Casey, IMO none of those planes are worth buying. Stanley's market changed years ago from carpenters and professionals to handymen and DIY'ers.
So anything newer than the 50's is the era of what's commonly called the "Stanley downgrade". There is more information than you'll ever need about Stanley tools on either hyperkitty.com or the blood and gore stanley site (supertool.com).
The good vintage Stanleys & Baileys are around - occasional garage sales, flea markets, Ebay, etc. IME they are almost always sold as collectibles and way overpriced, usually in need of some restoration, but definitely stay away from Ebay. There is a guy on Lumberjocks who sells refurbished Stanleys at very reasonable prices and has lots of information @ timetestedtools.com.
All that said, although a #4 plane is the first one you should by, it is not the plane of choice for flattening a board over 12" in width. For this, a #6 can't be beat.
If you don't want to go the vintage router, IMO the best bang for the buck on a new plane is WoodRiver. I've gotten ribbed for promoting them, and yes, I know made in China, and yeah, maybe they're a rip off of Lie Nielsen, but LN's are copies of Stanley's, right? But they are good tools, I would say arguably even comparable to Lie Nielsen or Veritas.
So anything newer than the 50's is the era of what's commonly called the "Stanley downgrade". There is more information than you'll ever need about Stanley tools on either hyperkitty.com or the blood and gore stanley site (supertool.com).
The good vintage Stanleys & Baileys are around - occasional garage sales, flea markets, Ebay, etc. IME they are almost always sold as collectibles and way overpriced, usually in need of some restoration, but definitely stay away from Ebay. There is a guy on Lumberjocks who sells refurbished Stanleys at very reasonable prices and has lots of information @ timetestedtools.com.
All that said, although a #4 plane is the first one you should by, it is not the plane of choice for flattening a board over 12" in width. For this, a #6 can't be beat.
If you don't want to go the vintage router, IMO the best bang for the buck on a new plane is WoodRiver. I've gotten ribbed for promoting them, and yes, I know made in China, and yeah, maybe they're a rip off of Lie Nielsen, but LN's are copies of Stanley's, right? But they are good tools, I would say arguably even comparable to Lie Nielsen or Veritas.