repaired No 7

[jimwrench]

 Got this repaired No 7 Stanley plane at auction. Bought it for the good wood (tote and knob) but I'll bet it would do a good job as a user plane. Someone did a workman like job of repair. Has a crack from mouth to top of one cheek but you have to look to see it. Everything is aligned. I,m still going to salvage the tote and knob but wanted to acknowledge the workmanship of some old craftsman.
Would you cut 2 plates and rivet 14 places to save your plane ? It is a vee logo plane (100 years old) and all the pieces except the sole are good. Amazing what two dollars will buy.

[rusty]

Wow, someone was serious about that plane. There
is probably an entire day's labor in that repair.
And by someone who really knew what they were doing,
hot rivits into cast iron, without splitting it...

Imagine what it would cost today to do that?

[Art Rafael]

I'd say that that old No 7 is a trophy worthy of display as it is. 
In it's earlier days it was a valuable tool and cost some old craftsman a week's wages or more to acquire. 
It was tragic that it got damaged, but the classic clever repair demonstrates its value as a tool and the skill and passion of the craftsman. 
For two bucks I'd retire it with dignity in honor of those who used it through hard times. 
Totes and knobs can be found here and there, but the story that plane tells is rare.   Ralph

[Bill Houghton]

Repair it, don't replace it was pretty common when that plane was new.  The mechanic who did that was pretty doggoned good - it would have been easy to crack the thin cast iron sides while peening the rivets.  Nice that this one got preserved; it deserves a place of honor on your shelves.

[Chillylulu]

I understand the sentiments of saving the plane as-is to show the quality of the repair. Pretty soon your house is full of curiosities and you have to open a museum. I know one person who has a toilet she uses as a planter in her front yard, but that isn't my thing.

I think you can have your cake and eat it too in this case. Strip the plane of its knob, tote, lever cap, frog, adjustment knob, & blade first. Then clean up the body and put it on a shelf as a curiousity.

I guess it kind of depends where your heart is,

Chilly

[john k]

I would have bought it, just to preserve the workmanship, and imagination of the fellow that repaired it.  Am sure it was used for a good while afterward, which can be the case again.  The sheer inventiveness of repaired tools, and other items, from that time before us, is worth preserving.   I have a saw vise, that is brazed in 3 places to make it usable again.   Replacement was, once upon a time just not doable.

[turnnut]

back in time, people recycled without thinking about it, sometimes it was repair it or go without one for a while.
as a child, I can remember my dad going out in the winter to repair more than one well pumps
that had froze and split. and it was cheaper than buying a new one.

how many of our fathers patched our shoes when they wore the soles ? I remember mine.

today, they throw them away and buy new ones when they need a polish job.

[Branson]

I'd like to join John K and Art.  Somehow, I feel like it deserves to stay together, as it has for the past hundred years, battle scars and all.  Me, I'd clean it up a bit, sharpen the blade and use it from time to time in honor of its years of service, and in honor of the fellow who repaired a cherished tool enough to repair it.

I like tools that have been treasured enough to be repaired well.  They tell a story.  And they still work, too. 

[Jim C.]

I'd like to join John K and Art.  Somehow, I feel like it deserves to stay together, as it has for the past hundred years, battle scars and all.  Me, I'd clean it up a bit, sharpen the blade and use it from time to time in honor of its years of service, and in honor of the fellow who repaired a cherished tool enough to repair it.

I like tools that have been treasured enough to be repaired well.  They tell a story.  And they still work, too.

Add me to this list too.

Jim C.

[scottg]

this is a museum piece.
old #7's are pretty common
this is not
   yours Scott

[jimwrench]

The sole is in the vinegar. will post pic when I get it cleaned up.

[jimwrench]

 Heres the old No 7 cleaned up some. I'm not the craftsman the repairer was. The thought that kept bugging me was (when you are through you are going to have a broken plane) It is setting in a prominent place atop a bookcase in the family room but it may not stay there from noon to lunch (which isn't very long) W'ell see maybe it will grow on me (wouldn't that look comical)

[Art Rafael]

All right, Jim.  Good job.  It looks Great!  And the story that it tells and what it represents may be the Greatest.  That trophy could occupy a prominent spot in my living space or in my workshop.  Ralph 

[scottg]

Wow that looks great!
  People were real experts at riveting once. Only jewelers use it with any frequency now days.
 Well, tool restorers and general repair guys (like me) still use rivets a lot.
 
 But this plane? This is true expert riveting.
      Way over my pay grade.
     yours Scott

[Chillylulu]

Wow that looks great!
  People were real experts at riveting once. Only jewelers use it with any frequency now days.
 Well, tool restorers and general repair guys (like me) still use rivets a lot.
 
 But this plane? This is true expert riveting.
      Way over my pay grade.
     yours Scott

Add leatherworkers to that list.

Chilly