# A tale of two hand planes & thanks Sears



## Paul W Gillespie

Went to a flea market today in hopes of finding some old chisels or planes to buy. I am a novice in this world, but from reading the forums and online articles I thought I had a little bit of an idea of what to look for. Made in the USA or England seem to be good signs. Older Stanley's or other quality names like Bailey, etc. There wasn't a lot there today. I did get a couple of 24" jorgensen light duty clamps for 2.50 each.

I then came across a fairly new looking Craftsman 9-3/4" bench plane, model #187.37168, that said made in England. The guy was asking $25 and I offered $15. He said he couldn't do it for that, but $20 would be OK. I said I would think about it and walked away. I should have kept walking, but went back and bought it for $20. I saw that there were nicks in the blade and it needed to be sharpened, but otherwise it looked good.

For kicks my brother and I went to Sears afterward where I was bummed to find them clearing the last one out for 21.97. Oh well, at least after sharpening mine should be OK. Well when I got home and took it apart, the metal horseshoe thing under the adjusting knob broke apart in my hand. Now I was really bummed.

I remembered my dad always telling me that Craftsman had a pretty good warranty on most hand tools so I figured I would look into it. I bagged it up and went back to Sears. When I picked up the new one, I noticed that it had a one year warranty on it, but I brought them both to the guy at the tool desk and told him that my plane broke, he just exchanged them. Really no questions asked. Big thanks to Sears and Craftsman. I know I didn't buy it new and I didn't tell them I got it at a flea market, but I was glad they stood by their product.

I know that this is not a great plane like some of them I read about on here. I will continue to keep my eye out for those deals, but I hope it is decent enough to get me started.


















My other questions is about a plane that was my late fathers and he had it as long as I can remember. I don't think it is one of the greats, by any means, I actually don't know who made it. The name plate is gone. It is made in the USA and I think it is from the 70's or 80's Anyone recognize it's make or era? The handles are plastic, which is another reason I don't think it was too expensive back in the day but I could be wrong.

When I get more experience at sharpening and fixing these up I hope to make it look good, just for memories sake and who know it make work decent when done.


































Thanks for reading
Paul


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## joesbucketorust

Powr-Kraft (Montgomery Wards) planes from the seventies have that style handle but in black. Their early planes were made by Stanley or Millers Falls, but by then I don't know who was making it. I've also seen that front knob in light brown on secondary Sears (Fulton maybe?) lines, and their planes were made by Staney, MF, Sargent.
Here's one with a Stanley lever cap, no proof that it's original to the plan though:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Smoothing-p...149?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4cfbc038bd


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## Shop Dad

Soak the metal parts of the old one in Evaporust (find at auto parts stores) then clean up with steel wool. You will need to lap the sole of both planes so the bottom is absolutely flat. There is more to tuning them up but that along with sharpening the blade should get you started.


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## GeorgeC

Sears is really great about their warranty. I have stook in Sears and watched a person return tools that had obviously been mistreated and abused. No questions they were replaced.

George


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## Paul W Gillespie

Shop Dad what does Lap mean?


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## Paul W Gillespie

Joe the old one could be from the 70's or even the 60's. I don't know. I don't think we had a Montgomery Wards, but Sears was the big store at the mall when I was a kid in the 70's. I remember getting my Toughskins form them with the re-enforced knees. My dad always spoke highly of Craftsman back then so it could be from Sears.


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## Shop Dad

The sole of the plane needs to be absolutely flat. You can do this with sandpaper on a reference surface. The same should be done with plane or chisel blades. Here is a useful video. 
http://www.finewoodworking.com/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesArticle.aspx?id=5218


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## Possumpoint

Paul W Gillespie said:


> Shop Dad what does Lap mean?


To flatten the sole on the plane using a dead flat surface coated with an abrasive or covered in sand paper. I use a 36" x 10" piece of 3/8" plate glass. I then cut and glue belt sander belts to it, starting with a course grit, working to a finer grit.

You'll want to lap the back of your blade also. I lap mine till there is a mirror finish across the back at the edge. Using the scary sharp system on both side of 9" x 12" plate glass pieces. Starting with 100 grit and finishing with 2000 grit. I use the same system on the edge after getting a bevel with a slow speed 8" grinder. You can also use water stones in various grits to achieve the same effect.


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## Possumpoint

In addition to my post above, in issue 210, March 2012 of _*Better Homes and Gardens*_ _*Wood *_Magazine there is an article on restoring wood planes.


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## Stever170

I just bought this same model craftsman plane it looks like brand new. I paid 15 cash so I did a little better than buying from store I'm new to the non power hand planes. Is this craftsmen good to learn with or should I sell it while still new?


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## Paul W Gillespie

Stever, to be honest, the one I bought is sitting in a box in the shop with a bunch of other hand planes I bought when I was on my obsession of buying hand planes. I am far from an expert on planes. I have not used one yet to my satisfaction. I have bunch now and they all need work to get tuned right and be used regularly. I just don't have the time now to fix them up and learn to use them.

I think any plane can probably made useable with work sharpening and tuning. There are plenty of youtube videos and other tutorial. If that Craftsman is the only one you have and you want to use it, tune it up. You can also keep an eye out for old ones at flea markets and garage sales. I like the old Stanleys, but that is not based on anything other than they have a good rep and I imagine all the stuff they have built with their previous owners. I would also love some old Bedrock planes or even new Lie Neilsons if I could afford them. But again I am no plane expert and hardly use the ones I have.

It can be addictive hunting for and buying them though.

I think I may have bought some more since this shot was taken.


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## Stever170

I have all the power tools but would like to get back to basics , I do wood working as a hobby after working in an office all day it's nice to use my hands . I will watch the videos and see if I can get the hang of it. I will admit I just ordered a spoke stave . Some people smoke I enjoy tools there is nothing like wood working to de stress. Wish I knew a craftsman I could spend a few days with to get me started .


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## Paul W Gillespie

Yes woodworking is also a hobby of mine. I am a photojournalist for a newspaper in Annapolis, MD. I get to shoot pictures for a living, which is funny because many people choose photography as a hobby. I have to admit that I like using power tools more than most hand tools, but I also see the need to use things like hand planes and chisels. I have only been doing wood working a couple of years and cannot dedicate enough time to it to complete more than a couple of projects a year. These are not major ones either, last couple of years I built a jewelry box, a flip top tool stand and a drill press cart, plus some small jigs and constant upgrades to the shop. Every thing I do is a learning process. I am currently building a Craftsman style coffee table. I have a five day weekend coming and plan on spending most of it in the shop. Good luck.


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## Chris Curl

Paul W Gillespie said:


> ...
> 
> when I was on my obsession of buying hand planes. I am far from an expert on planes. I have not used one yet to my satisfaction. I have bunch now and they all need work to get tuned right and be used regularly. I just don't have the time now to fix them up and learn to use them.
> 
> ...
> 
> It can be addictive hunting for and buying them though.
> 
> ...


LOL, you sound alot like me! I went through a phase where I bought a bunch of hand planes too ... I have a few that I use fairly regularly, and the rest are just sitting there waiting for me to get around to restoring them.


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