# Stanley Handyman video info??



## Belg1960 (Jan 3, 2010)

Guys, I have been looking at a bunch of forum topics hoping to come across a video that goes into detail on how to recondition one of these. Everybody that seems to do these videos takes for granted that the people doing the work have all the knowledge already and don't go into enough detail to describe what needs to be done to each piece. I have seen 7 videos showing how to remove the rust with electrolysis, I think I got that covered.


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

Go look up a site called Major Panic.com As for Handyman planes









I think I have done a few….


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## Belg1960 (Jan 3, 2010)

Bandit, your thread was one of the ones I went to. I saw your "family" of handymen, thanks for the link it is a great start, the part this doesnt cover is how to set it back up to get the best results. It does show assembly but would love to hear some tips of set up. Where to place the frog, what the gap between the the blade and the body,......... Help appreciated.


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

Depends on when each plane type was made. The two smoothers I have, #1203, and #1204 are different years.

Usually when i set a frog on these, I use a finger tip. There is a "flat area" on the casting where the iron rests as it goes out the mouth. I start by making the area flat with the face of the frog. Any more forward I get chatter, any further back doesn't work too well either. You could almost put a straight edge to line both areas up. After that, just a nice SHARP iron. Set it until it just starts to make a cut. Try a few swipes at a board, adjusting as you go. Soon, you just may have a few shavings curl up.

Tomorrow is my "day off" from work. I could go to the Dungeon and take a few pictures of my "Handyman" planes. I also have a "Companion" brand of these. Other than a logo on the lever cap, it is the same plane as my #1204. I had a blog about restoring the Companion plane, called: From mailbox to wood.









Just think, Handyman also had block planes too….


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

Per Pats request. Photos of Handyman frogs









Handyman #1203. There is a slight step right behind the mouth area. Cover that step, and









Make a shaving. A Handyman #1204









RED FROG! Makes seeing the step area a little better. Not sure the years these two came out. A sharp iron, and away it goes









Stanley did make a Jack size, as well. A #1205









As for shavings









Hey, afterall, it IS a Jack plane


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## Belg1960 (Jan 3, 2010)

Bandit, thanks for the shots. Is there anywhere that you might have posted the finer points of how to set up a plane? 
Ok, I have 3 planes in total that are sharp and am not happy with the thickness of what I remove with each swipe. They are still too thick, but they are consistent. My problem is that I'll reset the thing 20 times either going to far one way or the other because there is so much play in the adjustment wheels. 



























I would love to know what each of these planes are ideally designed for.


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

First picture: Jointer type of work, can make thin shavings, but more designed for edge jointing a board









About like this. Back off the iron until you can not see an edge when looking down the sole. Advance it, while the plane is sitting on a piece of stock, intil it just starts to cut. Once it can make a shaving, take any "slack" out of the adjuster wheel. You will feel it turn freely for a turn or so, then not so freely. Stop right there. Iron should be locked and ready to go.

Picture#2: Jack plane, a Sears model of the same one I have as a Stanley Handyman. Aka, Number 5. Same advice as before. A Jack/Fore plane does a luck of things. You can add a curve profile to the iron, and surface stock fast. You can leave it square, and smooth larger items like a table top.

Picture #3: Block plane. These are a bit of a trick to set right. Use a finger tip right where the iron comes out, push the iron until you just feel the edge of the iron. Tighten the adjuster. Lay the plane on the stock, and check to see if it cuts. If not, tap the back side of the iron, to move the iron forward just a smidge. Try again. Make sure the iron is straight across the opening. If not, tap the side of the iron until it is. A #110 Block plane does a lot of small chores. It can ease an edge. Small parts can be cleaned up, smooth off the fuzzy areas after a cut. Can be used with one hand. This is also a BEVEL UP plane. The first two, the bevel will be down.

Take a metal ruler, like on a combe square, lay it on the frog, and through the mouth. You want no gap under the ruler where it goes between the frog and the base casting. Once these two are in-line, tighten down the frog, making sure it is square to the base. On the iron itself, there should be a second piece of metal. This Chipbreaker is suppose to sit as close ( 1mm) to the edge of the iron as you can get it. Hold the two up to a light, there should be no gap between the two pieces where they meet at the edge. You may have to grind a bit on the chipbreaker's edge, to get it to sit flat on the iron.

Anything else?


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## Belg1960 (Jan 3, 2010)

Before I make all these adjustments how tight or locked should the cap lever be?


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

You want it just tight enough the the lever "snaps" down. You want it tight enough th hold settings, but not so tight that you can't make any changes to those settings. If you have to push hard to snap the lever down, back off a turn of the bolt. You shouldn't be able to wiggle things.

Try this once. With the lever snapped down, tighten the bolt until snug. Try to wiggle the iron with your hand on the iron itself. Easy to move? 1/2 a turn, try again. The only things that should move the iron are the adjuster wheel (depth) and the lateral lever (side to side). IF neither of these two can move the iron, it is too tightly screwed down. Back off a bit. It really is a trail and error sort of thing.


