Restoring stanley planes or not

[atomic.hands]

So my granddad passed away a few months back and I ended up with his whole workshop worth of tools and in it there's a bunch of old stanley hand planes in there, probably from the 60s or 70s based on what I can tell. They're pretty rusty and the handles are dried out, but they feel good and heavy compared to the modern stuff I see at home depot. I've been getting more into woodworking lately and actually need a good bench plane, my home guy keeps telling me to just buy a new one from Lowes for like $50 and call it a day but he built most of the furniture in my parents' house with these things and unfortunately it has sentimental value

Question is, are these old stanleys actually worth the time to restore? I watched a few youtube videos and it looks like a whole process and yes I can be handy but I've never done anything like this before and honestly I don't even know if they're good quality or just old junk, trying to figure out if I'm being sentimental or if there's actual value in putting in the work to try and restore it

 

[davispitt]

The restoration process looks intimidating but it's actually pretty straightforward, you're basically just removing rust, flattening the sole if needed, sharpening the iron, and cleaning up the handles. Takes a weekend maybe

 

[Vanya]

So my granddad passed away a few months back and I ended up with his whole workshop worth of tools and in it there's a bunch of old stanley hand planes in there, probably from the 60s or 70s based on what I can tell. They're pretty rusty and the handles are dried out, but they feel good and heavy compared to the modern stuff I see at home depot. I've been getting more into woodworking lately and actually need a good bench plane, my home guy keeps telling me to just buy a new one from Lowes for like $50 and call it a day but he built most of the furniture in my parents' house with these things and unfortunately it has sentimental value

Question is, are these old stanleys actually worth the time to restore? I watched a few youtube videos and it looks like a whole process and yes I can be handy but I've never done anything like this before and honestly I don't even know if they're good quality or just old junk, trying to figure out if I'm being sentimental or if there's actual value in putting in the work to try and restore it

The fact that your granddad built furniture with these makes it a no brainer, you'll probably think about him every time you use them, and you'll have tools that actually work well. That beats a $50 lowe's plane that'll probably annoy you every time you pick it up

 

[bridger]

The whole "full restore" thing is unnecessary. The most important thing is to learn to sharpen. Beyond that removing rust is helpful. Paste wax on scotchbrite is all that is necessary .

 

[preacher.45]

Restoration sounds beaut but a $50 plane from Lowes will actually cut wood tomorrow while you're still watching Youtube tutorials on japanning repair

Just saying

 

[Vanya]

@atomic.hands over to you, there seem to be some conflicting opinions. I still stand that restoring might be worth it for you but I also lowkey agree with @preacher.45 , if its something you can take the time to calm down and restore or if you have projects to handle then yh maybe the lowe is not such a bad idea either

And lookey here, even if you buy the lowe's , you can always try restore the stanley some other time, like I said, just depends

 

[atomic.hands]

Appreciate you all weighing in on this. I think you're right @Vanya that I don't need to make it an either/or situation, to get the lowe's plane to keep working and tackle the stanley restore when I've got the time to do it right.
It all depends though, my bro might be coming over this comin festive and if he's feeling handy, he could help me with that or we could do it together, for now I've got work so I won't need it much till then
Anyway, thanks to y'all for talking me off the ledge @davispitt @bridger @preacher.45