# Stanley Handyman plane looking for a second life



## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

I purchased this Stanley Handyman plane as part of a "lot" of Stanley planes I purchased in late July.

I restored the "real" Stanley planes for my own use.

After I understood what a Stanley Handyman plane was, I had no energy to clean this up. It is a Stanley "low cost" brand so a lot of cost cutting measures. The rust looks bad, but it was superficial.









I got tired of staring at the rust, so I felt I had to do a cleanup.

The iron/steel was put into Evapo-Rust to clean off the rust.

I first tried Acetone to clean off the crappy blue coloured coating on the knob and tote. I followed up with sanding to get as close as practical to a useable surface.

I spent a lot of time on the blade and cap iron. The blade had been butchered in the last "sharpening" attempt.

The plane was not cutting. I had to re-lap the blade back and cap iron to get a close contact, and finally the plane was able to make nice fluffy shavings, just like the "real" Stanley #4 which seems to be the equivalent in the Stanley brand.









So the big question is who wants a partially restored Stanley Handyman plane.

The tote and knob need a dark stain or paint to cover the original coating, likely a lacquer with a navy blue dye.

I am not looking for money, rather for a person who will use this plane as it was intended to be used.

The plane can perform as well as the Stanley #4 which is the equivalent. The plane just does not have the same "bells and whistles" features for adjustment.

So who wants to give this plane a good home and use it in a respectful manner?

Give me a Private Message if you are interested.


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## Paul W Gillespie (Jul 7, 2011)

Very nice of you and I am sure it will go to someone who really appreciates it. Good job.


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## shortstackaggie (Aug 1, 2012)

Hi Dave, how would this plane work for a newbie? I'm looking at getting into woodworking to fill my time once I finish my masters in a couple months. Thanks


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

*PM received, the plane will have a new home*



shortstackaggie said:


> Hi Dave, how would this plane work for a newbie? I'm looking at getting into woodworking to fill my time once I finish my masters in a couple months. Thanks


This could work for a new woodworker, although it sounds like you have not started to do any woodwork yet, so you may not know what projects you want to do, which will be important to know what tools could be useful.

I did get a PM from Calzone who would like to use the plane in his workshop class. That feels like a very good home for the plane. 

If this plane can help to inspire just one student to become a future woodworker, it will be a good second life for the plane.


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

I'm scratching my head... Calzone alludes to being a student while also having quite the collection of hand tools. Have I misread something?


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## mwohltman (Sep 17, 2012)

Nice work! I'm actually going to be restoring that exact plane this weekend. A nice handyman who has been working in our complex knows i'm getting into woodworking. Last weekend he saw me working on my "new to me" jointer, my first plane off eBay. This week he brought down That handyman and a buck bros jack for me to restore, both rusty and paint covered. I'll look into that evapo-rust - I'm still trying to figure out what I'll use for a flat lapping surface.

Anyway, that picture will provide good goal for me to get to.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

mwohltman said:


> Nice work! I'm actually going to be restoring that exact plane this weekend. A nice handyman who has been working in our complex knows i'm getting into woodworking. Last weekend he saw me working on my "new to me" jointer, my first plane off eBay. This week he brought down That handyman and a buck bros jack for me to restore, both rusty and paint covered. I'll look into that evapo-rust - I'm still trying to figure out what I'll use for a flat lapping surface.
> 
> Anyway, that picture will provide good goal for me to get to.


I am happy if this posts is of some assistance to your restoration.

Evapo-Rust works well. You just need a container which can fit the pieces, they need to be submerged, and wait overnight. It is not cheap though. It is reuseable, until it is eventually "spent".

To conserve the Evapo-Rust, you want to remove as much of the rust as possible before submerging in the Evapo-Rust.

A quick rust removal step for me is using Permetex Fast Orange with Pumice and a small brass brush for the hard to reach areas and a piece of e.g.,120 grit wet dry paper for the each to reach areas like the casting sole and sides. You will see how quick you can remove a lot of the rust. This could even be enough without the need for the Evapo-Rust.

I use a granite block for my lapping surface. I was able to pick this up at the Grizzly showroom, only a couple of hours drive.

If you have a Woodcraft locally, they also sell granite blocks. They call them "Surface plates".
http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2004864/7535/Granite-Surface-Plate.aspx

If you have a local company which does granite counter installations, they frequently have cut-offs or cut-outs which they sell for very little.

Another option is a piece of glass. I like my granite block. Not likely to easily be broken. This one is about 24in x 18in x 3in.

I spent a lot of time on the sharpening of the blade and flattening the contact edge of the cap iron.

My first test cut was awful. The blade did not want to cut. I had not sharpened enough. On closer look I had not removed enough metal. The previous sharpening attempt was rather a "butcher" job.

I went through the grits again, starting at 80.

I re-assembled and did another test. A partial cut, but a lot of skipping and chatter.

I pulled a known working blade and cap iron from a Stanley #4, just to confirm there was nothing wrong with the plane body. As expected nice fluffy shavings.

