If Rob’s only somewhat experienced then I guess that makes me a caveman with a club and a slightly sharpened rock. Understatement of the century! And, yes, I would buy that mug.
Rob! You are 37 5/8th % the reason I woodwork. Your phone call when I ordered my dovetail saw. 10:20pm you called me! 1:20 am your time. You sir are an amazing human and even better salesmen! Keep this Stuff up!
I got one of those, Christmas present, and you are absolutely right. Spend most of my time in frustration tuning it up for the first time. Does pretty good on pine but is lousy on my Walnut and red oak.
If you’re going to have to spend time making a cheap plane sorta work, you will have much better results buying an old trashed plane from a junk store snd restoring it
For $50 you can better than a 'junk' plane. $50 will get you a nice #5. I bought a Stanley Bailey #5 which looked like it had been used once. Came in the original box which was a little beat up but I wanted the plane not the cardboard. :-) I found it at a flea market for $25. That was about 8 years ago but my point is you can get a much better older plane (which may still need some tweaking/TLC) for the same money.
@@bobd. 8 years ago is an eternity unfortunately. Mr Sellers has single-handedly pushed the ebay price for a Stanley #4 up near $100. All of my local stores want at least $100 for a #5. As for old Stanley 71s? It was cheaper for me to buy a new Veritas. The problem is that the collectors have got into the game - which means the price of old "vintage" tools is no longer tied to the price of new ones. It's tied to whatever random price another collector or decorator will pay for a shelf-queen to adorn their own or their client's man-cave
I'm taking your advice and saving to be able to get a good set of tools for when I have more time to invest in woodworking. Until then, my projects are smaller and I tune in to your channel to learn how to do it correctly. Thanks for being there, you help in more ways than I can say.
Is it just me or did that “chatter” sound like nails on a chalkboard? “As an inexperienced woodworker” I want a fighting chance at getting similar results as Rob.and having a peaceful experience doing it.
Rob you are a great teacher, and I am learning from you a lot, but for my opinion you have missed the point of educational part of the video!!! I will try to keep it short as much as I can but first I will said that: if you had the money you have preferred a second hand car or just one that came out of the factory? My love to work with hand tools have started because of a cheap chinese chisel by Irwin it cost my about 40 $ ( I am from Israel) so I bought no 4. And 5. I took them a part watched on youtube how to set them and tune them correctly ( Rex Krueger and Paul Sellers) it took me 4- 5 hours too work in each if them especially on the sole: flattening bring it to working right!!! I have learn from that a lot!!!! I am using them for pine, oak, and some time maple, now don't get me they far from being perfect their week point is their chip breaker and the thin blade so they don't hold their edge much long so I am using your method if sharpening and it's working well!!! I have also a no. 6 Luban wich is higher quality and it can't be compared to them: top machinery, 3 mm blade and high quality chip breaker , it tooked me 20 minutes to set it!!!! ( It no L.N quality). My point is that not all the people have got the money to buy the high hand tools or invest them or even intimidating of using hand tools because they afraid of setting and honnig, At this video you had the opportunity to address those issues for the people who want to work with hand plain and they are new to it. Can you plain with achep plane , yes if you make some improvement and money can buy everything but not experience. I am going to improve my no.4 and 5 with abetter chip breaker and thicker blades and I will do it because I know what I want and I know what to expect because of my experience....
I like to take those cheap planes and tune them up, especially on days when I don't have much else to do. The Amazon Basics one i have now works as well as a Stanley #4 from the 1970's. Meaning, it's still jankey, but works in a pinch lol
I have purchased two "cheap" planes. I find it funny how difficult professionals find working with less expensive (non-indorsed) planes. The ones I have used over the years are still working great and leave a smooth surface. And it takes work to get even expensive planes to set up perfectly out of the box. I have several of those as well and everyone needed tunning up. If this is what new woodworkers can afford why not show that it's possible to set this plane instead of bashing it. Teach don't sell is how I feel.
Frank, I have taught literally thousands of folks the basics of hand tool woodworking. I have a pretty good feel for their current skill sets and encouraging them to purchase a piece of junk like this would be a disservice. I put my work "out there" so you can base my opinion off my work. I suggest you do the same.
Thanks for the review. Nothing worse to a person just getting into a hobby than getting frustrated and quitting because their tools are failing them and they think it’s their fault. I thought about getting cheap planes, but saved and waited for a sale on a wood river jack plane to do most of what I need and decide later if other planes will be helpful to me based on what I make.
My first plane was a cheap Stanley from the 80s. I didn't know a lot but it put me off hand planes for a long time. Then I tried some ebay antiques, not much better even with Hock irons. Finally made it to L-N and Veritas. Now I can't blame the tools, lol.
