Vintage Stanley Bailey No. 5 Smooth 14"

It’s not very vintage and the #5 size is the most common plane ever made.
Ever.
So for 50 bucks, I’d have to pass.

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If you are looking to get a #5 You would be hard pressed to get a better deal than one of the ones DonW has for sale. Have a look here http://timetestedtools.wordpress.com/tools-for-sale-2/

-- Eric - http://theidiotgaloot.com

ok im not looking for something very vintage just a good buy. what price would make this a good buy?

If you live anywhere near NY, you’d be a lot better off just going to flea markets, estate sales, garage sales, auctions and wherever you can find used tools being sold. Find a decent one for $10-20 or less. Learn how to tell the older ones, they’re usually better quality as those guys depended on their tools every day.

Flea market or Craigslist would net 20-30 dollar cost, maybe cheaper on a good day. That one on ebay is over price on condition.

ok im not looking for something very vintage just a good buy. what price would make this a good buy?

You may want to read up on the stanley planes then before you buy. There are 4 eras:
1. Old as dirt. Pre-lateral. Great to collect but can be expensive for a user.
2. Vintage. Pre-ww2ish Made when Stanley still cared about quality. Easy to tune and make great users.
3. The black-light poster to shag-carpet era. Lots of nice nickle plating and orange paint to hide the fact that they’re just in it for the money. You might get a good one, you might get one that takes 3 months of fettling to de-pretzel the sole.
4. The brand new stuff.

As for price on that particular plane in your link. I’d pay $20 at a local sale.

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I would leave this one alone. If you look in the pictures. There is some very deep rust pitting on the bottom on the side of the mouth and some scratches on the right side next to the mouth that might be a weld.
If you are looking for a good plane go with DonW as Airframer recommends. If you are looking to restore one. This might be a better plane http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-STANLEY-Bailey-No-5-Wood-Plane-Corragated-Bottom-/151110785288?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item232ee79908

-- Bruce, Boise, ID

Thanks for all the advice guys. I really do need to read up on planes alot more. Tim do you know which flea market I should look at for a good plane? The only one I know of is valley stream. I recent picked up some Pony 3/4 pipe clamps for 8$ there seems like a steal to me. But I didn’t see any planes. Ill check the flea market again this weekend if not i sure will go with one from don.

I would have to agree with what everyone has said. You can find better deals than the one your looking at. Me personally, I like to handle and strip down my planes before buying them, something that you can’t do when buying on EBay.

-- Fumbling and Bumbling Woodworking Todd

Walked past a bunch the other day

one stall had these, mostly clear-coated to keep away any more rust. Same stall also had this on another table, in the shade of course

A “shag carpet era” Stanley #7 @ $45.00

Others at this mile long sale area had a few other planes

the two iron #5 were about $25 each, one was a DE5 at that. Just a tad rusty….

-- A Planer? I'M the planer, this is what I use

I’m not from NY, I just know they’re out there if you know where to look around. It can take some time to find the right places. Learning to clean up and fettle an old plane can also be a fair amount of time and learning, and some money into supplies so if you don’t have that, going with one already tuned up can be a good option. You miss the learning though and will eventually need to know how to sharpen and remove rust and take them apart, etc. The benefit is you know what a sharp and tuned up plane cuts like.

I would not buy it for $20. As Just Joe said, this is a low quality plane.

For the money….

#5
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Antique-Union-No-5-Woodworking-Jack-Plane-Item-133-/261277579800?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cd55b7a18

#4
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-UNION-No-4-Woodworking-Plane-Ready-For-Work-/330956822513?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4d0e9057f1

Union is similar quality to Stanley, Sargent, Ohio and Miller Falls.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

I’m almost positive my grandfather had atleast one of those union planes. Problem is they are in a different country and shipping charges would be more than purchasing planes here.