I re-lapped the back of the blade and the contact edge of the cap iron with a small diamond sharpener, about credit card size.

I re-assembled and this time the test cut made the nice fluffy shavings seen in the original post.

So my big learning was to pay attention to the contact between the blade and the cap iron. This needs to have no gaps, or else shavings get stuck and this will result in skipping or chattering.

Good luck and post some pictures.


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## mwohltman (Sep 17, 2012)

Thanks for all the info. I can take pictures along the way. I've been meaning to see if i can get individual granite tile's at home Depot. It looks like they are ~10.00 per square foot but I don't know if they sell them individually or if they are even flat enough. I do have a woodcraft reasonably close though. 

I can see why restoring is sort of fun, but it's also a pain because you never know what you are going to get. My jointer, for instance. Overall, the plane was in great shape but the primary bevel was >30 degrees, had more camber than I understand it should and the back bevel was honed for high angled shavings. sigh. I did pick up some wet/dry sandpaper for these. The jack has large dings on the iron so I don't even want to use my stone on it.


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## shortstackaggie (Aug 1, 2012)

Dave,

Here is a picture of the project I will be working on first. 

Thanks


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

shortstackaggie said:


> Dave,
> 
> Here is a picture of the project I will be working on first.
> 
> Thanks


This looks interesting. How about starting a build thread in the Project Showcase forum.

Are you going to scroll saw the letters?


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## shortstackaggie (Aug 1, 2012)

I have not posted it yet.  Will be posting it in the next month. October is a busy month for me. I haven't decided how to do the letters. Was going to get some opinions from the board on it.
Thanks


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## ATL Jack (Dec 11, 2011)

Gig'em!


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## RolloverRiderPGR (Sep 4, 2013)

*The Stanley #33*

This post is a tad bit old but what the heck!::: 
I have the same plane I just got a few hours ago. It was missing the iron and cap but I took those from a POS Kobalt and they fit nicely. The plane will need a little more tuning after the quickie I gave it but I adjusted the frog a little tighter and got perfect shavings from fine to gouging on my new work benches top waiting to be finished and attached to the skirting and legs.

The handyman is the homeowners tool but about the only difference from it to a more expensive plane is the frog doesn't have an adjusting knob but with a little filing to remove a few rough spots from the casting, it fits better. I don't think the plane had ever had the frog adjusted as the "rings" left from the screws were pretty well showing.
As to the iron and cap from the Kobalt I had just finished reshaping the caps end to match the iron as it was ground badly when it was built and I could get maybe 10 passes and had to remove it to clean the wood from between the iron and cap! It took me 2 hours to get it to finally meet the iron flatly and was working better when this handyman came to my front door for a whole $15 US without the iron and cap. Not a bad price for something way better than the junk some of the big box stores are selling as tools.
As to chatter with the cheaper frog, a sharp blade and adjusting I didn't get any.
It does sound like you might have had a problem with sharpening your iron. Sharpening is a skill in itself! Glad I've been using stones since I was a Cub Scout. I hope you invested in a good set of wide stones and hone guides for that perfect bevel. The dings in the iron aren't a problem if you use 80 grit and just hand sand the edge to remove major dings and then use the stones.


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## kingletx1 (4 mo ago)

Dave Paine said:


> I purchased this Stanley Handyman plane as part of a "lot" of Stanley planes I purchased in late July. I restored the "real" Stanley planes for my own use. After I understood what a Stanley Handyman plane was, I had no energy to clean this up. It is a Stanley "low cost" brand so a lot of cost cutting measures. The rust looks bad, but it was superficial.
> View attachment 52204
> I got tired of staring at the rust, so I felt I had to do a cleanup. The iron/steel was put into Evapo-Rust to clean off the rust. I first tried Acetone to clean off the crappy blue coloured coating on the knob and tote. I followed up with sanding to get as close as practical to a useable surface. I spent a lot of time on the blade and cap iron. The blade had been butchered in the last "sharpening" attempt. The plane was not cutting. I had to re-lap the blade back and cap iron to get a close contact, and finally the plane was able to make nice fluffy shavings, just like the "real" Stanley #4 which seems to be the equivalent in the Stanley brand.
> View attachment 52205
> So the big question is who wants a partially restored Stanley Handyman plane. The tote and knob need a dark stain or paint to cover the original coating, likely a lacquer with a navy blue dye. I am not looking for money, rather for a person who will use this plane as it was intended to be used. The plane can perform as well as the Stanley #4 which is the equivalent. The plane just does not have the same "bells and whistles" features for adjustment. So who wants to give this plane a good home and use it in a respectful manner? Give me a Private Message if you are interested.


 I just restored a 5 handyman, would love to restore another


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## Bob Bengal (Jan 2, 2021)

kingletx1 said:


> I just restored a 5 handyman, would love to restore another text me at


Welcome to the forum.

This thread is 10 years old. Best not to put contact info in the open like that, IMO.


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