New Stanley Planes

I’m also interested in hearing from anyone who gets their hands on one of these new planes. I’ve been hearing about them for some time now.

-- Keith Cruickshank, www.woodtreks.com

i would go for those made in England. seems like the English put out some good tools there.

I have a Stanley #4 from the UK. The castings are thicker
than my older US made Stanleys, but other than that I don’t
see much difference. I suppose it is marginally heavier. The
tote is something like beech… I prefer the rosewood on the
older planes.

These new ones may have plastic totes and knobs.

-- http://amherstcabinets.com - also a marketing consultant with expertise in direct response marketing for woodworking and online businesses - http://COPYMATCH.COM

The Stanleys I found on Ebay were old but will last another 100 years if taken care of, they are beefier and more solid,stable (frog) than the new England Stanleys. #5 Jack type 11 was $40, #7 Jointer type 11 was $70, I took my time looking and made sure there were no cracks or other serious defects. the #5 has a ribbed sole which I like
I looked over one of the England made ones and it was night and day better than the cheap US or wherever they are made Stanleys.
I would try to find a good type 11,if not then go for the Stanley, they are both about the same work setting up and fine tuning,(yes new ones need tuned). Also there is something about old tools that work excellent lying around.
If you have deep pockets well Veritas or the like!

-- MARK IN BOB, So. CAL

I have one of the newer made in UK block plane and several old US stanley planes. They’re both good once you tune them up. The UK block plane took a whole day to tune. Out of the box, there was chatter and the blade seemed dull. I can’t comment on the US planes since I bought them used and they were already tuned ok.

Hi Tenon Tim,

Great post here, and I’m sure will help a number of us.

For those interested in learning the techniques I use to tune a hand plane:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Tuning-a-Block-or-Hand-Plane&id=581550

I hope this is useful for at least some of us.

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

Thanks for adding the link, Lee. The only one I had was at Finewoodworking. com, and if you don’t have a subscription, you can’t view it.

-- Tim -- http://tmuli.com

The “NEW” Stanley planes, as in the ones aimed at Veritas and LN, are made in Mexico.

The “UK made” “new” Stanley planes don’t have the same metallurgy as the old versions. The newer versions may develop warps, hollows, etc… in the sole. Are the sides square to the sole? I don’t know, as I’ve never checked a new one. You should check this if you plan to use it for shooting.

Also, I really hate plastic on a hand tool where I touch it.

Record also makes lower priced, new metal planes in the UK, but I’ve seen hit and miss quality control.

-- - Real men read directions