There's a little irony in affordable entry level tools. Cheaper tools can suffice for a novice if they are tuned by a master. A novice like me would tune that thing into shiny door stop.
I already bought a cheap Stanley and it sucks even the sides are not squared. I'm saving for a woodriver or another, but i live in Chile so i hope it doesn't cost me an eye.
This is random, but does anyone in the wood world know anything about Goodall brand planes? (Not to be confused with Goodell/Pratt). I've acquired two smoothers in pretty good shape. Both have "GOODALL" embossed right in front of the knob. I have seen similar style planes on Google and eBay, but none with the "GOODALL" embossed stamps in the front. Any information or help on the subject is greatly appreciated! 💚
You do good work, Rob. And now I know not to get a $50 plane. I've never used a plane before. But I can see that it's a tool which I'd like to learn. And I can also see that it's a tool which had better be understood by it's operator. I think I can see that even a high quality plane will quickly become inefficient in the hands of a person who does not know how to tune it and keep it in good working shape. To market a cheap item with components badly outside of reasonable tolerances seems like bad faith. A beginner could never get the stupid thing working well and someone better prepared would choose something better. It is difficult to see any reasonable use or function for this item. It shouldn't be marketed at all. I'll use a plane one day in the not too distant future. But I now know to start with something maybe of the quality of Stanley for a start. I'll aspire to something of a higher grade when I think I can handle it. I've only discovered your videos in that last couple of days and I've watched perhaps a half a dozen. They are impressive. I have no doubt that I'll be back.
Congrats for this amazing video. Sometimes advanced woodworkers forget that not everyone can spend 200$ in just one hand plane.In my case,I live in Brazil and the shipment is more expensive than the own plane
True, but if you don't have a lot of money then you don't want to waste it on a piece of junk no matter how much it costs. Better to put that $50 into a good 50 year old plane than a new junk lane.
You can always consider (self made) wooden planes, it's a bit fiddling around with a hammer to get the right cut for the situation but after a while it happens in a afterthought.
I wish I watched this video before buying that amazon basics hand planer. I bought it and gave up on hand planing. I either don't get any shavings or i would get a big teardown. Now I understand I needed better tools!
I pretty much bought the same one but a no. 5 under the name shop fox. I’m almost at the point at giving up because nothing I do will get the darn thing run smoothly. I agree with you the frustration is not worth the savings from buying a cheap plane. I got a tall order for my family this Father’s Day lol 😂
Personally I think someone would be better of spending that 50$ on a couple Stanley hand planes at a local garage sale, or kijiji/eBay. They're older tools, but at least its proven they will still work as good as new with some care. I picked up a bin of 8 stanley hand planes for 75$ locally from a post on kijiji a while ago and they work great! A little maintenance and sharpening and they are good as new. I even got a cute little Stanley no.1 from that purchase lol!
@@joeyshofner639 That’s kind of why I would like to see it.… See how similar they are. How much more extra machining do you get for that $4 ... or is that just the cost of the Stanley sticker?🤣
In the old days, manufacturers made products the best they could, and then priced them accordingly. This plane is the result of the opposite. Making a product to meet a price point.
Good job on impartiality, and informative, factual comparison. I did actually try re-engineering one like this out of curiosity about a year ago. Leveling the frog, leveling the sole bearing plate nubs, deburring the advancement wheel threads, grinding an edge on the chip breaker, etc.. There was a limit to how well it improved and the lateral adjustment was still almost fully over to one side. It took a vice, a flatbed grinder, a selection of files and wet/dry paper and a few hours a night for a week. Due to the extra expense in tools to do the job, It wasn't worth it - definitely cheaper in the long run and better performance from a used Stanley on an auction site.
@@RobCosmanWoodworking In fact - I've just added up the cost of a cheap plane and all the stuff I used to try to fix it - the total cost at least the same as a Wood River plane! And a Wood River works better than a cheap one ever will.
@@davidcampbell2845what were you expecting from a Chinese or India manufacturer? They are NOT producing the level of a LV or LN for $50. I have learned one thing, you only get what you pay for and there are times when you don’t !
To be totally up front and impartial a review should also include a comparison of the quality and price of a Veritas or Lie Neilson , the two front runners in the industry.
Why would anyone buy a new cheapo plane when there are so many older Stanley’s for the same price and your videos how to make them good enough to keep for a lifetime. But people do in their tens of thousands. When you had difficulty on that cherry I thought the sole isn’t flat. Stick it on an edge sander before flattening it properly!!
I agree that these cheap Chinese imports are garbage. But let's not forget the finest furniture ever made was fashioned long before the metal hand plane. Paul Sellers made a super rebate plane out of a block of wood and an old chisel. Just saying
Hi Rob, I have a new Stanley number 4 that's just like this Amazon plane. Can you do a video about upgrading the plane? e.g., thicker blade, fixing the bad adjustment mechanism, etc.
