# Stanley 608 hand plane.



## HandToolGuy (Dec 10, 2011)

I just bought a Stanley 608 bench plane on EBay. The plane has "608" cast into the topside of the sole as it should, but itonly measures 18 inches long. All the info I have seen says that these planes are supposed to be 24"long. Anybody have thoughts on this?


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## Brink (Nov 22, 2010)

Welcome to the forum.

Is there a chance that 606 looks like 608? The 606 is 18" long. 

Or, someone might have shortened it for some reason?


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Welcome. I believe Brink is correct on the 606. Can we see some pictures of it?

Any other markings?

~tom. ...GEAUX TIGERS!... ...GEAUX SAINTS!......


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## HandToolGuy (Dec 10, 2011)

WoW! You hit that one on the screws! I took a second look and somebody has taken a hacksaw and turned this classic jointer plane into a fore plane. The ends are completely squared off! It looked funny when I took it out of the box, but I was so shocked at the size that the squared ends didn't register. Thanks for the quick response.


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

HandToolGuy said:


> WoW! You hit that one on the screws! I took a second look and somebody has taken a hacksaw and turned this classic jointer plane into a fore plane. The ends are completely squared off! It looked funny when I took it out of the box, but I was so shocked at the size that the squared ends didn't register. Thanks for the quick response.


Geez... The disrespect some tools endure.

Hope you didn't give to much for it!

~tom. ...GEAUX TIGERS!... ...GEAUX SAINTS!......


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## HandToolGuy (Dec 10, 2011)

HandToolGuy said:


> I just bought a Stanley 608 bench plane on EBay. The plane has "608" cast into the topside of the sole as it should, but itonly measures 18 inches long. All the info I have seen says that these planes are supposed to be 24"long. Anybody have thoughts on this?
> 
> Sadly, I paid too much: $50.
> 
> The truncated plane is now between a #5 and a #6.


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## Brink (Nov 22, 2010)

Ugh, they coulda at least rounded it some


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## eagle49 (Mar 22, 2011)

I would ask for my money back form the seller " items not as discribed"


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## firehawkmph (Apr 26, 2008)

HTG,
unless you really want it, and unless the seller's description said it was cut, I would see about returning it. I can't believe somebody would do that to a fine tool. 
Mike Hawkins


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## ACP (Jan 24, 2009)

That's hideous. I agree with the above. I'd return it if you can. Maybe it was dropped and they tried to save the old girl. Maybe you can try to rename it the "rare, Stanley Liberty Bell 608 Bedrock Fore Plane". Or resell it as a 608Y. Tell folks it was an expirmental plane! )


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## eagle49 (Mar 22, 2011)

If that seller wouldn't take it back, or make it right, Paypal will give you money back and you keep the plane. He may or may not have known it was cut, give him a chance to make it right before you give negative feed back. If he gets 2-3 bad feedback he is put on restriction, or kicked off. They are quite strict with the sellers. Hope you can work this out, keep us posted.


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## eagle49 (Mar 22, 2011)

Does it have the Bedrock hold down? Its worth some money.


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## HandToolGuy (Dec 10, 2011)

johnray said:


> Does it have the Bedrock hold down? Its worth some money.


As near as I can tell, the plane is complete except the sole was whacked off, johnray, but I am not sure what you mean by "the Bedrock hold down". Could you take a moment to tell me?

Anyway guys, I was amazed by all the support and I appreciate it, I have contacted the seller and she answered quickly. She said she did not know and offered to either take it back for a full refund plus shipping costs or refund part of the money (% to be determined by me) and let me keep it for parts. She has done what I would do if i were the seller and she will get five star feedback from me.

In retrospect, I even think I know what happened to the plane and why. I own a very ornate "Sir Walter Raleigh" clock that used to have a spire in it that made the whole thing about 12" higher than the shelf my grandfather wanted to store it on, so he got out his trusty hacksaw and lopped off the spire. I am betting that somebody somewhen had a 24" plane and an 18" shelf...


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## joesbucketorust (Dec 13, 2011)

It's so easy to get caught up on fleabay and think you're getting a great deal, but those squared off ends should have been screaming "run away" the moment you saw them in the photo. 
If the seller really called it a 608, and is willing to reimburse for postage too then sure you can return it. You can also give it a prominent place on the display shelf as a lesson to look twice before clicking the "buy it now" button. Or, if you didn't spend a fortune on shipping there is still a good chance you can part out the wood, frog & screws, lever cap, iron and chip breaker, and make most if not all your money back.

Oh yea - "the Bedrock hold down" means the lever cap. Size 8 are scarce, and if they say BEDROCK and not STANLEY on them then they are even scarcer.


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## HandToolGuy (Dec 10, 2011)

joesbucketorust said:


> It's so easy to get caught up on fleabay and think you're getting a great deal, but those squared off ends should have been screaming "run away" the moment you saw them in the photo.
> 
> Oh yea - "the Bedrock hold down" means the lever cap. Size 8 are scarce, and if they say BEDROCK and not STANLEY on them then they are even scarcer.


