®]

So, nothing to report. It was mostly people with small vendors' tents selling nick-nacks and furniture.

Boring.