# Good cheap hand plane?



## lateralus819

So i just bought a stanley hand plane from the big box store. Had a $20 Gift card used that, so only paid $5 for the plane. Seems like a nice unit, one thing i don't like it its not a single adjuster for the depth, it has a scroll wheel on each side. 

What would be a good plane for around $50? 

Also i'd like to get the stuff to sharpen them as well. what would i need? :thumbsup:


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## Dave Paine

lateralus819 said:


> So i just bought a stanley hand plane from the big box store. Had a $20 Gift card used that, so only paid $5 for the plane. Seems like a nice unit, one thing i don't like it its not a single adjuster for the depth, it has a scroll wheel on each side.
> 
> What would be a good plane for around $50?
> 
> Also i'd like to get the stuff to sharpen them as well. what would i need? :thumbsup:


I am not a fan of that design with the two wheels. Another example of re-engineering to reduce cost, at the expense of usability. The two wheels are in lieu of the classic laterial adjustment lever.

A good plane for around $50 would be a used Stanley No. 4 or No. 5 from EBay. It may take a few auctions to win the bid for a reasonable price. Be prepared to do some cleanup work, but you can end up with a very nice plane.

Any new plane, and a $50 budget is not likely to be a good plane.

I have 3 @ No. 5's and a No. 4 in the queue for restoration. I have a restored No. 5 from my latest restoration thread out on loan. You can PM me if you want to discuss buying one of these when they are available.

Sharpening can be done with wet-dry abrasive, which can be used dry, just holds up better, a piece of MDF and a home made jig to hold the plane at the correct, consistent angle.

Some folks on the forum are able to sharpen holding the blade by hand. This takes time. If you are just learning to sharpen, I recommend a jig.


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## lateralus819

Dave Paine said:


> I am not a fan of that design with the two wheels. Another example of re-engineering to reduce cost, at the expense of usability. The two wheels are in lieu of the classic laterial adjustment lever.
> 
> A good plane for around $50 would be a used Stanley No. 4 or No. 5 from EBay. It may take a few auctions to win the bid for a reasonable price. Be prepared to do some cleanup work, but you can end up with a very nice plane.
> 
> Any new plane, and a $50 budget is not likely to be a good plane.
> 
> I have 3 @ No. 5's and a No. 4 in the queue for restoration. I have a restored No. 5 from my latest restoration thread out on loan. You can PM me if you want to discuss buying one of these when they are available.
> 
> Sharpening can be done with wet-dry abrasive, which can be used dry, just holds up better, a piece of MDF and a home made jig to hold the plane at the correct, consistent angle.
> 
> Some folks on the forum are able to sharpen holding the blade by hand. This takes time. If you are just learning to sharpen, I recommend a jig.


Theres NO good plane for $50? Im pretty much a beginner and my needs for an expensive plane at the moment is few and far between. I found a new no .4 http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/t...mpaignId=T9F&gclid=CLes2enM9bUCFc5AMgod42YAbQ

What exactly makes a good plane?


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## tc65

If it were me, I'd return the Stanley to the big box store. In my opinion, it's worth about what you paid out of pocket for it - $5. It will probably never perform even near the level of a classic Stanley Bailey.

For $50 on ebay or from flea markets, etc you could have a very good Stanley Bailey #4 (smoother) or #5 (jack) that would perform very well. If you were careful and tried to pick one(s) up that need(s) a little work, you might be able to buy both of those for around $50. 

It's been a couple of years, but I paid around $20 each for my Stanley Bailey #4 and #5 (and that included shipping!).


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## Woodwart

I have had much more success with Kijiji (local classifieds) than with ebay. On Kijiji you don't get hit with shipping charges that are twice what you pay for the product, and I've got some nice planes.


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## KTP

I found a #4 and a #5 Bailey for $25-$30 each at flea markets. Both were covered in surface rust, but cleaned up wonderfully. They both had all the parts and even usable tote handles (just the horns knocked off).

It took less than an afternoon to get each one running and sharp. I'd recommend this over buying a new one.


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## bigbo1234

I have the same Stanley that you just purchased, it's definitely not a good plane. I use it for old wood that's got dirt on it because I don't care if it gets beat up. Once my wood is clean I can switch to a better plane. Other than Stanley, you might like Union planes. I personally prefer them, and they are generally cheaper than Stanley. I probably only prefer them because Stanley has become cliché. But they do work great.


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## Dave Paine

lateralus819 said:


> Theres NO good plane for $50? Im pretty much a beginner and my needs for an expensive plane at the moment is few and far between. I found a new no .4 http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/t...mpaignId=T9F&gclid=CLes2enM9bUCFc5AMgod42YAbQ
> 
> What exactly makes a good plane?


The link is for the latest Stanley hand plane. Sad to say, the name may be the same as the vintage planes, but most folks on the forum would say the quality is not the same.

Vintage hand planes were mass produced, but this was at a time when the hand plane was a craftman's main tool and the hand plane was Stanley's cash cow.

These days power tools are the norm, Stanley name is now owned by Black & Decker and power tools are now the cash cow, so hand planes are now assigned to a very distant back burner for B&D.

A good hand plane is one which can be tuned to make thin, consistent shavings, and be able to keep the settings, other than the blade needing to be honed as the edge wears.

The new Stanley's may not have the same quality of components, or steel.

I expect many forum owners of vintage Stanley hand planes would be willing to compete their old iron against new iron.


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