Amazing. The frog casting had such bad voids it seemed to be missing half the bearing surface and the mouth was waaaayyy out of square. Reminds me of the quality of the Buck Bros I got at Home Depot when I was desperate for any plane.
Ooow that makes a howling when used. Sound like finger nails on chalk. It just reinforces the concept of "You get what you pay for.". Rob has done a favour by demonstrating what you for your money. I've paid twice too many times. Thanks Rob - again
This is a lottery winner's plane - not something you buy after winning the lottery, but finding one that actually works well and has a reasonable ceiling is like winning the lottery. The mexico stanley actually has potential for someone who can file or flatten a plane bottom -the light weight lever cap on that plane is no good - I had one made the same way, but marked "buck brothers" that was less than the cost of a blade, but threw it away, anyway. Swap the lever cap with one from a stanley, and it works fine. plane hardwood with the lightweight flexible lever cap and it lacks stability to plane hardwood - swap back to the stanley lever cap, and fine again. So at the very least, you're at 65-70 for adding a stanley lever cap so that it can smooth (but the rest of the plane is garbage and above the auction price for a used stanley plane). None have been flat enough to do good smoothing work, either - either hollow in the length, or hollow in the width or both.
I would submit that you are reviewing the wrong cheap plane. Get a Grizzly 10” smoother. The quality is much better than the Amazon, and approaches the. Stanley. The grizzly compares to the Wood River like the WR compares to the Lie Nelson. Just replace the blade with a WR blade and you have a high quality tool. I got one last week on sale for $25.. The 10” and 14” together were $75 shipped! So far they work as well as my Vintage Stanley’s. If you are truly interested in sourcing lower priced alternatives check them out.
Agreed , as a beginner with hand tools , I'm waiting for my lie nelson low angle jack plane to arrive soon and I knew I'll be happy using it , buy costly work easy & perfectly 👍 .
There’s nothing worse than a crappy hand tool. The reason you’re using a hand tool in the first place is because you take pride in your work. Hard to be proud when the tool is so severely compromised. I say save up the extra $150 and buy the Woodriver #4 or a bit more for the #5 1/2!
So, I value your opinion and I'm not buying junk. However, the Sergeant in me says "hey f%ckface what should I buy to plane this wood? End on a recommendation
You should buy a quality plane. My recommendation is to get a bed rock style number 5 1/2 plane. If you want the best by Lee Nelson planes. If you want the best value and save a little money I recommend would River Plains. I have several other UA-cam’s with the specific recommendations this video was specifically to evaluate this one plane
What I don't get with machined bodies is why the variation is so high. They're probably made on the same CNC machine as more expensive tools so getting precision doesn't really cost any more than not. Programming is programming. It's well known that many companies contract manufacture a wide range of quality tools on the same line with the only difference be tolerances or raw material quality. The only things I can figure are1) this level of tool is machined on a CNC that has been "handed down" from a company that has upgraded so it's a little clapped out; 2) the cutters aren't changed as often as they should be to save money so they don't cut smoothly and 3) taking one less pass raises machine productivity. Finally the dies for the sand molds for the frog casting are not tossed out as often as they should be resulting in a sloppy casting that can't be machined enough to make it right. I suppose that if you were a finish carpenter, this plane might be sufficient. It would be awfully painful to have $300 plane grow legs or be dropped down a stairwell.
I was looking for a water jet service a few years ago, the first company I went to gave me back a sample that was rough and poorly cut. The second company now does all our cutting and it is fantastic. Probably both started with similar machines but for a lot of the reasons you mentioned they sure don't produce the same quality.
I think if you are going to get into the area of making commercial videos, you should do a crash course on sound reproduction - placement of the mic for example - the sound of that plastic wrapping rattling as you turn the plane back and forth is louder than your voice!!! And guess which one we’d prefer to hear? And what’s going on with the flag on the wall and the two flags on your apron? Can’t remember where you are?
Should have called this inferior Chinese plane comparison 🤣 Veritas and Lie Nielsen are the tops, Woodriver is decent; on par with Stanley. Everything else is just a plane.
Looks like you almost ran out of lateral adjustment just to get a full width shaving. Have a Groz plane that doesn't allow enough lateral adjustment to go full width. No amount of monkeying with the frog (or anything else) could save that thing.
