# Need info about a DUNLAP hand plane (i'm new to this stuff!)



## Sawdustmaker115

So a couple of nights ago i decided to look through my great grandfather's old tool boxes, I found some really neat stuff in there i had forgotten about. but what I'm really curious about are the hand planes i found, this is one of the three that i found, I'm brand new to this i have NO clue as to what this really is other than just a good size hand plane. So I'm calling out to anyone on here who knows a thing or two about hand planes.
This plane is a Dunlap…. that's all i know!!!
the soul is 14'' from end to end and is just over 2-1/2''wide (2-17/32'')
So again I'm trying to find out some info, like what it's use is and such


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## JustJoe

Dunlap was a secondary line sold by sears, cheaper than craftsman.
The BL usually indicates it was made by Sargent for Sears.
It's a jack plane.


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## Sawdustmaker115

How can you tell it's a jack plane?


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## JustJoe

No pigtails, so it's not a jill plane.


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## jumbojack

Ive said it before, Ill say it again. Justjoe…..you funny.


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## Sawdustmaker115

JustJoe
You lost me at "pigtails'' What? lol


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## sikrap

We can tell its a "jack" plane by the size. Its called a jack plane because its a "jack of all trades" plane, meaning it will do an okay job at pretty much everything but it won't excel at anything. Like Joe said, the Dunlap brand is so-so. It will make a decent user for rough work (dimensioning wood), but I wouldn't expect it to work well as a smoother or jointer.


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## Sawdustmaker115

So is there like fine line between a jack and a smoother as for size
What are the differences? I'm so lost when i comes to planes. lol


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## JustJoe

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/tools/understanding_bench_planes


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## Sawdustmaker115

Thanks for the link it helped a little
So from my understanding the only difference between a jack and a smoothing plane is the length of the
soul? am i even calling that part the right name? "soul"? (I'm referring t the bottom part of the plane)


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## JustJoe

sole.
planes don't have souls.
except for the Millers Falls ones, I assume they do or they wouldn't be in oldtool heaven.
http://oldtoolheaven.com/

Yes, length/width is an indicator of use. Check out P. Leach's Stanley blood and gore website, read the descriptions of 1-8 and see the size differences. That's a good start because a lot of people refer to those as the standard size even though other makers used different numbering systems.


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## Sawdustmaker115

Hahahahaha gotta love spelling errors


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## Tugboater78

Great plane to learn to use, a jack, learn to sharpen and tune it .

Scary sharp method if you don't have sharpening stoes.
donW and WayneC have some blogs worth looking at to learn, there are others , but those are first to come to my mind.

Would give links but am limited by my phone.

Good luck!


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## donwilwol

I disagree with Joe. All my planes have soul!

The only part of a Dunlop I never cared for was the lat adjuster. it always seemed a little weak to me. Everything else was built well. It will make a nice jack. Put a camber on it and rough out some timber.


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## Sawdustmaker115

What do you mean by "put a camber on it"


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## donwilwol

http://toolsforworkingwood.com/store/blog/269


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## Sawdustmaker115

Don 
Thanks for the link im going to try that 
Do have any other pointers to doing this (since you 
sound like you've done this a time or two)


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## donwilwol

Well, you'll need a smoother (Probably a #4) to smooth the stock after the #5. There are a couple of guys on this thread that can help you with that.


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## donwilwol

show us the other planes you found.


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## Sawdustmaker115

Don ill try to post them tomorrow or somthing
Just would like to add all my thanks to everyone hear 
Some really good advice and some good links so thanks for 
taking the time to comment and respond


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## Sawdustmaker115

The first one is a(I'm going on a hunch) Dunlap"block" plane i know its a dunlap just wasn't to sure about it being a block plan, on the back of the "lever cap" i think it's called it says 6 at the top and 7 at the bottom so does that mean it's a number 6-7 block plane? And maybe just some other random additional facts about it would be nice. Oh the length of the sole(nope my hand planes don't have a soul  haha) is 7-1/8''long by 2'' wide.

Now as for the second plane It's a Craftsman "jack plane" (again not to sure what type of plane it is) 
the length of the sole is 9-3/4'' by about 2-1/2'' wide. wish i knew for sure what type of plane it is and what number it would be if it would even have one. thanks in advanced for the extended help

and Don you should show me some of your hand planes and tell me how you've got them set up and how you use them.


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## donwilwol

The first one is a Sargent made block. I don't know the Dunlop numbers but its basically a Sargent 217.

The second is a craftsman smother. Its probably millers falls made.

both will make very good users.

just look through my blogs and project. Where are you located?


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## Sawdustmaker115

Im in NJ i think probably about 2 hours away from your location


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## Sawdustmaker115

And from the info from Joe about the BL is stamped into the Craftsman plane also
so does that mean it's also Sargent made?


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop

That Craftsman is wide enough to be equivalent to a #4 1/2. Very nice.


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## MrFid

Hi there. Not sure if anyone's given you any advice regarding sharpening handplanes other than to say "use the Scary Sharp method." Here's what they're talking about: http://primeshop.com/access/woodwork/scarysharp/
There are also tons of good resources on sharpening handplanes on youtube. Here are a few. They are based on new planes, but there's a lot of good info for people who are restoring an old plane as well.

http://www.hocktools.com/sharpen.htm
















Most of what I know about handplanes came from watching videos online and reading. Keep reading.


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## Sawdustmaker115

Thanks for considering the fact that I have to sharpen them
I did however sharpen them using my bench grinder to get all the Knicks and stuff out of them
but am considering buying some water stones and would like to have some advice on what to get


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## rustythebailiff

One of the main uses I have for my jack plane is to hog off lots of wood when initially smoothing or thicknessing a board. I set the blade for a deep cut, and take off fairly thick slices with each pass ("thick" being objective, since a well set jointer plane will take only 1/1000th of an inch of material off). When I have a rough board to prepare, I start with the jack plane. I run it diagonally from one end of the board to the other and back until I clear off the rough sawn surface, then with the grain to smooth out some of the high spots that are created. A good video to watch for planes is the Woodwright's Shop episode with Christopher Schwarz demonstrating his planing skills.

As for cambering the blade, it means to round the edge of the blade slightly. For my use of the jack, it allows the plane to take deep slices off the board without leaving cut marks from the squared corners of a standard blade. The camber is usually accomplished by grinding the edge with a rounded profile, taking only about 1/32nd of an inch off the outer edges. Just about any plane can benefit somewhat from cambering, if for no other reason than to eliminate the sharp corners that can mar the work.


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