Plane Knowledge Required

[Mikegtr]

I am looking to buy a quality second-hand No. 3 plane. My knowledge of planes is quite limeted--hence question:

Which is best for quality?
Stanley Bailey / Stanley / Stanley's made today / Vintage Record / Record?

Being an occasional woodworker it does merrit the top of the line planes available today.

Look forward to your replies.
Many thanks.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Older Stanleys, Marples (red ones) or Records, ideally with wooden (if not rosewood) handles and square topped irons. Wodens are fine but uncommon.

 

[thetyreman]

best ones are i-sorby or woden if you can find one, but the old stanleys and records are good too, ideally pre-war era if you can find one.

 

[deema]

First question, why do you want a no 3 rather than a 4?

 

[DBC]

I have an old Stanley No 3 that I stole off my Dad in the 1980s when I was an apprentice. It never lets me down. This and my block plane used to be the only planes that travel with me out of the workshop when I go to fit items that I have made in customer’s properties. However, about 12 years ago one of the Dad’s whose kid I coached at football gave me an old cheapo number 3; it is a Stanley clone marked ‘Silverline’ and is probably from the 80s. I sharpened it up and it is just as good as the Stanley and it has now become the plane that travels. Apologies for being longwinded but all that was a round about way to say that you can get great results from older non-famous name planemakers if the blade is okay and you can sharpen.

Ps. I have never owned or even used any of the makes of planes that are the focus of so much fetishism; Veritas, Lie-Nielsen etc. Maybe they are somehow a next level above the wooden planes and Stanley planes that I use in my joinery shop but I seem to get along alright.

 

[Jacob]

I've got a Stanley 3 which is a perfectly good plane. It has a plastic handle which you'd hardly notice and it seems to have no bearing on the quality.

 

[Chisteve]

I have a stanley no 3 for sale, will need a bit of restoration though, give me shout if interested I'll send over pictures

 

[bazzason]

First question, why do you want a no 3 rather than a 4?

Interestingly, I asked myself this question a while back.

I have a no3, no4, no4.5, no5, no5.5 and no7 in a mix of Stanley and Record. I prefer the Record planes for a reason I cannot quantify, they just ‘feel’ better quality, even though they are obviously very similar.

However, I only ever seem to use the no3, no5 and no7 planes - the others never get touched. I sometimes use the no5.5 for shooting, but the no7 does that better. I also have two irons for my no5 - a cambered one and a flat one - and this covers most of what I do. The no3 is (to me) a nicer plane to hold than the no4, it feels better in my hands and is great for working on smaller pieces of wood. It the one I’d grab if I needed to take a few swipes off a piece. The no7 is just great to have there when needed on longer boards.

I’ll never get rid of the other planes now I have them, but if I was starting again I’d just have a no3 and no5, and only the no7 if jointing or flattening very long pieces.

Of course, if you have hands like Peter Shilton then the no3 might not be for you…

 

[C.R. Miller]

best ones are i-sorby or woden if you can find one, but the old stanleys and records are good too, ideally pre-war era if you can find one.

"I SORBY" and Marples are basically the same thing, as all the pre-WWII Marples "M" series metal planes were made by Sorby (Turner, Naylor & Co.) at the John St. works anyway. Both are excellent brands.

Stanley and Record planes are probably more common and are as good as just about anything you'll find. Sargent, Ohio and Keen Kutter planes are also quality tools. Vaughan & Bushnell planes are great if you want something a little bit different. Being steel, however, they tend to rust a bit quicker if you don't look after them, but they're also virtually indestructible.

 

[Marc Shaw]

I restored and tuned up a SB No3 for a mate/neighbour. Think it was from between the late 40s to about 70s. Seemed pretty good and worked like a dream after. Extremely easy to get nice shavings from beech and pine.

 

[okeydokey]

Stanley no 3for me is a great plane for smaller jobs. Like Bazzason for no discernable reason I seem to marginally prefer older records to older stanleys

 

[Sideways]

I have a couple of Record 4.5's as I already had one when inherited my dad's.
I'd say it's definitely nice to have a smaller plane than these. 4 is good. 3 is cute if you have small enough hands.
I have never noticed any significant difference between Stanley and Record. Both perfectly usable. Both better as a good used tool from the 80's or earlier with wooden grips preferable to plastic though many many old handles are cracked.
They are very easy to tune up if you are a practical type.

 

[Jacob]

I have a couple of Record 4.5's as I already had one when inherited my dad's.
I'd say it's definitely nice to have a smaller plane than these. 4 is good. 3 is cute if you have small enough hands.
I have never noticed any significant difference between Stanley and Record. Both perfectly usable. Both better as a good used tool from the 80's or earlier with wooden grips preferable to plastic though many many old handles are cracked.
They are very easy to tune up if you are a practical type.

Nowt wrong with plastic handles on my Stanley 3. They look like polished rosewood and you wouldn't know they were plastic except for the slight seam visible, from the mould.
Better than the wood on all my other planes, which is very variable including chipped varnish, repaired breaks, etc which you won't get with plastic.
The rest of the plane is perfectly normal Stanley good quality.

 

[Valhalla]

I have found that installing an Hock blade makes a world of difference to any Stanley plane (never tried one in a Record).. check them out

https://www.hocktools.com/products/bp.html
Cheers

 

[heimlaga]

New Stanley and Record planes are cheaply made and usually junk. Buy 50 and use the best parts to assemble one usable plane...... if lucky......
Most of then are only good for longline sinkers if you aren't prepared to make your own parts from scratch.

Older ones are generally better though there are exceptions. The chace of finding a good one dwindles when you get into the plastic handle era though Jakob proves to us that with a great enough number even the improbable happens a few times.

Sargent, Siegley, Ohio Tools, Vaughan&Bushnell, Millers Falls, Nooitgedagt, and Anchor and Hellstedts are just a few other makers/brand names of usually quite usable planes.

To me the number 3 is my boatbuilding plane. It is lighter and narrower and therefore easier to control when planing lands and plank edges and such is every awkward position imaginable.

 

[Jacob]

Here's a 4 like my 3. Stanley Bailey No 4 plane with Plastic handles good length blade in box | eBay
Perfectly good plane. Perfectly good plastic handle, better than wood!
Plastic handles make much better chisels, but a bit wasted on a plane as they don't get the hammering, unless you drop one which may break a wooden plane handle. Though wooden handles chisel can be nicer to use as they are lighter.
I have a Hock blade on a 4. No difference except it takes longer to sharpen. Probably stays sharp longer but I don't look at my watch when I'm using it.
You get a lot of myths and legends about tools!

 

[thetyreman]

I've never used a no3 but get the impression it'd be too small

 

[Phil Pascoe]

A 3 and a 4 1/2 suit me better than the one in between.

 

[Ttrees]

Nice plane for jobs like cleaning tenons, not that a no.4 couldn't do the same.
About the only time I've used it for any half sensible reason,
but it might be nice for bevels, and will be nice for guitar necks and other small work,
so I'm keeping it!

 

[jetsetwilly]

Love my Stanley no 3. Any Stanley or record pre1970s is probably fine, don’t bother with rarer brands unless you want to learn about them first! One that looks well used is probably safer - unused might mean unusable. don’t pay the earth and watch Paul sellers for restoration and fettling tips. If it’s rubbish just move on - there are tons about tho no3 is a more unusual size.