Andre, I may mill up a thicker iron for my 07 one of these days. If I do, I'll make an extra for ya.

 

For the Stanley block planes I can often find irons for $10-12.

- SMP

Which logo on the iron? Last few I ve picked up were sweetheart era and cost me around $20. That heart on the iron makes them special I guess.

Whichever logo is cheapest. I actually buy them to use, not to shove in a drawer so my wife can sell after I die, lol…so i personally couldn't care less if it has a heart or a bear on a bicycle or whatever.

 

Whichever logo is cheapest. I actually buy them to use, not to shove in a drawer so my wife can sell after I die, lol…so i personally couldn't care less if it has a heart or a bear on a bicycle or whatever.

- SMP

Fair point. I buy them to use as well…i guess some go into planes im reselling but i want those to get used too…i just happen to be picky and want the iron to match the age and type of the plane. Its kind of a necessity if im reselling one that it matches.

So…Bcemail…maybe take what I say about costs with a grain of salt unless you are equally picky.

 

I have a drawer filled with older Stanley block plane irons ( and a PEXTO) That I am not using, right now….. - bandit571

Bandit
If you have a #65 or maybe a #18 with knuckle cap in that unused drawer, we need to talk.
Really like the feel of knuckle cap vs my regular #60.
Only knuckle cap block planes I find locally have damaged castings due too much clamp pressure, or the over priced fleabay listings with hidden damage you don't find till you get box opened.

Got so depressed hunting for low angle knuckle cap block plane, moved it to my purple polka dot unicorn list. :-(

 

No. 18 Knuckle cap….sitting next to a Shelton All Steel No. 18…...I prefer the #60-1/2, and the 9-1/2 ones, anyway…

 

Only knuckle cap block planes I find locally have damaged castings due too much clamp pressure, or the over priced fleabay listings with hidden damage you don t find till you get box opened.

- CaptainKlutz

Its pretty common for any of the old adjustable mouth block planes to have hairline cracks around the mouth. And a lot of times its hard to see on ebay pics. Especially those listings with the crappy photos it looks like they tool in a dimly lit room with an iphone 3.

I have an old 19, my biggest block plane, feels like a small smoother, but I rarely use it since not low angle.

 

I hope to get a Lie-Nielsen plane one day, but for now, I'm only using a Stanley low-angle block plane. I think it is "contractor grade" but it's been performing well although it does have issues.

 

Fair point. I buy them to use as well…i guess some go into planes im reselling but i want those to get used too…i just happen to be picky and want the iron to match the age and type of the plane. Its kind of a necessity if im reselling one that it matches.

Thats the funny thing about "collectors". They get sooooo OCD about getting the "right" parts on old things. But ironically an actual craftsman of the time would have used up the first iron and bought whatever the replacement part the hardware store had at the time, and the next time etc.

Same thing with old BMX bikes, collectors try to get the "correct" part, when in actuality when I rode BMX bikes in the 80s we would go to the bike shop and buy trick aftermarket parts and swap out the "junk" that came stock on the bikes. Its kind of a funny thing collecting.

 

I think the first thing I build after my bench is complete will be a tool cabinet that has a plane till in it. The problem is how do I figure out the size? I bought another one last night.

 

Andre, I may mill up a thicker iron for my 07 one of these days. If I do, I'll make an extra for ya.

- HokieKen

That would be nice I actually have been using it more than expected? Flattened an sharpened the NOS iron only to find it was 1/8" out of skew! Let me know what the postage and costs are and I'll get the wife to work a few extra hours/days LOL!

 

Thats the funny thing about "collectors". They get sooooo OCD about getting the "right" parts on old things. But ironically an actual craftsman of the time would have used up the first iron and bought whatever the replacement part the hardware store had at the time, and the next time etc.

- SMP

I'm getting less picky about my user planes thankfully. It started with scrapers. Those blades are pretty hard to find originals and the new Hock scraper blades work sooo much better. I'm heavily leaning towards PM-V11s for all my users. It will be a slow process but if I need a certain logo iron for a rusty plane im restoring I can steal it from a user and buy myself a nicer iron.

I think the first thing I build after my bench is complete will be a tool cabinet that has a plane till in it. The problem is how do I figure out the size? I bought another one last night.

- controlfreak

That's a tough one. A lot of that depends on you personally and how much you use planes. I know what your current longest plane is. If you go with a vertical style till I'd work off the #8 for height. A #3 and #5-1/4 are roughly the same length as a #8 if you stacked them vertically in the same slot. Email me if you need any measurements or want a quick pick of a couple layout options.