DIYGUY wrote:
Another option is to buy an antique Stanley on the internet.
Typically, you can find an awfully good user plane for modest dollars.

And then spend more overall than the Veritas getting it comparable, by
replacing the iron, missing or broken wooden parts, and possibly the
chipbreaker. Old planes are easy to find cheap. Old planes that
haven't been messed up (mouths widened, parts broken, holes dripped,
dropped and cracked) are NOT easy to find cheap. Old planes in
excellent to mint condition usually sell for ridiculous prices, based on
user utility.

Then when your tools are handed down to another generation it will be
worth a whole lot more than you paid for it.

Who says an LN tool won't be? Some LN limited runs are already
collectable. Maybe Veritas planes might also be worth something, who
knows? Both are definitely suitable for handing down and capable of
lasting generations. If you're going to really _use_ the Stanley to
actually work wood, your fettling and replacing poor or broken parts
will probably destroy any collectible value.

From a user's standpoint, I think modern Lie-Neilsen and Veritas planes
are BETTER than many Stanley tools _ever_ were.

And the bargain hunting
is half of the fun ...

I'll give you that, if that's your thing. G

I have many antique Stanley planes. After I've installed Hock, Veritas,
or LN irons, and spent many hours tuning them, they work well, but they
still aren't as good as an LN, and few are as good as a new Veritas.