I have to agree with Rob. I spent so much money on the low quality tools or on tools that I didn't even need. If I combined all my lost money, I would have custom made hand planes with my name and logo laser engraved on them. after so many bad decisions in woodworking and in my life in general, I finally learned and now I only buy the top of the top tools. I do understand however, that many people really can't afford planes 4 or 10 times more expensive than that Amazon Basics plane. Please don't worry too much. You can buy your first hand plane for 50 bucks, and spend more time preparing it to work. You can flatten the sole, and the frog base and so on. You can refine the threads, and grease them well with high temperature car engine solid grease. After investing some time and effort in the cheapest plane or other tool, you can actually make it perform 90% as well as the top of the shelf tool. so if you can afford 400 bucks plane, go for it. if you can only afford 50 bucks plane, prepare your mind for some extra effort and time, and you can make it work pretty decent too.
This is totally useless plane. This was my first planer and created doubt in me if I ever be able use a plane. After days of grinding , levelling and struggle I made it work.
That high pitched sound he talks about is the first thing I noticed. I didn't think the reason was going to be vibration of the blade. I thought it would have been quality of the materials used in the plane.
Looks exactly like the Kobalt plane sold in the states in Lowes. Bought one just to try it out. It was horrible. Gotten a lot of old beat up planes to work couldn't get that one.
495 people that think a hand plane is to hold paper from blowing off your desk! At least their happy, don’t show them the pile of rocks in the back yard!
It will cost you a lot of time. But if you can get it to work like a well made plane you would have learned all that there is to learn about hand planes. Another way to look at it. Hand tool woodworkers should know everything there is to know about their tools.
Total garbage, you could by a swap meet Stanley and spend an hour or two cleaning it up for half the cost. Or you could buy $50 dollars worth of food and give it to a homeless person and put the karma in the bank.
Rex Kreuger did a review of some budget planes from India that, if I recall, were okay for the money. I've used an older (1970s) Stanley that's "contractor grade" for years. It's not great, but better than that. It seems to me that a decent cheap plane--like I already have--could become a scrub plane when I get something better. So a total beginner wouldn't have to lose anything by buying something cheap-ish to get started Too bad the Amazon doesn't appear to even qualify for that.
What a piece of junk, a woodworker can probably address most of the imperfections, but that frog makes it completely useless. We are manufacturing junk and polluting this planet. This one is difficult to recycle (I can detail why), I guess it goes straight to the art bin.
In my kit only three planes were bought new. Those are fine quality devices. The majority of my planes are old Stanleys with rosewood totes and knobs. Aside from ruined or missing parts, the chief caution I'd make about them is to verify that the back of the blade near the cutting edge is not deeply pitted and/or that I will be willing to spend $40 or so for a quality after-market replacement. Typically such oldies are available for half the cost of the Amazon Basics and may require a similar degree of fettling to make them work very well compared to Amazon's offering plus their totes are comfortable, beautiful classics.
I agree with your assessment, but think it helpful to distinguish between problems of fit and finish that can be repaired fairly easily with elbow grease (sharpness, sole concavity and roughness, handle shape, chip breaker profile) and deal killers (frog to blade and body fit, screw advance). Even the latter can be addressed if you need to, but are not worth it in my opinion either. The blade advance looks bad enough that if it were the only problem, I'd use a hammer. But I would expect that a rusty old $20 Stanley would be quicker to set up well, and then work better.
i imagine that an experienced user would be able to fettle the tool into a serviceable plane. however, i cannot see an amateur able to do that. i agree that it is $50 poorly spent.
Wow, I was shocked you even went down this road. Granted having good tools does not make us any better as Woodworkers or Carpenters, but at least it takes one variable out of the equation. I would add if one could not afford a better Plane save the money and be on the lookout for a used one at an estate/garage sale as a used slightly worn yet originally higher quality unit would be better than this new one. Rob, thanks for being as honest as you could bring yourself to be under the circumstances ,lol.
I've a British Record no. 5 that has a similar screw tightened cap iron. I find that it's my least favorite No. 5. The levered Stanleys and Millers Falls I have all are easier to fettle.
I cant help but think a lot of reviews like this are just nit picky. 15 years ago I bought a hand plane from harbor freight for $10. I still use it today over any of the expensive planes ive bought or inherited.
Some are more fussy than others. What do you do with this plane you speak of? I Know what I demand of my planes and this would not make the cut. FYI, I expect to be able to eliminate sanding on any hard or soft wood with my plane (few exceptions noted).
@@RobCosmanWoodworkingyeah since then I tried to use it to do basically anything smoothing with it, which is what it's supposed to be made for and the blade literally curled over on the first pass. I bought an old Stanley on eBay for $20 and restored it and that's been my go to lol. I feel like these days people are better off getting an old quality plane and restoring it. Especially when they can be found for less than that Amazon basics one. I'm curious how well the edge retention on their blades are though
Good honest review, thanks Rob. While it might be possible to flatten the sole, flattening the face of the frog and the contact points on the body for the frog would be difficult without some machining capabilities.
