About a week ago today, I attended an extended family get together in the Midwest, for purposes of celebrating my cousin’s wedding back in March. It was a belated outdoor party with a pig roast and casual attire. That’s my kind of wedding reception. I’ll pass on the formal shirt and tie thing any day if possible. It was good to see all my aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews. A short while back, my aunt and uncle moved to Arizona. They had been vacationing there for several years, and finally decided they’d had enough of the Midwest winter and moved down there for good. They bought a house in a nice area, across the street from a man and woman who were a little older than they are. The man was a retired aerospace engineer from California. My uncle described the man as real “tinkerer.” He had a garage full of tools and could fix any thing. My uncle is also one of those guys. Although he was not a mechanic by trade, he’s the best “shade tree” mechanic I know. Anyway, during occasional conversations between my uncle and his across the street neighbor, my uncle learned that the man had a “storage locker” a few miles away containing some other old tools and odds and ends. My uncle didn’t think much of it and that was that. Well, a few months ago, the man died without warning. It was after his death that my uncle learned that the man’s “storage locker” a few miles away, was actually a BUILDING that could accommodate sixteen cars. Although there were a few cars in the building, it was mostly used to store tools and machinery associated with metalworking, woodworking, and mechanical applications. By the time my uncle found out about the true size and contents of the “storage locker,” it was too late. Most of the stuff had been sold or disbursed in some manner. Only a few unwanted, overlooked items were left. The plane depicted below is one of those tools. Knowing of my collection, my uncle was kind enough to pick it up for me.
I can’t tell you how many times over the years that I’ve received old tools (mostly hand planes) from family, friends, neighbors and co-workers. Nine out of ten times, the tools are in fair to poor condition, with broken and/or missing parts, or are damaged beyond repair. I accept every one of those old tools with a smile and a sincere “thank you.” It’s nice that someone thought of me and I appreciate that. I save many of those old broken down tools for parts, and they do come in handy. If I haven’t said it before, I’ll say it now, “I hate chasing parts.” Individual parts can be expensive and sometimes impossible to find. If a collector quality plane is missing any part that I KNOW FOR SURE will be easy to find, I might still buy it. If it’s missing anything that will be tough to find, I pass on the plane. I’m picky about user quality planes too, particularly if they're common. Chasing parts is not an activity that I enjoy. Even if the part that’s missing on a user quality plane is easy to obtain, my OCD compels me to find a vintage correct part to replace the missing/damaged part(s), and that again makes things harder. I don't like chasing parts.
When I receive a plane from someone, it is what it is. Almost all of them become parts planes for the reasons stated above. Still, every once in a while, someone gives me a real gem. This is one of those planes! It’s not an uncommon plane, but just a Stanley #6C, manufactured from 1898 well into the 1980s. It’s a Type 13, manufactured between 1925 and 1928. The Stanley logo on the iron was commonly used from 1922 to 1923. What makes the plane great is the simple fact that it’s virtually complete with all vintage correct parts and appears to be undamaged. Usually the knob and/or tote are missing, cracked or chipped. Those things are expensive to replace. All the correct hardware is present and accounted for. The only thing I see is that the cutting iron is getting short. There’s only about 9/16” left behind its cutting edge. That’s okay because it says that the plane was well used, but not abused, and valued by its previous owner(s). I like that. The grunge, grime, dark patina, and light surface rust show an even distribution across the entire plane. This plane hasn’t been taken apart in decades, and has not seen any use in recent times, hence the surface rust. Still, everything about it tells me that all of its parts are original to the day it was assembled by Stanley. I love planes like this, and the price was right. With a few hours invested out in the shop, and a little applied elbow grease, this plane will be a great worker again. Stay tuned……..
Jim C.
