Spiers plane better than I expected... and identification question

no can´t help with the blade
but that Spiers uuuuuu what a niiiice thing to have
I know many colecters wuold say don´t overdue it when restore
but my god it will look awesome looking nearly brand new
congrt´s with the new toy

Dennis

Nice looking plane. I find that Spiers planes can work really well. I can’t see the handle very well, but both Spiers that I bought had broken handles in the same place, and I so many for sale with repaired handles that it seemed like they broke them at the factory. Hope you enjoy it.

thanks dennis, it is a beautiful feeling.
I took a piece of exotic wood from my scrap pile and it already feels like an old friend when cutting… :)

barry, I can take more photos of the handle. I examined it quite carefully and did not see any evidence of breakage, but would be interested to know where they break.

this one came from a collection of planes, does not have any pitting and there is no cracks in the rosewood as far as I can see. He said the man never cleaned it and it was one of his favorites.

thanks for the info!

-- Randy "You are judged as much by the questions you ask as the answers you give..."

Randy That is a nice wee plane.
I’ve the same one. It was my Pop’s (G/father) it is a daily user.
Just feels natural in the hand.
Mine has the traditional spit on the tote. It has always been there, doesn’t affect it.
My Iron is Robert Sorby and the blade is ..&H Stormont. It is hard to read. Never thought of cleaning it to find out. It has a round hole in the blade though.

It was made a few miles down the road from where I live.
I’ve taken it to Africa & back. My surname is Speirs so it has that extra bit of ….?
I’ve now a Grandson of my own initials LJ and I hope that he will also use it one day if they can ever pry my hands off of it.
Enjoy your new plane and thanks for sharing.

Jamie

-- Who is the happiest of men? He who values the merits of others, and in their pleasure takes joy, even as though 'twere his own. --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Nice looking plane.

-- CJIII Future cabinetmaker

Jamiie, you have the coffin sided version – I have a pair, though the break on both of the handles on mine were much lower than the one on yours. You didn’t show the top of the front bun – both ones I have were pretty beat up, though that is to be expected after decades of use. The one that justline has seems to have a front bun in really great shape. Cool that you have Speirs name, , I am just finishing a website dealing with infill type study ( for Norris ) but have a small part on the Spiers and the different stamps used by that co. Justline, I wouldn’t worry about the handle, I was just pointing out that it is pretty rare to see one without a crack.

Justline, if you want to pick up a matching plane, it will only set you back a $1,000. Check out this site http://thebestthings.com/infill.htm plane number BM10097

Jamie, thank you for the photo and story of your plane! It is so great to have tools to pass down or to have passed down to us! (My son is still a rock star, so won’t have a need for my tools…)

Barry, I did go check my plane a little more thoroughly and you are right, it does have a crack at the base of the handle, almost in line if the metal side would extend to the back.

I am so disappointed, but I appreciate you pointing it out. Have now written to the seller to see if there is any compensation or anything he will do at this point. Or, failing that, maybe I just need to make a precautionary repair?

Any ideas on strengthening the handle to keep it intact?

Vertical Pins, epoxy?

I would be interested in the matching plane, but my bank account is not so interested... thanks. :)

-- Randy "You are judged as much by the questions you ask as the answers you give..."

Randy,
my Dad used it with the broken handle, as have I.
I think of it like one of my friends. Slightly cracked, but loved.
Jamie

-- Who is the happiest of men? He who values the merits of others, and in their pleasure takes joy, even as though 'twere his own. --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Justline, don’t worry about it, so long as it is firm, the gliue is probably stronger than the wood. Unfortunately, one that I bought was so loose that when I started to each stroke, it felt like I was shifting a gear shift from second to first before the plane moved. The other I bought was also very loose, but glued up great. I am sorry you are disappointed, I certainly didn’t intend that. I wouldn’t mess with a precautionary repair – if it was loose you would have noticed it. Don’t forget, in excellent shape, someone is asking $1,000 for the same model. Instead, I would focus on getting the iron razor sharp, that gets the best results. I am sure that Jamie gets great work out of his. How is the front bun, they are often pretty knocked up , yours looks like it is in great shape

Barry, attached are a couple photos of the bun as well as one of the handle.

I drew a white line just to the right of the crack to make it easier to see.

On the bottom there is a small silver pin inserted and it is nicely shaped and curved with the handle, and when I first looked at it, I thought it was original, but after looking at photos of some others, I see now that it is put there for repair purposes.

Mine does have a very slight movement to it side to side, but the good thing is I heard back this morning from the seller. He offered a full refund or $50.00 now, and if it breaks during use, he will refund the full amount then.

Really gives me confidence in his slogan saying that my purchase is 100% guaranteed!

I am already really attached to this plane, and as Jamie says, who isn’t a little cracked?
Your opinions?

-- Randy "You are judged as much by the questions you ask as the answers you give..."

Justline, if the crack doesn’t impact the use, keep it. I started the whole problem by saying nearly all of the handles are cracked, so if you buy another one, it is pretty likely it will have a crack. It is also pretty unlikely you will find one with a full height front infill – i normally see them either pretty banged up, or someone has shaved it down a bit to get rid of the nicks. The handle does need to be solid so that as you push the plane forward, it moves without any force being lost to a wobbly handle. I am not sure what you mean by slight movement side to side, but so long as it doesn’t feel like it is giving at all when you put it to use pushing forward, keep it. BTW, great seller, probably never saw the crack when he bought it and is really going the extra distance to stand behind his sale.

After giving it some more thought, I will keep it. Here is one of the photos he sent me originally.

There really is no other damage, and if I were to clean up the rosewood a bit and polish it up, it would look every bit as good as the one for sale for $1000.00.

Thanks for your input! Better that I found the crack now and had a resolution with the seller than finding out in a few months if it were to break…

-- Randy "You are judged as much by the questions you ask as the answers you give..."