Well you probably could do it with a lot of coarse sandpaper adhered to a flat substrate since i think the metal is so soft, but I hate to think of the time and effort it would take
@@TigerCarpenter It's not worth the trouble. Plus you could never reach inside and smooth out the points where the frog is seated on the body. Yes you could get to them and flatten them, but they all need to be at the same elevation within 0.0005". You can't do that without a milling machine.
@@bobd. yes and no. my car is 12 years old, and has so many customizations that I wouldn't even trade it for the new one and of "better" make. but of course talking about 50 bucks item, it does make sense to save up and buy something of higher quality to start with.
Good catch. I figured “the plane cost $50, do I really want to use $400 worth of sharpening?” Probably best to just use the minimum acceptable edge, which was the Trend Diamond stone.
Lie Nielsen or Veritas is you want the best possible option. 🤘 I have a vast collection of planes and would say woodriver are equal to Stanley. Veritas and Lie Nielsen are masterclass tools.
@@vanniedudeI agree on that point. To be informative and fair to viewers any review should include options to the tool being reviewed. I enjoy all of Rob’s tips and tricks and methods of woodworking but I rarely take advice of a single reviewer’s recommendations unless I have heard from others (users not sellers) to back up the recommendation. Tools purchased on someone’s opinion might not always work for you.
I found on ebay there is a brand called anant made in india that looks interesting. But the shipping from england is cost prohibitive. It would be interesting to see a review of that brand.
@@Steve_1401 they're not the same. anant from what i could find is a fairly "old" indian brand, paul sellers mentioned not liking them and their quality being bad in the 70s and 80s. old forum posts from the early 2000s say they're decent planes tho but their new models look.. janky. seems 90s-10s were their golden days. the planes rex reviewed (at least the better one from grizzly) is sold by an american compagny, they're just manufactured in india whereas anant is both an indian compagny and may or may not manufacture for grizzly.
The review was excellent but I have to say that I believe you should have sharpened the blade exactly how you would have to your planes to get a completely honest review. Maybe sharpening it to the 16,000 would have helped take thinner shavings and give it a finished surface. We don't know by this review. Thank you for the content, Rob. I always enjoy your videos.
The problems with this plane go well beyond a sharpening issue. The 1k sharpening did a decent job on the pine, the frog, sole, adjuster knob, lateral adj lever, cap iron and frog seating surface all were terrible. Waste of $50.
The sound of that plane in action though O_0 Wow! Cringe worthy! Definitely better off saving up for a Woodriver, Veritas or Lie Neilson plane for sure!
I bought a $15.00 plane on Ebay. I plan to make it a sort of scrub plane. And that frog on your sample is only a little worse than the one on my Great Neck G5. My favorite plane so far is my Millers Falls #9b (#4 size).
I have the same plane (just Buck Bros instead of Amazon Basics) and have some things to add. I work with pine with knots in it, and since the blade isn't well supported by the frog, when it hits knots it flexes and digs into the wood quite badly. Also, the sole of the plane was ground crooked so one side of the plane is at 87 degrees and the other at 93 degrees, rendering it useless on a shooting board. It is still my only plane, but whenever I use it I wish I had a better plane.
"I am somewhat of an experienced wood worker" Yeah, Rob. I think you might qualify. Who knows, maybe if you really put the time in, you might be able to say you are an enthusiast.
Hi Rob , It’s sad that Manufacturers (Management sales) take pride in there products. I’ve learned a Graet deal from you and Thank you !!! PS love my Saws thanks.
Rob, this is very interesting and helpful. Keep up the great work. There are two measurements I'm curious about. First, how much "backlash" is there? Specifically, how many turns of the depth adjustment nut are needed to go from retracting to advancing the blade? Second, how close to square were the sides to the sole? If not square, how close in terms of thousands of an inch?
I have Stanley’s with sides out of square to the sole. But then I don’t use a shooting board. Backlash really annoys me, but is only a bit less on my expensive ones. It can’t be that difficult to machine more accurately when you are turning out thousands. If starting up buy old Stanley’s on eBay. Later on upgrade the blade and you have arrived. The top grade planes are too heavy for me for prolonged use. I bought a cheap block plane and improved it using my milling machine. Quality of blade is really important.
"I'm somewhat of an experienced woodworker".
That right there ladies and gentlemen is the understatement of 2021 🤣
“I’m somewhat of an experienced woodworker”
~Rob Cosman, 2021
🤣
Is that a new coffee mug?
Lol, understatement of the century!
@@RobCosmanWoodworking Coffee mug? Yes! Just not from Amazon basics. You will chafe your lips on the rough finish around the lip.
