Infill plane - is it worth the asking price?

[Togalosh]

Hello Gents,

I saw this infill today & got excited but it seems pricey so I would like your valued advice please.

It has/had a badly broken handle that has just about been glued back in place..the blade is nice enough - Harrington/Hallinsons of Sheffield. The seller said that alone was worth £100, which I took with a fist of salt. The top rivet that pivots the cap iron is a question too but I bet you can't make it out in the pic..it dips into the rivet at the very top, which looks deliberate but I'm not sure.

It's nice n weighty & the mouth is wider than my other lovely infil & so it would fit in with my needs (I almost said 'collection' :roll: ) .. but I've been had by a few wily ol' geezers in the past so thought it best to seek advice first.

So what do you recon ? How much would you pay for it/ expect it is worth ?

Thanks in advance
Togs

 

[MickCheese]

Personally about £35 - £45.

Mick

 

[jimi43]

I've not seen the "dip towards the rivet" design and think that is wear or damage....but if stable and the sole is fine...then the handle can be invisibly repaired...

Not sure anything other than a "Norris" iron is worth money in its own right but I would have to research that bit but iron aside I would say £80 at the most without seeing it.

The lever caps go for about £20 to £30 these days Mick so I was basing my estimate on that and a speculation of £10-20 on the iron/cap iron combined.

Jim

 

[Togalosh]

Hiya Mick, at £45 it'd be in my hot hands already !..the asking price is twice that.

Hiya Jimi, £80 with the damage you recon.. so then they go for much more in better condition?... seems a lot but what do I know?

The sole seemed sound apart from the hinge pin(?) ..saying that I did not put a square to it & the blade is nicely kept - so no/not much sharpening or cleaning to do.

I could haggle it down if it's still there in a few weeks/months. Do these planes come up for sale often?

 

[Richard T]

Is it a good plane? Does it work ok?

I'd ask myself those questions first before I bought any plane.

Is it better than a #5 - 1/2? You say that the mouth is wider than your other one - what do you envisage using it for? If taking deeper shavings with a camber, there are far cheaper options that would perform just as well. An infill is only really superior when it comes to taking very thin shavings with a straight - across blade (no camber) through a very tight mouth.

I've not heard of that iron maker but assuming it's as good and desirable as the seller says it's not going to be worth that much and your fist of salt is rightly taken. It doesn't look parallel from the picture. How much is there of it left and is it in good nick? The screw seems to be at the limit of its screw - is this because the iron is too thin? Could this have something to do with the wideness of mouth? If it's a tapered iron, will it still make contact when later on in life?

I'd agree with Jim on the £80 mark - he might get more for it on ebay or at David Stanley but not much.

 

[jimi43]

Hiya Mick, at £45 it'd be in my hot hands already !..the asking price is twice that.

Hiya Jimi, £80 with the damage you recon.. so then they go for much more in better condition?... seems a lot but what do I know?

The sole seemed sound apart from the hinge pin(?) ..saying that I did not put a square to it & the blade is nicely kept - so no/not much sharpening or cleaning to do.

I could haggle it down if it's still there in a few weeks/months. Do these planes come up for sale often?

Hi mate....

Is the "damage" only on the side shown in your photo...in which case it's a chip and I wouldn't buy the plane at all for any price as these issues with cast steel are a nightmare to fix...if at all properly. I've seen brazing done to fix this damage but it looks unsightly and so I only go for ones that are not damaged in the sole. The rest is fixable.

"Scottish" pattern panel planes are fairly common on FleaBay.. This is a nice one....and fetch about the £80-120 for a "no name" example.

Get a Spiers and you can double that these days for a good example...or a Norris or other more "exotic" maker and you can get higher prices depending on condition/rarity. A Norris iron can go to silly prices because our distant cousins across the Pond like them and will pay good prices because they are easy to ship.

I have to say though...apart from the snob value of having a Spiers or Norris...some other "no name" examples are really nice users...and my repaired one...

...is still one of my most favourite and most used tools. And that has a Quangsheng iron!! :shock: :mrgreen:

Jimi

 

[MickCheese]

Togs

My response was a little tongue in cheek as you asked what I would pay.

Mick

 

[Togalosh]

Togs

My response was a little tongue in cheek as you asked what I would pay.

Mick

Ahh ok ... my sense of humour thins out when thinking of woodwork.. must be somthing to do with lack of capacity.

 

[Togalosh]

Is it a good plane? Does it work ok?

I'd ask myself those questions first before I bought any plane.

Is it better than a #5 - 1/2? You say that the mouth is wider than your other one - what do you envisage using it for? If taking deeper shavings with a camber, there are far cheaper options that would perform just as well. An infill is only really superior when it comes to taking very thin shavings with a straight - across blade (no camber) through a very tight mouth.

I've not heard of that iron maker but assuming it's as good and desirable as the seller says it's not going to be worth that much and your fist of salt is rightly taken. It doesn't look parallel from the picture. How much is there of it left and is it in good nick? The screw seems to be at the limit of its screw - is this because the iron is too thin? Could this have something to do with the wideness of mouth? If it's a tapered iron, will it still make contact when later on in life?

I'd agree with Jim on the £80 mark - he might get more for it on ebay or at David Stanley but not much.

Hiya Richard,

Great advice as usual. You've a critical eye that I need to develope..

The asking price is £85 so they were not taking the sprinkle.

I thought infill planes were just another way of making a plane & not specifically for fine finishing only- perhaps the design of choice before the all-metal (modern?) type. My infill is fairly small (8"-9") & light I thought a longer heavier one would be good to have & it felt very nice in my hands..I'll put a bit of oak in my van to see how it works next time I'm passing. I'll inspect the blade closer & note the maker.

