WWA Info Exchange

Friday after breakfast, Mo (mchandley) made me take him to an "Estate Sale". He is looking for a drill press and I'm suppose to keep him from grabbing things to buy that he dosen't need.
Well, of course, I got to looking for myself and ended up buying something I dont need.
I have two planes that I've cleand up and sharpened now that I don't know how to use so obviously I need another right?
It is a Bailey 5-1/2 (what ever that means. )



See "a user?"

It is 15" long and 2-3/4' wide and has some rust, dust and paint on it and a funny looking bottom.......



See "another plane"

Oops , left the price tag on it. Well, did I get ripped off again?
I think I can clean it up and sharpen the blade (it does have a small nick in it) what do you think? Is it a user? Can I ever learn how to use it? I'm not a real "knuckle drager" you know.

Rog

_________________
Dont badmouth no strangers, they just friends you aint met yet.

An ounce of responsibility is worth a pound of State and Federal laws.

I spent most of my money on woodworking
tools and beer, the rest I just wasted.

Fishing for a "You Suck" ? Ok. YOU SUCK

Btw, here's some info on that plane from Patricks B&G, Note the comment about iron width :

#5 1/2 Jack plane, 15"L, 2 1/4"W (2 3/8" 1939 on), 6 3/4lbs, 1898-1958.

A wider and heavier jack plane for rougher work. These make good planes for preparing broad areas such a truing panels.

Be careful when searching for replacement irons for these planes. Take note of the change in the iron's width. The older planes have to have an old iron made prior to the change in width; you'll have to use an original, if you need a replacement, as this width of iron is unique to this plane.
#5 1/2C Jack plane, 15"L, 2 1/4"W (2 3/8" 1939 on), 6 3/4lbs, 1898-1958.

The corrugated version of the #5 1/2.

Also if you want to try dating your plane dig thru the hyperkitten site here ( since it has a high knob it's likely a Type 12 or later ): http://www.hyperkitten.com/tools/stanle ... meline.php

_________________
I bring to life, I bring to death:
The spirit does but mean the breath:
I know no more. (Tennyson, In Memoriam)

$7.50?!?!!

That is definitely gloat-worthy.

You want to double your money?

The rosewood knob and tote alone would sell for $35 plus on ebay.

It is an excellent user in better condition than most users I've recovered.

_________________
~Dan.

very nice... very very nice
YOU SUCK!

Lawrence

Hey Roger,

For $7.50 you definitely deserve a "you suck". However, I would take Gene's advice one step farther. The 5 1/2 uses the same width blade as the #7, but because it's a smaller plane, it doesn't have the weight to help it follow through. So unless you are built like Charles Atlas, you might have trouble with using it for more than a few light passes.

I use to have one just like yours, but never was very comfortable with it, and I'm a fairly large guy. I eventually turned it into a scrub plane by grinding an aggressive arc onto the blade. After a couple of years as an okay scrub, I finally traded it for a #4 smoother.

In any case, you can't beat the price.

Tom

_________________
"There is no path to peace, peace is the path."
Mohandas K. Ghandi

Thanks for all the info guys!
I got to looking at the plane after I posted and read your comments.
The sole measures 2-3/4" but, the iron is 2-1/4 wide. It is stamped Stanley and has an "SW" inside a heart and is about 7-3/4" long.
The 5-1/2 does not have a "c" after it but, that may not be important.
Cast in the base under the tote is....
PAT'D
MAR-25-02
AUG-19-02
APR-19-10
Which means to me that the patents are at least 100 years old. I may be wrong about that and I realize that it does not mean the plane is that old but, it has me worried about messing up a desirable tool by someone (me) who does not know what he has or what to do with it.
Is this something that I would be better off selling and not taking a chance on ruining by trying to make a user out of ? I really don't use a plane at all so,I wouldn't really mind selling to someone who wants and needs it.

Rog

_________________
Dont badmouth no strangers, they just friends you aint met yet.

An ounce of responsibility is worth a pound of State and Federal laws.

I spent most of my money on woodworking
tools and beer, the rest I just wasted.

Rog, did some poking around and this model generally goes for $50 - $150, less on ebay. All depending on condition of course. Since yours is a corrugated model that might add a couple $$. Here's one listing from
http://www.handplane.com/stanley-no-5-12-plane

Manufactured: 1898 to 1958
Length: 15 inches
Blade Width: 2-3/8 inches
Construction: Cast iron, rosewood handle & knob
Finish: Japanned
Features: Extra wide
Uses: General purpose bench plane
Average Dealer Price: $50 to $150
Average eBay Price: $25 to $80

I'd either keep it and tune it up or swap it as Tom suggested, rather than trying to sell it. Judging from the pic, it probably only needs a good cleaning and sharpening up and not any mouth work or other difficult tweaking, so you shouldn't worry about damaging it. Try to avoid taking any Japanning off. If any screws are stuck a little gun oil ( or iodine ) should free them up in day or 2.

As for the narrow blade, it may not be the original blade which would be 2 3/8" . Not uncommon for parts swapping by previous owners if a knob or tote breaks or blade wears out, etc. I still think its a Type 12, 1919-1924. If you take it apart the frog will give you some more to go on .