If Rob’s only somewhat experienced then I guess that makes me a caveman with a club and a slightly sharpened rock. Understatement of the century! And, yes, I would buy that mug.
Who else could see the ending of this video coming as soon as they read the title?
I haven't made it to him opening the box and I know the answer lol.
Take that $50 and put it towards a vintage Stanley or Millers Falls or Record....
@@robbie6625 Since 2009 Stanley makes #4 premium smoother lifetime warranty on sale at $139 occasionally. Lots less fuss out of the box than WR #4
@@bobmacny333 are you talking about the #4 Sweetheart?
Rob! You are 37 5/8th % the reason I woodwork. Your phone call when I ordered my dovetail saw. 10:20pm you called me! 1:20 am your time. You sir are an amazing human and even better salesmen! Keep this Stuff up!
I got one of those, Christmas present, and you are absolutely right. Spend most of my time in frustration tuning it up for the first time. Does pretty good on pine but is lousy on my Walnut and red oak.
Thats what my conclusion is too
"I'm somewhat of a experienced woodworker" can that be a t-shirt? Haha
That is a great idea.
If you’re going to have to spend time making a cheap plane sorta work, you will have much better results buying an old trashed plane from a junk store snd restoring it
Sadly, from personal experience, the "junk stores" now know what they have ,.. and I routinely see stanley-shaped piles of rust priced at $70-$100.
For $50 you can better than a 'junk' plane. $50 will get you a nice #5. I bought a Stanley Bailey #5 which looked like it had been used once. Came in the original box which was a little beat up but I wanted the plane not the cardboard. :-) I found it at a flea market for $25. That was about 8 years ago but my point is you can get a much better older plane (which may still need some tweaking/TLC) for the same money.
@@bobd. 8 years ago is an eternity unfortunately. Mr Sellers has single-handedly pushed the ebay price for a Stanley #4 up near $100. All of my local stores want at least $100 for a #5.
As for old Stanley 71s? It was cheaper for me to buy a new Veritas.
The problem is that the collectors have got into the game - which means the price of old "vintage" tools is no longer tied to the price of new ones. It's tied to whatever random price another collector or decorator will pay for a shelf-queen to adorn their own or their client's man-cave
@@stainlesssteellemming3885 ever notice on eBay, if the word "vintage" is included, $100 or more is automatically added?
@@bobd.one in a million find, not all that a common one. Usually in far worse condition but definitely not beyond repair.
I'm taking your advice and saving to be able to get a good set of tools for when I have more time to invest in woodworking. Until then, my projects are smaller and I tune in to your channel to learn how to do it correctly. Thanks for being there, you help in more ways than I can say.
So, no AdjuSTAR for the Amazonbasics hand plane, in the near future then?
I rarely do, but I literally laughed out loud. Well played, sir.
Is it just me or did that “chatter” sound like nails on a chalkboard? “As an inexperienced woodworker” I want a fighting chance at getting similar results as Rob.and having a peaceful experience doing it.
Rob you are a great teacher, and I am learning from you a lot, but for my opinion you have missed the point of educational part of the video!!! I will try to keep it short as much as I can but first I will said that: if you had the money you have preferred a second hand car or just one that came out of the factory? My love to work with hand tools have started because of a cheap chinese chisel by Irwin it cost my about 40 $ ( I am from Israel) so I bought no 4. And 5. I took them a part watched on youtube how to set them and tune them correctly ( Rex Krueger and Paul Sellers) it took me 4- 5 hours too work in each if them especially on the sole: flattening bring it to working right!!! I have learn from that a lot!!!! I am using them for pine, oak, and some time maple, now don't get me they far from being perfect their week point is their chip breaker and the thin blade so they don't hold their edge much long so I am using your method if sharpening and it's working well!!! I have also a no. 6 Luban wich is higher quality and it can't be compared to them: top machinery, 3 mm blade and high quality chip breaker , it tooked me 20 minutes to set it!!!! ( It no L.N quality). My point is that not all the people have got the money to buy the high hand tools or invest them or even intimidating of using hand tools because they afraid of setting and honnig, At this video you had the opportunity to address those issues for the people who want to work with hand plain and they are new to it. Can you plain with achep plane , yes if you make some improvement and money can buy everything but not experience. I am going to improve my no.4 and 5 with abetter chip breaker and thicker blades and I will do it because I know what I want and I know what to expect because of my experience....
I like to take those cheap planes and tune them up, especially on days when I don't have much else to do.
