# Old Stanley Blade in New Wood River Plane



## dcbrow (Feb 24, 2012)

This may seem crazy, but I want to know if I can put an old Stanley plane iron/blade into a new wood river plane, specifically a number 5.

The reason is that Chris Schwarz recommends buying a vintage jack plane and using the original blade with an 8" radius for hogging off material. Then buying a new blade and chip breaker set for fine work.

But I'd rather reverse things: buy a new plane and an old blade. Then put the radius on the old blade and use it for hogging off material. New blades for new planes are much more expensive than an old blade on ebay (yes, I'm cheap!)

But will this work? I called woodcraft technical support and they said they didn't know if the thickness of the blades would allow this.

So I thought maybe someone with both an old stanley and a new wood river could test it out. I'd be grateful for any information you could provide.

Thanks.

-Dave


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

For what it is worth…..I still use the original irons and chip breakers on my old Stanleys. Shame on me.
Bill


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## BrandonW (Apr 27, 2010)

I understand what you are doing, but don't have a wr plane to test it for you. I don't see what the problem would be, though. Rgtools has one, maybe he can test it.


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## Smile_n_Nod (Jan 20, 2011)

The old Stanley jack planes are cheap enough that you could buy one and put it to use (with its old iron sharpened to an 8" radius) for hogging off material. You wouldn't have to fettle it, and you'd have two dedicated planes instead of having to switch out the irons in your new plane.


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## BrandonW (Apr 27, 2010)

Brett has a great point. I have two number 5s that I keep in my rotation: a Bed Rock with a cambered vintage Stanely iron, and a Keen Kutter (Bedrock style) with a new Lie-Nielsen iron for smoothing.

I may have a spare number 5 to sell if you're interested.


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## new2wood (Aug 10, 2009)

I wouldn't think that it would work. I have not tried it (I have a WR 4) but the blades that come with them are substatially thicker than the old stanley blades. I would think that there would be a lot of slop between the frog and the lever cap. To use an IBC blade (which are similar to the stock WR blade) in an old stanley, record, etc. the mouth has to be opened up on the plane. I agree with Brett. I haven't paid more than $10 for my jack planes and that seems like the way to go.


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## BrandonW (Apr 27, 2010)

Really? I know the WRs have thicker irons, but can't you just tighten the screw the lever cap latches on to in order to compensate? And the Frog adjusts forward and backward like a Bedrock, so I'm not seeing the problem. The only issue I potentially see is in the Y depth adjuster being too big, but I doubt that'd actually be a problem.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

I haven't weighed in because I don't know the answer to the question. I would however buy Brandon's #5 and do as he suggest


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## dcbrow (Feb 24, 2012)

This has made me rethink my original idea. I may just get a rough looking stanley and keep it rough with a curved iron for rough work. Thanks for the ideas.


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## dkirtley (Mar 11, 2010)

As long as it fits in the plane it will work. The thickness of the blade is compensated by moving the frog back. That said, a second plane is a lot better idea. I don't like having to keep readjusting things.


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## Smile_n_Nod (Jan 20, 2011)

When I started fishing semi-seriously several years ago, I couldn't figure out why pro bass fishermen needed so many rods. Sometimes they have a dozen or more rods on their boat decks, all tied with different lures. Why couldn't they just cut the lure off their line and tie on another? It finally made sense to me when I realized how much time they would waste in tournaments constantly changing lures.

Hand planes are the same way. You don't want to have to change out blades when you move from hogging to flattening to smoothing. Some people advocate buying a bevel-up jack plane with three blades, each sharpened for a different use. But to me that seems like a huge hassle, constantly having to change and reset each blade.

As cheap as old Stanley Bailey planes are, it's easer and quicker to have one rod for each lure-er, one plane for each application.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

semi-serious fishing. I like that Brett.

To expand on Brett's point, when you switch out the blade, its not as simple as that. When hogging out wood with a jack, you need a wider mouth, so the frog gets opened up. For finish you need to close it. You will find that once you find that sweet frog spot for smoothing, you're not going to want to move that frog, *EVER*.


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## dcbrow (Feb 24, 2012)

Thanks, Brett. I've decided to switch to a plane-and-release policy in my wood shop.

Actually, I'm convinced by Don's point about not wanting to move the frog. I just have to slowly buy more tools (again, I'm cheap!).

Thanks, All.

-Dave


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Dave, I understand cheap, I don't believe I've ever spend over $10 on a #5. If your not into taking a hunk of rust and shining and tuning it up, it's understandable. But guys like Brandon and I have a sickness, so we do it for fun. We'll usually have an extra laying around we'll part with for a reasonable price. Ebay is nuts right now, the prices are a bit out of line. Hitting some flea markets, antique shops and garage sales usually turns up a few projects for me.


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