_________________
I bring to life, I bring to death:
The spirit does but mean the breath:
I know no more. (Tennyson, In Memoriam)

Rog - that's a great find for $7.50! I think Gene is
correct about it being a Type 12 - the patent dates and
tall knob seem to point to it. The corrugated bottom is
nice feature but from my experience, it doesn't seem to
make pushing the plane any easier. A 5 1/2 is a nice
size for flattening panels and generally truing up stock
prior to bringing to final thickness. The SW stands for
Sweetheart - a name used by Stanley during that period
for the plane irons.

There's another forum with a pretty active tool buy/sell
that typically brings in $50 to $75 for a Type 12 5 1/2C in good
shape and yours appears to be in fine shape - clean it up
a bit and sharpen the blade - it should perform well for
you.

Tom

_________________
T-n-T

The corrugated sole should have preserved its geometry better than a solid. The relief provided the casting by milling the strips seems to help. Other than that, doesn't seem to be any difference in operation. My 7, one 5 and one of my 4s are corrugated.

I recently picked up my first corrugated and found that it flattened much more quickly. So far this seems the main advantage. The only disadvantage I've discovered is that putting wax on the sole actually takes a second of thought to get it everywhere... but that's really an extremely minor thing

Lawrence

Roger,

As folks have pointed out your "Sweetheart" 5 1/2C is a very desirable plane. Clean it up with a Scotchbrite pad and some WD40. I believe someone mentioned that you should have a 2 3/8" wide blade. It looks like yours has been replaced with a blade from a #5 or #4. Not to worry - just a good excuse to pick up a Ron Hock blade and chipbreaker for it. Oh - BTW.... YOU SUCK!!!

Slope? - what slope? That thing - heck it isn't too steep at all, don't worry about it.....

_________________
Clay

WWA-MICH-AUX #5
Official "Welcome Wagon" for the SEMIWW

I'm going to try to clean it up using as mild of methods as possable to keep from ruining anything as I can.
Everyone says that the iron should be 2-3/8" wide but it is 2-15/64" and I don't see any possable way a blade of 2-3/8" width would fit in this plane.
The mouth on the base measures 2-9/32" wide and 11/64" long!!! Also.the iron is very thin. It measures 5/64" thick. (I am using an "electronic digital caliper" to measure things)
I can not see any markings on the frog at all!!
I agree that is a type 12 as everyone has suggested (I did try to read the info on the site Gene suggested)
Thanks alot for all the help and suggestions. I is alot of fun finding out about old tools.
By the way, I rember reading about some mild rust remover on this site along time ago. Can anyone help me out with the name of the stuff and where I might find it to buy?

Rog

_________________
Dont badmouth no strangers, they just friends you aint met yet.

An ounce of responsibility is worth a pound of State and Federal laws.

I spent most of my money on woodworking
tools and beer, the rest I just wasted.

I can not see any markings on the frog at all!!

It is not the markings that help with date identification, but, rather the shape.

Walt Quadrato of Brass City Tools has some pages with different frogs shown. While these are specific to Union, you can see the different shaped bosses:

http://www.brasscityrecords.com/toolwor ... n_frog.htm

It bears repeating that dating hand planes is not an exact science. As parts were simply used until now longer available later "model" planes could easily have earlier "model" components. And replacing frogs, irons, chip breakers, lever caps, etc were easy to accomplish if a piece was missing or broken.

ETA: Evaporust.

_________________
~Dan.

Roger,
It appears that the 5 1/2 prior to 1939 did have a 2 1/4" iron. Your plane is correct! The later ones went to 2 3/8".

The material that you are thinking of is "Evaporust" (sp?) and is available from some auto parts stores and Harbor Freight.

_________________
Clay

WWA-MICH-AUX #5
Official "Welcome Wagon" for the SEMIWW

BTW - Lots of info here:

http://supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan0a.html

By the time you read all of this you will be so far down the slope there will be no way to turn back!! <evil voice on> MUHAHAHAHAHAH!<evil voice off>

_________________
Clay

WWA-MICH-AUX #5
Official "Welcome Wagon" for the SEMIWW

Rog, here's a tute from Bob Smalser that goes into detail on a major overhaul if you feel it needs it or might need to when you are further down the slope : http://www.cianperez.com/Wood/WoodDocs/ ... Planes.htm . From Home page: http://www.cianperez.com/Wood/WoodDocs/ ... How_To.htm

_________________
I bring to life, I bring to death:
The spirit does but mean the breath:
I know no more. (Tennyson, In Memoriam)

You're right. I misread Patricks note on blade width.

_________________
I bring to life, I bring to death:
The spirit does but mean the breath:
I know no more. (Tennyson, In Memoriam)

Well now I know why it's been so windy in CO. YOU SUCK!

Great score!

_________________
Frank
WWACOAUX#1
"I love the smell of Sawdust in the morning, it smells like, victory."
WWA'ers I've met: Popeye, Ed Avery, Stephen Wolf, Rockfish, Rodedon

Thats a nice plane.

_________________
My Boss is a Jewish Carpenter!