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## Belg1960 (Jan 3, 2010)

Ok, thats one of my main problems I have been making all adjustments without the caplever being snapped in place and I guess then when I snapped it down it was really hard to close and I was probably then moving the blade. A final couple questions before I go and experiment some more, I snug it down to the point where it holds but do I then tighten the screw down tight when its set or it should be snug enough when adjusting that no further tightening is needed?
I guess my final question is, if you only had my planes only which would you use to just remove a few saw blade marks? Thank you so much for going over and above to help me, Pat


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

Q#1: Just Snug. Leaving it TOO tight tends to warp the irons. I have had to straight a few irons on the planes I have bought. If you find it does need a little extra to hold the setting, maybe a 1/4 turn, and check.

Q#2: Depends on the size of the piece. Big and wide board? that first plane, set for as thin a shaving as you can get









This is my #8 size ( 24" long) working on leveling a slab for a table top. Small or narrow pieces?









Like a leg, for the table. You can clean up end grain areas as well









Next item on your to do list? Keep an eye out for either a #3 or #4 size smooth plane









Usually 8-10" long. Irons are either 1-3/4" wide (#3 size) or 2" wide( #4 AND the #5) usally around 15-25 bucks on Ebay, or a fleamarket/antique store/ garage sale. Have fun.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Belg, I've got a series of blogs on how to tune and restore handplanes. Unlike Bandit, I have a strong dislike of handyman planes. They can be made to work when you've been doing it as long as bandit and I, but making it your first could be a bit frustrating. I did say could because they are pretty inconsistent.

Writing a blog about how to set a plane up would take a series, because it really depends on what you are trying to do. In other words, a smoother will be different than a jack and so forth, but it even goes further than that. At what stage your planing with your smoother will make a difference also.

Here is a few tips to get you started, and I'm assuming this is for a smoother, so adjust as needed.
- Set the frog far enough ahead so when the blade just starts to cut, it would be difficult to slide a business card through the mouth, but you could probably force it if you had to. 
- Set the chip breaker as close to the edge of the iron as your eyes allow, maybe a 1/16" or a smidgen tighter. Make sure it never goes beyond the blade if the blade is a little uneven or cambered. Here is a blog on setting the chip breaker.
- The cap should be as tight as you can make it and still easily move the iron up and down. Start loose and tighten it down until you feel the adjustment start to become harder. 
- You always want to start planing with the blade retracted just above the mouth.
- Slowly lower it until its through. Use the lateral adjuster to make it even across the mouth.
-You can slide a thin piece of wood across one side of the iron then the other to make sure its even, or use your eye. As you practice, you will use your eyes more and more. Using your finger tends to cause bloodshed so its not recommended 
- As you're planing, if you see the iron is taking shavings on one side and the other, move the lateral adjuster toward the shavings, or the heavier side.
- Your first swipe should get nothing, but slowing lower the iron until it starts to take a shaving.
- Then just adjust accordingly.

A thin shaving should look like this









- But remember that different wood react differently and you can get thinner or thicker depending on have much smoothing needs to be done.

- If they shaving comes out like sawdust, or you are pushing to hard to get shavings your iron is not sharp.
- If your iron is straight, even and the wood is straight grained, you get a even shavings across the cut, the full width, or almost the full width of the cut.
- The more your iron is sharpened with a camber, the less this will happen. That is often by design so not always a bad thing.
- Always start your stroke with the plane skewed to one side. It makes the cut more of a slicing action and allows a easier cut.

- Practice makes perfect.










Hope it helps


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

Ok, "Handyman bashing" aside. That first plane shown is not a Handyman. The largest one they made was the 14" Jack plane , #1205. Yours looks like a 18-22" long Jointer, and the lateral looks like a Stanley type. The second one is a Millers Falls #14 Jack plane, made for Sears. Might be a Craftsman branded one? The little #110 is just a normal Stanley "Regular angle" ( as opposed to a low angle) Block plane. Blue paint, and the adjuster makes it look like a 60s era model. Sometimes there is no Stanley cast into the base, and a decal that says "Handyman" on the cap iron. Then the number on the iron would be a #1249 BL. Still a Stanley.

Just clearing a few things up…


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## Belg1960 (Jan 3, 2010)

Guys with your help I now have 3 planes which slice some really consistently thin shavings. Two small ones, the 110 I showed and a 220 which I did not and the Stanley handyman. I still need to work on the jointer which I think will be the best of all for cleaning the saw marks on the 3/4" side of the boards I want to edge glue. Your last pic has an aftermarket fence attached to help keep it square to the wood being worked, is it anything special or did you just drill and tap a couple holes for bolts?and add a board w/ a handle
These are the shavings from the handiman,








This is the bottom of the 220 with the shavings from this tool.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Here is my fence. I wouldn't have drilled the holes, but they were already there, so I made good use of them. If you search LJ's there are examples of the same type of fence without drilling the holes.

Lee Valley and others also sell a factory made version.

Your shavings look pretty good. I'd say you made lots of progress.


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