# Stanley Bed Rock No. 5, Type 3: Restore or Sell?



## Smile_n_Nod (Jan 20, 2011)

I bought a Stanley Bed Rock plane recently for a song. Does it have any special value's to collectors (it has good patina, light rust, and the wood is sound), or should I clean it up and put it to work?


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## RGtools (Feb 18, 2011)

Put it back to work. Collectors like them but not so much that you should deny yourself such a solid tool.

Let's see a picture by the way.


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## ShaneA (Apr 15, 2011)

I agree with RG, you could use it for another lifetime without hurting its value or collectability. If you decide it is not for you years down the road, chances are it will be worth more in the future anyway. Sort of a win…win situation.


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## knotscott (Feb 27, 2009)

First thing you should do is take a pic!


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## Manitario (Jul 4, 2010)

agree with the others, it's all just rumours and hearsay until you post a pic. You could sell it for a couple hundred bucks if you're lucky on Ebay, and then spend a couple hundred bucks buying a good plane, or just keep it and have a good plane.


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## mcase (Oct 31, 2009)

Since your undecided about what to do with an authentic Bedrock the answer is simple - Give it to me! Really though, if you need a plane use it. If you need money sell it. Either way please read up on how to refurbish and true a plane before you do anything to it. By the way Bedrocks fetch much higher prices than Baileys. If its one of the rarer numbers such as a #2 it can have a very high value. You have some research to do. Fortunately there is plenty of info out there. Here's a great place to start- http://www.supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan0a.html


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## NateX (Mar 13, 2010)

You don't want that old piece of junk, sell it to me for $40.

Seriously though, put it to work and enjoy the heck out of it. Tune it right and you have what the folks at Lie-Nielsen are selling new.


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## BTKS (Nov 30, 2008)

They are right. Tune it up and use it. Some cleaning, honing and you are ready to go. They don't get much better than bedrock.


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## Smile_n_Nod (Jan 20, 2011)

RGtools asked for a picture. Here is is, in its current disassembled state:










Obviously the tote needs to be glued back together, but the break is clean.

The pink rag? It's an old kitchen hand towel. Except for the fish and me, my house is full of girls.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

It looks pretty well cleaned up. Round sides so its an early bedrock. Sharper it up and you've got a great user.


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## RGtools (Feb 18, 2011)

That looks pretty close to usable from here. Tune it up and use it. The collectors can find one somewhere else.

Round sides on a bedrock is a bit more rare so can fetch a good dollar figure….but you would be selling a great tool that's hard to find.


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

Are ya sure about the fish? Do we wanna know how?
Bill


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## Smile_n_Nod (Jan 20, 2011)

So I didn't do too badly for fifteen or twenty bucks.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

well, if you decide you want your money back, let me know


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## ShaneA (Apr 15, 2011)

You done good. We will need to see the "after" shots now, and maybe an action shot or two


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## Smile_n_Nod (Jan 20, 2011)

What's the best way to glue the handle? The break is clean, but occurred some years ago, so it's not a "perfect" fit. Should I use polyurethane glue (like Gorilla Glue), two-part epoxy, or a simple PVA (yellow) wood glue?


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## CharlieM1958 (Nov 7, 2006)

You got a great deal.

Based on what I've seen, you could probably put it back together as is and get ten times what you paid for it on eBay.


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## Smile_n_Nod (Jan 20, 2011)

Bill, the fish is a betta, so it's pretty easy to tell the gender: kinda like telling a peacock from a peahen.


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## Smile_n_Nod (Jan 20, 2011)

I already have a post-WWII Stanley Bailey No.5 jack plane that I've cleaned and tuned. The iron is convex and the frog is set for a wide mouth, so I use it for stock removal rather than jointing or smoothing. When the Bed Rock is fettled, will it work any better than my current jack plane (due to the Bed Rock's better seating for the frog and the plane), or is it a toss up?


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Brett, look at this for your handle repair


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

A good tuned #5 does a nice job, it just takes a little more tuning sometimes. I have several #5 size planes. I use a early #5 with a cambered blade for a jack. I have my 605 tunes as a smoother. I don't use it much, because I really like my 604, but once in a while you want something a little longer.

My 605 is the flat side, so the adjustment is better (or so the marketing says). So to answer your question, will it work better? The answer is its hard to say. My suggestion is to set it up and try it. Once I used both my 604 and my 605, I feel in love.


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## Smile_n_Nod (Jan 20, 2011)

Don W, when gluing a handle, is there any risk of the epoxy being squeezed into the hole for the threaded rod that goes through the handle? I suppose I could drill it out, if the hole is blocked.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

I never worry about it, I just drill it out after.


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## Smile_n_Nod (Jan 20, 2011)

What about finishing the handle? If I have to sand off some glue squeeze-out, how should I renew the finish? Should I sand off all the old finish (is there any on a Stanley Bailey handle, or is the rosewood naturally shiny?) or just touch it up with oil, shellac, lacquer, whatever? (Sorry to be anal about this-I dont' have a lot of experience with finishes.)


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

I always sand the whole thing, typically down to 500 grit, but you don't need to go that far if you'd rather not. I like BLO best. I've used shellac and lacquer, both work as well, it really depends on the look your going for. For me the BLO ages better and can easily be given another coat when needed.