The Amazon Basics one i have now works as well as a Stanley #4 from the 1970's. Meaning, it's still jankey, but works in a pinch lol
I have purchased two "cheap" planes. I find it funny how difficult professionals find working with less expensive (non-indorsed) planes. The ones I have used over the years are still working great and leave a smooth surface. And it takes work to get even expensive planes to set up perfectly out of the box. I have several of those as well and everyone needed tunning up. If this is what new woodworkers can afford why not show that it's possible to set this plane instead of bashing it. Teach don't sell is how I feel.
Frank, I have taught literally thousands of folks the basics of hand tool woodworking. I have a pretty good feel for their current skill sets and encouraging them to purchase a piece of junk like this would be a disservice. I put my work "out there" so you can base my opinion off my work. I suggest you do the same.
It seems having a perfectly sharpened blade is the key, most planes will work well with one
Thanks for the review. Nothing worse to a person just getting into a hobby than getting frustrated and quitting because their tools are failing them and they think it’s their fault.
I thought about getting cheap planes, but saved and waited for a sale on a wood river jack plane to do most of what I need and decide later if other planes will be helpful to me based on what I make.
My first plane was a cheap Stanley from the 80s. I didn't know a lot but it put me off hand planes for a long time. Then I tried some ebay antiques, not much better even with Hock irons. Finally made it to L-N and Veritas. Now I can't blame the tools, lol.
Stick with wood river planes! Or lie Nielsen if you could get one..
There's a little irony in affordable entry level tools. Cheaper tools can suffice for a novice if they are tuned by a master. A novice like me would tune that thing into shiny door stop.
Thats funny, but its a good point
I already bought a cheap Stanley and it sucks even the sides are not squared. I'm saving for a woodriver or another, but i live in Chile so i hope it doesn't cost me an eye.
same story, stanly handymann just a piece of crap, stanley bailey need lot of forces for preparation
This is random, but does anyone in the wood world know anything about Goodall brand planes? (Not to be confused with Goodell/Pratt). I've acquired two smoothers in pretty good shape. Both have "GOODALL" embossed right in front of the knob. I have seen similar style planes on Google and eBay, but none with the "GOODALL" embossed stamps in the front. Any information or help on the subject is greatly appreciated! 💚
You do good work, Rob. And now I know not to get a $50 plane. I've never used a plane before. But I can see that it's a tool which I'd like to learn. And I can also see that it's a tool which had better be understood by it's operator. I think I can see that even a high quality plane will quickly become inefficient in the hands of a person who does not know how to tune it and keep it in good working shape. To market a cheap item with components badly outside of reasonable tolerances seems like bad faith. A beginner could never get the stupid thing working well and someone better prepared would choose something better. It is difficult to see any reasonable use or function for this item. It shouldn't be marketed at all.
I'll use a plane one day in the not too distant future. But I now know to start with something maybe of the quality of Stanley for a start. I'll aspire to something of a higher grade when I think I can handle it.
I've only discovered your videos in that last couple of days and I've watched perhaps a half a dozen. They are impressive. I have no doubt that I'll be back.
Congrats for this amazing video.
Sometimes advanced woodworkers forget that not everyone can spend 200$ in just one hand plane.In my case,I live in Brazil and the shipment is more expensive than the own plane
True, but if you don't have a lot of money then you don't want to waste it on a piece of junk no matter how much it costs. Better to put that $50 into a good 50 year old plane than a new junk lane.
You can always consider (self made) wooden planes, it's a bit fiddling around with a hammer to get the right cut for the situation but after a while it happens in a afterthought.
Just a idea, make a wood body plane, cheep ($), youl know how to make what you need.
I wish I watched this video before buying that amazon basics hand planer. I bought it and gave up on hand planing. I either don't get any shavings or i would get a big teardown. Now I understand I needed better tools!
I pretty much bought the same one but a no. 5 under the name shop fox. I’m almost at the point at giving up because nothing I do will get the darn thing run smoothly. I agree with you the frustration is not worth the savings from buying a cheap plane. I got a tall order for my family this Father’s Day lol 😂
Personally I think someone would be better of spending that 50$ on a couple Stanley hand planes at a local garage sale, or kijiji/eBay. They're older tools, but at least its proven they will still work as good as new with some care.
I picked up a bin of 8 stanley hand planes for 75$ locally from a post on kijiji a while ago and they work great! A little maintenance and sharpening and they are good as new. I even got a cute little Stanley no.1 from that purchase lol!
I just checked, and that plane is selling today for $29.80. But, I still wouldn't buy one.
What about a review on the #4 Stanley Handyman plane ($56USD) just for comparison?
They are probably built in the same factory, They just stamped different names on them.
@@joeyshofner639 That’s kind of why I would like to see it.… See how similar they are. How much more extra machining do you get for that $4 ... or is that just the cost of the Stanley sticker?🤣
Good idea, we will put it on the list. Do you have one you can send us?
