At a garage sale on Saturday, there was some kind of device that is used with a power router. So I talked to the son of the home's owner about what type of woodworking his father had done. After some discussion, I asked if his dad has any old planes or saws that they might want to get rid of. The son went into the garage and returned with a very dirty old Stanley #7C with a lot of light surface rust and a very dirty Stanley #45 in it's original box.
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| Here's the #7 jointer plane - it's going to need some work |
Here's the thing. I ended up buying the #7 and passed on the #45. The #45 had most of it's parts. I don't know these planes very well, so I'm not familiar with all the parts that should come with it, but it was missing one of the rods that attach fence to plane body. Most, but probably not all, of the original blades were there.
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| Photo from Supertool.com |
Over the next 24 hours I agonized over this decision and realized I should have bought it.
I'm not a tool collector, I'm a user. So if I buy a tool, I don't need it cluttering up my way-too-small shop. But dang it, it would have been worth it to buy the plane just to see for myself how well (or not) it can work. And while I have planes that do some of the tasks it can do, some of its functions would be new to me. If I didn't like it, I could sell it, probably for far more than $40.
When I left their house, the son put the #45 back in the garage. So I thought there might be a chance it didn't get sold. The day after the garage sale, I left a note in the mailbox at that house asking them to call me about the plane. When my phone rang I was very excited, but the lady told me they had sold the plane.
Very disappointing. Arrgh!! Why do I have to be so *@!$&# cheap and practical!
I've said it to myself several times - I shoulda bought that. BYW, St James Tool sells a lot of replacement parts for the 45.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I figured it wouldn't be too hard to find replacement parts. Thanks for that company name.
DeleteIm not a tool collector, but a user. Yeah, keep telling yourself that, thats what I keep saying to myself, but then there is always the curiosity of wanting to try a tool fo myself :-)
ReplyDeleteNot to rub it in, but... At $40 that was a steal...
Bob, who done similar a time or two...
Honest, Bob, I don't have space to be a collector. Maybe someday when I live in a spacious mansion ...
DeleteI have 3 45's and 2 55's and I make all of my own molding with them. Do not believe all the repeated negative comments from none combination plane users. They take a little more time to set up than profile planes, but so do other hand tools, that is part of the attraction.
ReplyDeleteWell thanks for that. Now I feel even worse. haha
Delete"Still more fish in the sea" and all that... No worries, Matt.
ReplyDeleteTrue - I was just going to a fairly random garage sale. You never know ...
DeleteHey, now you have a story about the one that got away. That's worth more than 40 bucks. When you're ready for a 45, Jim Bode will have a sweet one for you at a decent price, not 40 bucks ;), but decent.
ReplyDeleteTake Care,
Chris
Hey Chris. The one that got away ... "I swear that fish had to be 50 pounds ..."
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