I think I have all the size of plane- so do I need it ? That's a tricky question.

I've put a camber on my infill's blade.. ( bugger! ).. I'll put that right later. Thanks.

 

[Togalosh]

Hiya Mick, at £45 it'd be in my hot hands already !..the asking price is twice that.

Hiya Jimi, £80 with the damage you recon.. so then they go for much more in better condition?... seems a lot but what do I know?

The sole seemed sound apart from the hinge pin(?) ..saying that I did not put a square to it & the blade is nicely kept - so no/not much sharpening or cleaning to do.

I could haggle it down if it's still there in a few weeks/months. Do these planes come up for sale often?

Hi mate....

Is the "damage" only on the side shown in your photo...in which case it's a chip and I wouldn't buy the plane at all for any price as these issues with cast steel are a nightmare to fix...if at all properly. I've seen brazing done to fix this damage but it looks unsightly and so I only go for ones that are not damaged in the sole. The rest is fixable.



"Scottish" pattern panel planes are fairly common on FleaBay.. This is a nice one....and fetch about the £80-120 for a "no name" example.

Get a Spiers and you can double that these days for a good example...or a Norris or other more "exotic" maker and you can get higher prices depending on condition/rarity. A Norris iron can go to silly prices because our distant cousins across the Pond like them and will pay good prices because they are easy to ship.

I have to say though...apart from the snob value of having a Spiers or Norris...some other "no name" examples are really nice users...and my repaired one...

...is still one of my most favourite and most used tools. And that has a Quangsheng iron!! :shock: :mrgreen:

Jimi

Thanks Jimi.. top advice again.

A closer look at the top rivet is needed ..& I see the cap screw on your beauty is hardly extended so the blade is questionable as to it's suitability more than it's quality... never thought of that before.

£80 for a handle - ouch !

 

[jimi43]

The infill planes almost always have fairly thick parallel irons...as Richard points out.

This is because this type with the lever cap does not need the woodie type of iron which is thicker at the cutting edge and tapers thinner to the other end so that a wedge will work to hold it in place. The reason these were a pain was that the more you sharpened it the thinner it got. Until you reached the "thin end of the wedge!!!" (boy am I going to get some stick for all of these sad jokes today! )

Parallel irons of this vintage are like rocking horse poo...so command higher prices...especially for a good one but I did an experiment with a modern T10 QS iron because Matthew had some in stock..it fitted and strangely made such a good marriage that I kept it in there to this day.

Not exactly a great historical match but I use my infills for planing not for putting in a cabinet so it doesn't matter if it's not elegant! The lever cap screw I made so don't necessarily go by the extension of that but it's a good point...screwed right in does indicate a thinner iron.

I put a slight camber on my infill irons (except the shoulder plane of course)....to eliminate tracks at the edges and there is no reason why you can't make a scrub plane from one...but generally the smoothers and panel planes are used for final finishing and are not acutely cambered.

Cheers

Jimi

 

[Richard T]

Being an unknown maker there are quite a few things we can't know.

Is this plane the first and only plane he made? Could be; and if this is the case he has made a very good job of it and he had really thought it out. The shaping of the handle and knob is excellent.
But the fact that the screw is at the end of its screw could very well be down to him over - doing it with leaving enough space for it to clear the end of the cap iron bolt underneath ... just a mistake of inexperience. If he made another plane he'd put the pivot lower.

If you go ahead with it and it turns out to be a problem I could rivet a packing plate onto another cap iron to lessen the gap if you like.

 

[Togalosh]

I didn't know the reasons for tapered & parrallel irons .. So if parrallels are rare then most infills will have tapered (wrong) irons & it's a question of how worn down they are.. or what you can fit in them with once home.

I'm with you Jimi on user tools Vs collecting/restoring tools.

On closer look at the original photo the iron maker is something like Harrington/Harrison & sons

Thanks Gents

& thanks Richard for kind offer of repair...I might ask another favour to rip a new oak beam/sleeper on your fab set up.. if I could be so bold? I'll have a go with my chainsaw first.

 

[Richard T]

Although .... some irons are parallel where it counts and tapered toward the top like this Charles Nurse I have:

Tapered from where my thumb is ( about opposite the end of the slot) and:

parallel from there to the edge. Usable in an infill or woodie. I have seen a few like this but only ever found one true parallel in all my years of car booting and I've been building this plane around it.

No mistaking a parallel iron - looks like a great slab of slate or sommink.


I might ask another favour to rip a new oak beam/sleeper on your fab set up.. if I could be so bold? I'll have a go with my chainsaw first.

Sure thing. I've got a new fast/thin cut blade with rakers, bells and whistles from Tuffsaws that I haven't tried out yet.

 

[Togalosh]

I might ask another favour to rip a new oak beam/sleeper on your fab set up.. if I could be so bold? I'll have a go with my chainsaw first.
[/i]
Sure thing. I've got a new fast/thin cut blade with rakers, bells and whistles from Tuffsaws that I haven't tried out yet.

Ace.. are you free this next weekend..the 23rd -24th?

Do you have a tipple - if so what is yours of choice? (I'm crossing my fingers it's not Dalmore 62 !)
If my cider was more drinkable I could bring a demi john.

 

[Richard T]

yes, this weekend is fine.

 

[dickm]

(I'm crossing my fingers it's not Dalmore 62 !)

... but if you know where to buy intact barrels to make garden planters, you can have a very pleasant surprise related to Dalmore 68 . DAMHIKT :lol:

 

[Togalosh]

yes, this weekend is fine.

Grand..see you soon.

 

[Togalosh]

[/quote]DAMHIKT :lol:[/quote]

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