What it's for
Furniture and cabinetry
Tables, chests, cabinets and boxes built mostly by hand: boards flattened and jointed with planes, joints laid out with a gauge and cut with a back saw and chisels. You don't need much to start. A jack plane and a smoother, a few bench chisels, a back saw and a marking gauge will build a lot of furniture, and a jointer plane earns its place once you're gluing up wide panels. Buy users, not collector pieces, and put the money you save into sharpening.
32 models we cover.
Starter kit
Where we’d start
Stanley · Bench plane
No. 1Stanley No. 1 Bench Plane
1869–1943
$1,350–$2,600 typical ask
3 on eBay
Stanley · Bench plane
No. 2Stanley No. 2 Bench Plane
1869–1961
$360–$430 typical ask
13 on eBay
Stanley · Bench plane
No. 3Stanley No. 3 Bench Plane
1869–1984
$45–$70 typical ask
97 on eBay
Stanley · Bench plane
No. 4Stanley No. 4 Bench Plane
1869–1984
$55–$90 typical ask
159 on eBay
Stanley · Bench plane
No. 4½Stanley No. 4½ Bench Plane
about 1884–1961
$95–$150 typical ask
42 on eBay
Stanley · Bench plane
No. 5Stanley No. 5 Jack Plane
1869–1984
$65–$90 typical ask
161 on eBay
Stanley · Bench plane
No. 5½Stanley No. 5½ Jack Plane
1898–1958
$110–$200 typical ask
26 on eBay
Stanley · Bench plane
No. 6Stanley No. 6 Fore Plane
1869–1970
$80–$120 typical ask
134 on eBay
Stanley · Bench plane
No. 7Stanley No. 7 Jointer Plane
1869–1970
$130–$210 typical ask
68 on eBay
Stanley · Bench plane
No. 8Stanley No. 8 Jointer Plane
1869–1961
$200–$290 typical ask
34 on eBay
Stanley · Block plane
No. 9½Stanley No. 9½ Block Plane
1873–1981
$45–$60 typical ask
73 on eBay
Stanley · Block plane
No. 60½Stanley No. 60½ Block Plane
1902–1982
$65–$100 typical ask
17 on eBay
Stanley · Block plane
No. 65Stanley No. 65 Block Plane
1898–1969 (knuckle cap about 1917–1960)
$100–$130 typical ask
9 on eBay
Stanley · Specialty plane
No. 71Stanley No. 71 Router Plane
1885–1973
$100–$230 typical ask
101 on eBay
Stanley · Spokeshave
No. 51Stanley No. 51 Spokeshave
1918–1941
$40–$60 typical ask
68 on eBay
Stanley · Spokeshave
No. 151Stanley No. 151 Spokeshave
1918–1941
$50–$75 typical ask
32 on eBay
Stanley · Marking tool
No. 65Stanley No. 65 Marking Gauge
1918–1941
$30–$40 typical ask
11 on eBay
Stanley · Marking tool
No. 98Stanley No. 98 Mortise Gauge
1918–1941
$35–$45 typical ask
3 on eBay
Stanley · Marking tool
No. 21Stanley No. 21 Combination Square
1918–1941
$25–$50 typical ask
23 on eBay
Goodell-Pratt · Marking tool
No. 220Goodell-Pratt Roller Gauge
catalogs 1907–1930
$55–$170 typical ask
4 on eBay
Marples · Bench chisel
M444Marples Blue Chip Chisel Set
1968–2000s (Sheffield-made until about 2008)
$80–$150 typical ask
23 on eBay
Marples · Bench chisel
No. 377Marples Boxwood Bevel Chisel
1909–1998 as catalog No. 377
$35–$100 typical ask
6 on eBay
Sorby · Bench chisel
Bevel edgeSorby Bevel-Edge Chisel
1918–1941
$35–$50 typical ask
13 on eBay
Witherby · Bench chisel
Socket firmerWitherby Socket Firmer Chisel
1840s–1955
$25–$70 typical ask
33 on eBay
Buck Bros. · Bench chisel
FirmerBuck Brothers Firmer Chisel
1900–1917
$20–$35 typical ask
124 on eBay
Stanley · Bench chisel
750Stanley 750 Socket Chisel
1930–1969 (Sweetheart logo until about 1935)
$65–$170 typical ask
31 on eBay
Greenlee · Bench chisel
No. 230Greenlee Socket Firmer Chisel
by 1928 into the 1970s
$25–$45 typical ask
53 on eBay
Disston · Hand saw
D-8Disston D-8 Hand Saw
late 1870s–1955, sold on under H. K. Porter into the 1970s
$50–$130 typical ask
111 on eBay
Disston · Hand saw
D-23Disston D-23 Hand Saw
1911–1955 (lesser H. K. Porter versions to the early 1990s)
$50–$90 typical ask
159 on eBay
Disston · Hand saw
No. 12Disston No. 12 Hand Saw
about 1865–1928 (then the D-12 to about 1953)
$95–$250 typical ask
14 on eBay
Disston · Hand saw
No. 4 (14 in.)Disston No. 4 Tenon Back Saw
by 1876–1955
$50–$75 typical ask
13 on eBay
Disston · Hand saw
No. 68 / No. 70 / No. 71Disston No. 68 Dovetail Saw
No. 68 by 1906–1955; No. 70 and No. 71 to about 1945
$100–$180 typical ask
10 on eBay
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