You're right, Joe, I shoulda taken a second look at the pics, noticed the squared off ends and/or the fact that the plane is way too short. But I'm still learning the game and I saw what I wanted to see, I guess. Anyway, I acknowledge that the fault is 50% mine, so I am going to keep the plane for parts and she is going to refund 1/2 of the money and we will both be wiser in the end.

BTW, the lever cap says "Stanley" not "Bedrock". No worries though: I don't intend to sell it.

Thanks again,guys. You have all been great. I am glad I found this site.


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## joe bailey (Dec 15, 2011)

I understand that you're not bothered by the incorrect lever cap from an aesthetic viewpoint, but just thought I'd point something out. That cap is not the correct width or length for a number 8 jointer.
Yours probably came from a number 4. At any rate, it should be about as wide as the chipbreaker (upon which it sits), but more importantly, the lower edge of the lever cap must bear against the rounded raised area at the business end of the chipbreaker. Without the proper lever cap, you'll never realize the performance which even a truncated Bedrock can offer.


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## HandToolGuy (Dec 10, 2011)

joe bailey said:


> I understand that you're not bothered by the incorrect lever cap from an aesthetic viewpoint, but just thought I'd point something out. That cap is not the correct width or length for a number 8 jointer.


oh, but that IS the sort of thing that bothers me. I'm just too new at this to see stuff like that. You picked that up from the lousy picture I posted? How?


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## joe bailey (Dec 15, 2011)

I went out to that auction site to have a look at the original listing (I wanted to see whether or not the mods were made obvious). That's where I saw the photo of the lever cap.


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## HandToolGuy (Dec 10, 2011)

joe bailey said:


> I went out to that auction site to have a look at the original listing (I wanted to see whether or not the mods were made obvious). That's where I saw the photo of the lever cap.


Wow! Let's get together over a beer and talk planes someday. I wanna know just a little bit of what you know!


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## HandToolGuy (Dec 10, 2011)

But I just went back and looked at the photos and you're right. I looked at those pics a bunch of times but I guess I saw what I wanted to see. As somebody said, there were flags everywhere that screamed "Run! Run! Run" and I seem to have missed them all. :-(


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## joe bailey (Dec 15, 2011)

Hey - that's OK - it's a part of the learning process. And talk about learning, there's no substitute for hands on training. After you take a bunch of them apart, clean/refurbish, etc., and then reassemble, you'll know 90% of what you need to know.
Now, in case you haven't been to these yet, I have a couple sites where you can begin in building your knowledge of planes. But first this warning: this is a highly addictive business. They call it "the slippery slope" for a reason.
The sites:
http://www.rexmill.com/
a great site with type study, and tons of good advice on rehabbing old planes.
http://www.supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan0a.html
the definitive guide to Stanley planes.
Good luck!


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## joesbucketorust (Dec 13, 2011)

HandToolGuy said:


> ...there were flags everywhere that screamed "Run! Run! Run" and I seem to have missed them all. :-(


Don't feel bad - it happens to all of us whether we admit it or not. You've heard of beer-goggles, this is a case of its lesser known brother the bargain-goggles. We look for a plane, drawknife, breast drill, whatever for so long hoping to find a particular model or type, in a price range we can afford, go an eternity without finding anything close, and then when we finally stumble on one we get blinded by the prospect of a great deal and no matter how hard we stare at the pic or read the description, we don't see the obvious flaws. There's a special corner of my shop called the Island of Misfit Tools with all manners of indecencies - cracked cheeks, missing screws, cutters hammered into submission, and too many frankenplanes to count. Some I keep around to remind me of my mistakes, but most are there because secretly I keep believing that someday I'll find another box-lot for a buck that will have all the missing parts for everything. Of course for that to happen today, the box would have to be the size of a medium U-Haul, but hey it could happen. You just have to believe...


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## Brink (Nov 22, 2010)

joesbucketorust said:


> Don't feel bad - it happens to all of us whether we admit it or not. You've heard of beer-goggles, this is a case of its lesser known brother the bargain-goggles. We look for a plane, drawknife, breast drill, whatever for so long hoping to find a particular model or type, in a price range we can afford, go an eternity without finding anything close, and then when we finally stumble on one we get blinded by the prospect of a great deal and no matter how hard we stare at the pic or read the description, we don't see the obvious flaws. There's a special corner of my shop called the Island of Misfit Tools with all manners of indecencies - cracked cheeks, missing screws, cutters hammered into submission, and too many frankenplanes to count. Some I keep around to remind me of my mistakes, but most are there because secretly I keep believing that someday I'll find another box-lot for a buck that will have all the missing parts for everything. Of course for that to happen today, the box would have to be the size of a medium U-Haul, but hey it could happen. You just have to believe...


Oh yes!!!

Of my eleven, one of them is a nifty 45, great deal on it, so I thought, figured I'd have no problem finding the cutters. 2 years later, there it sits.


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## eagle49 (Mar 22, 2011)

*8c*

I have a 8c Bedrock 4 sell, in good condition, does have chip on end but not sawed off! I can see pic if interested.


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## HandToolGuy (Dec 10, 2011)

johnray said:


> I have a 8c Bedrock 4 sell, in good condition, does have chip on end but not sawed off! I can see pic if interested.


Sure, let's see the pics. How much do you want for it? I might be interested if I can get the appropriation past my wife.


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