On buying hand planes - 5 common mistakes to avoid! 

Lugnut to lugnut clicks with me. Got a my 1st non-low angle non-cheap defiance plane coming in so I wanted to brush up. Thanks mane!

Early on, I bought what I thought was a very old rabbit plane. I got it home and researched the Traut's patent and found out I had a very incomplete Stanley 46. It cost me more than the plane was worth to get the parts and cutters. But I am happy I have one.

the ol' stanley's are where it's at!

One that bit me a few times when I was first starting out is to not try to be a hero with every single plane. Restoring and removing rust from old planes to get them working is fun and you can get some nice planes in the end, but I found myself in too deep with one or two of them where the pitting was so bad I basically wasted my time. If the rust looks bad, it's bad. If there is any raised surfaces from the rust, stay away. I took a chance with a no. 5 online thinking it was mostly dirt buildup along with the rust on the sole based on pictures, but it turned out to be big blobs of rust that left deep pits. It wasn't worth it. It was a shame because every other part of the plane was really nice, aside from the sole and a split tote that wasn't noticeable in the images. I'm more experienced now and know what color and texture deep rust has in pictures, so I stay away. It's easy to misjudge condition at the beginning and overestimate the ability to remove rust.

I kinda thought that Miller Falls green knob was a nice match for your green knob shaped stocking cap!😅 😂

Thank you

Great points…I have a few “trophies” like you mention. But it sure as hell made me much more savvy in purchasing going forward. I might add #6 is buy from reputable sellers. They don’t want to tarnish their reputation by selling you a piece of trash. You may pay a little more, but you’ll be satisfied for years to come.

Another quality video MJ. Lets these young people gain knowledge. Semper Fi

Great advice. A sixth tip would be knowing where to buy. Antique dealers sell planes at a premium because there are collectors who will pay it for something to sit on a mantle piece. Buy have the advantage of finding good planes when you need them. E-bay and local classifieds are great sources of bargains but like you said buyer beware and research the plane. My two recent acquisitions were from eBay, a mint 45 and Lie Nielsen 62 for below the usual cost because they were deceased estates. Other great places are local markets (but they are always a mixed bag), and local woodworking forums (where people are happy to keep them in the local woodworking community and support new woodworkers).

Very informative . As much as it is a right of passage to fall for these traps , it's good to see you're trying to save someone their hard earned money . Like so many folks, I learned every single mistake you mentioned . Thanks M.J .

Hi, I watch your videos regularly. Find these good. You explain a lot when you start that helps a lot. Could you show how to repair the japaning? I have a few planes that have only minor dents in the paint. For example, a good type 11. How to repair estore them inconspicuously? Maybe you have a trick. Greetings from Bavaria.

Nice clear concise to the point. Like it

Very good information here even for seasoned users.

Great video. Many of the Sargent and Wards and Winchester or Keen Kutters and Craftsman have interchangeable parts like lever caps and solid Rosewood knobs and totes! Save some of the links below at top of list please. The old Rosewood toes and the early lever caps fit. An appalling trend is people dissembling plane to sell piece mill on eBay. Great video and super sound advice! Thanks for sharing. At this time the community is very helpful on US makers such as Diamond Edge and who made them distinguished by the lateral adjustment levers. There are some useful parts to be found on the old lower tier Sears Dunlap brand.

Good information.

Dang it MJ did you have to call out Shelton, that was the first jack plane i bought. It’s a scrub plane now, works fine, but yeah…

I don't have much choice where I live. I buy every plane I see if not crazy priced. My 1st car was exactly what you described! I find that Stanley's have been fine tuned and used before. My favorite was a Shelton. I gave it to my sister in law.

Go Bat Cave! 😁

Lots of good info. I did pretty good not buying junk. I did overspend on a Sweetheart No. 45 because I had not seen one in the wild in that condition. I've found a few of the accessories, but it's still incomplete. I do love my woodies though. I pick them up for $5 or less each, mostly for the blades, and have been able to resurrect a few that most people would have tossed in the fire. One in particular turned out to be a great user, even if it has no resale value due to how how the previous owner "fixed" the damage. I agree with you though that many are just junk. My example above was a test to see if something that would normally be discarded could be saved. I like the feedback of old wooden planes more so than the metal bodies, but I still have more metal body planes than wooden planes.

Could you put the groups you mention at the end of your video in the comments section please?

facebook.com/groups/1690633051116716/?ref=share&mibextid=S66gvF This is my Facebook group that centers around finding hand plane parts

facebook.com/groups/1410047249324398/?ref=share&mibextid=S66gvF The big hand plane group on Facebook

youtube.com/@BatCaveCreations

facebook.com/groups/CanIHaveItToolAuctions/?ref=share&mibextid=S66gvF Can I have it auction group on Facebook

Are you a veteran? Just curious cause of the beanie haha

www.reddit.com/r/handtools/

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-NxnUot2P7Kg.html

Disagree about ebay. If a seller does not show a big defect like the ones you're talking about, you'll get your money back instantly from ebay. Been there multiple times. Edit: not really instantly, poor choice of word sorry. I meant to say without fail. Ebay's refund policy is pretty good for buyers, if the item is defective it is easy to get your money back.

Mistake #1: Getting into hand planes. End of video! 🤣😂🤣