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## ShaneA (Apr 15, 2011)

You may want to sand and finish the knob in the same way.


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## BTimmons (Aug 6, 2011)

I agree with refinishing the tote with boiled linseed oil.  Oil finishes have that smooth, silky quality that feels really good in the hands. Others, especially polyurethane, can get tacky and stick to your hands after you've been working for a while, it's quite uncomfortable.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

I guess I never thought about NOT re-finishing the knob, so I'd agree with Shane 100%

Edit: scroll about halfway down this blog and i show how I re-sand the knob.


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

That's a very desirable plane. You can sell it and make someone happy; or keep it and make yourself happy


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## Smile_n_Nod (Jan 20, 2011)

Are the old round-sided Bed Rock planes more desirable than the newer Bed Rock planes with the square sides and frog adjustment screws?


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

They all have the adjustment screw. The older round sided have the same as a Stanley. The flat side is designed so you don't need to remove the blade to adjust it. This makes the flat side more desirable to some. On the other hand many argue that you should not need to adjust it once its set so it's not an issue.

I like the flat side because I like the way they look. I'd have no problem with a round side as a user.


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## mvflaim (Dec 8, 2009)

If it were mine, I would sell it in parts on Ebay, buy a Stanley Bailey plane with the money and pocket the extra cash. You could get $40 or more just for the lever cap. $100 or more for all the parts.


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## Smile_n_Nod (Jan 20, 2011)

Don W: Sorry, I meant to say that the newer Bed Rock planes have the pins and set screws that attach the frog to the bed (these were introduced at the same time as the square sides). My Type 3 is basically identical to a standard Bailey except for the wide area for the frog to be seated on the base.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

The pin design is what gives it the ability to move without removing the blade. The large flat base for the frog make a better platform so the frog is more solid.


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

^it depends on who's doing the collecting. I prefer the round sided Bedrocks myself.


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## Smile_n_Nod (Jan 20, 2011)

I've fixed the broken handle on my 605 above, using epoxy, and sanded the tote and knob so I can refinish them. Is lacquer okay to use for a finish?

If I want to sell the plane, what can I do to maximize its value without spending too much time on it? I have a Stanley Bailey jack plane that I already use for rough planing, so I don't really need this plane (apart from the coolness factor). If I can sell it for a decent amount, I'd prefer to put the money towards something else. I suppose I could part it out, but I hate to break up a complete, working plane.


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## NateX (Mar 13, 2010)

I used a high gloss lacquer for the handles on my plane. If its rosewood you might consider BLO and a few applications of finishing wax. But lacquer works, it looks really nice as well.

I would clean it, oil it, take some really nice pictures of it, put it up on Ebay, and watch the bids stack up. That is a really nice plane you have there, it should get you around $100 the way it looks now. I think that if you polished and repainted it you would drive collectors out of the market.

I can't imagine parting that plane out… maybe $40 for the lever cap? Those are up $20 buy it now currently…, and what? $20 each for the sole and frog? Just search for Bedrock hand planes and look at the prices. The early bedrocks like you you have command premium prices.

I have been watching ebay quite a bit for the last few months, it does look like plane prices have trended down from about month ago on most planes. Perhaps Christmas drove the prices up or people in cold weather states are not in the shop as much in winter.

Set a reserve you feel comfortable with and get a USPS flat rate box to keep the shipping low. You can wait for the market to change a little or see what you can get now. If you want $60 just set the reserve at $60, if it doesn't sell, no big deal. The key is going to be great pictures and a detailed description.


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## Smile_n_Nod (Jan 20, 2011)

Thanks, NaTex. I'm still surprised to hear that the early, round-sided Bed Rocks are valuable. I've always thought the square-sided ones were more popular.


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## BrandonW (Apr 27, 2010)

Brett, nice plane. I generally see the flat-sided bedrocks go for a little more, especially to people who plan on using them. That said, the round-sided 605 should fetch you a good price. If I were you, I'd keep the 605 and sell the Bailey-I think you'll like the way it performs betters and you won't regret holding onto a nicer plane. OR, just keep them both. I like to keep at least two jack planes sharp and ready to use. One you can put a nice camber on the iron-the other for smoothing.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

I agree with everything Brandon wrote, and second his last comment.


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## Smile_n_Nod (Jan 20, 2011)

Are Bed Rocks uniformly better than Baileys for all applications (roughing, trying, jointing, smoothing, etc.), or do they outpace Baileys better in some than others? In other words, does the stable base of a Bed Rock make more of a difference when dimensioning a board with a jack plane than when smoothing a board with a smoothing plane? Or vice versa? Or does it even matter?


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

In theory, a solid frog base (which a bedrock does have a small advantage over the early baileys and a big advantage over the late ones) will hold a blade without any movement, which could help eliminate chatter. In reality though, a good seated Stanley is going to work just as well. Its just there is a better chance the bedrock will just work and the stanley may need some tune up.

So if your question is "which one would I camber" the answer is the Bailey, and use the bedrock for the smoother.


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## sikrap (Mar 15, 2009)

The round side Bedrocks don't bring nearly as much as the flat side ones. I agree that there's no difference from a "user" perspective, but most people want the flat sided model for two reasons. First, its easier to identify it from a distance as a Bedrock. Second is the ability to adjust the frog without removing the iron. Nice find!! For what you paid, you got a steal.


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