Whoopee, its a Whitmore?

[t8hants]

I found a long lost jack plane last weekend, but it was not the record or Stanley I was hoping for rather it was a Whitmore. I must have acquired it during the 70's, its a No 5 made in England, and there is QC under the handle so not much doubt who cast it, but has anyone heard of a Whitmore plane? Its hogged along the sole by about at least 10 thou and convex across, with a fetching light blue and silver Hammerite finish. I suspect I will keep looking for a Record 5 1/2.

Gareth

 

[Alf]

BB's probably the man for this - I tend to just run away screaming from Whitmores, GTLs and the like. :wink: British Planemakers gives Whitemore as "Trade name used on Stanley type metal planes by Bransom, Baker Ltd" and for Bransom, Baker Ltd "Staffordshire, Dewely Trading Estate, Kingswineford" on and around 1972. I'm assuming Whitemore with an E is a typo. S'all I have, apart from a general vibe that they're "not good".

 

[bugbear]

S'all I have, apart from a general vibe that they're "not good".

Yeah - second string quality (*). They work, just not very well. Usual reasons - lower tolerances, cheaper materials.

Fettling can improve the tolerances, but the other limitations remain.

Personally, I'd rather put fettling effort into something with good materials.

If you're buying s/h at car boots etc, pre 1950-ish Records are the obvious target for working tools.

BugBear

(*) in these modern times, we have third and fourth string quality from Silverline etc!

 

[GazPal]

Seeing that it cost nothing (Apart from whatever you paid back in the 70's) you could always fettle the plane and see where a little time spent on it takes you. At the very worst it'll be beyond rescue, but at best you'll have a useable plane until the right one turns up.