I bought a Stanley Bailey #5 hand plane in a flea market.  It was in pretty rough shape, as they usually are.  I am in the process of trying to narrow down a production year, but I think it may be a hybrid of several model years.

Anyway, as is par for the course, the tote was broken.  I wanted to make my own rather than purchase a commercially available one.  I wanted mine to fit my hand perfectly and be a little wider than usual.

Additionally, I wanted to attempt to make my handle more structurally sound.  I noticed that most of the broken totes I came across were broken horizontally in the middle of the handle, with the others broken vertically towards the front.  My thought was to incorporate a laminated series of woods with grain patterns at 90° to each other.  My thought is in doing that, it would provide structural stability in both the horizontal and vertical planes.  It seems to be working well thus far.  Only time will tell!

• Wood: walnut and red maple
• Finish: wipe on polyurethane