@@RobCosmanWoodworking SURE!....I’ll trade you for one of your dovetail saws, seems like a fair trade to me!🤣....(I’m only half joking....)
For €80 ($92) you’ll get a Stanley #4 in The Netherlands. I would save some more to buy a Stanley, tough?
That sound of that plane working in my headphones actually hurt my ears.
Interesting you only polished to 1000 for a review of this plane...only takes a minute to bring it up to 16000
In the old days, manufacturers made products the best they could, and then priced them accordingly. This plane is the result of the opposite. Making a product to meet a price point.
Good job on impartiality, and informative, factual comparison. I did actually try re-engineering one like this out of curiosity about a year ago. Leveling the frog, leveling the sole bearing plate nubs, deburring the advancement wheel threads, grinding an edge on the chip breaker, etc.. There was a limit to how well it improved and the lateral adjustment was still almost fully over to one side. It took a vice, a flatbed grinder, a selection of files and wet/dry paper and a few hours a night for a week. Due to the extra expense in tools to do the job, It wasn't worth it - definitely cheaper in the long run and better performance from a used Stanley on an auction site.
The cheapskates in the world dont want to read replies like yours. Amazes me how they will spend a month to save a dime!
@@RobCosmanWoodworking In fact - I've just added up the cost of a cheap plane and all the stuff I used to try to fix it - the total cost at least the same as a Wood River plane! And a Wood River works better than a cheap one ever will.
@@davidcampbell2845what were you expecting from a Chinese or India manufacturer? They are NOT producing the level of a LV or LN for $50. I have learned one thing, you only get what you pay for and there are times when you don’t !
To be totally up front and impartial a review should also include a comparison of the quality and price of a Veritas or Lie Neilson , the two front runners in the industry.
Why would anyone buy a new cheapo plane when there are so many older Stanley’s for the same price and your videos how to make them good enough to keep for a lifetime. But people do in their tens of thousands.
When you had difficulty on that cherry I thought the sole isn’t flat. Stick it on an edge sander before flattening it properly!!
Amazon has gone from "We sell everything." to "We'll sell anything."
I agree that these cheap Chinese imports are garbage. But let's not forget the finest furniture ever made was fashioned long before the metal hand plane. Paul Sellers made a super rebate plane out of a block of wood and an old chisel. Just saying
If you think the amazon plane is bad try a winsor no. Xx from harbor fr. it wont evin make a bad scrub plane.
50 bucks dang that looks worse than the the 15 dollar one I got at harbor freight which is now my scrub plane.
Hi Rob, I have a new Stanley number 4 that's just like this Amazon plane. Can you do a video about upgrading the plane? e.g., thicker blade, fixing the bad adjustment mechanism, etc.
Actually I just did a live episode on that. Its posted on my channel look in my live event playlist.
Thx for ur advice but To us in Uganda we only have indian and Chinese tools that aren't easy to repair
For many fewer dollars you could buy a lovely old Stanly No 4 which would be a better plane and last your lifetime.
I believe in starting with a quality too so I can accept all the blame when the outcome isn't perfect.
Get a rusty old plane record ss no4 of eBay and make it happen you'll be a better woodworker for it 🤠
Amazing. The frog casting had such bad voids it seemed to be missing half the bearing surface and the mouth was waaaayyy out of square. Reminds me of the quality of the Buck Bros I got at Home Depot when I was desperate for any plane.
Looks like uneven machining where there is untouched paint... that tells a story as well, npo wonder at the end things look skewed.
Wow, that thing is a screaming banshee, can’t imagine using that for any length of time.
Ooow that makes a howling when used. Sound like finger nails on chalk. It just reinforces the concept of "You get what you pay for.". Rob has done a favour by demonstrating what you for your money. I've paid twice too many times. Thanks Rob - again
Been there and done that too. Trying to help people avoid my mistakes
Just like you say “ it’s all in the SHARPENING “
Or buy a good used Stanley, preferably before WWII
This is a lottery winner's plane - not something you buy after winning the lottery, but finding one that actually works well and has a reasonable ceiling is like winning the lottery.
The mexico stanley actually has potential for someone who can file or flatten a plane bottom -the light weight lever cap on that plane is no good - I had one made the same way, but marked "buck brothers" that was less than the cost of a blade, but threw it away, anyway. Swap the lever cap with one from a stanley, and it works fine. plane hardwood with the lightweight flexible lever cap and it lacks stability to plane hardwood - swap back to the stanley lever cap, and fine again.
So at the very least, you're at 65-70 for adding a stanley lever cap so that it can smooth (but the rest of the plane is garbage and above the auction price for a used stanley plane).
None have been flat enough to do good smoothing work, either - either hollow in the length, or hollow in the width or both.
Funny, great comment
I would submit that you are reviewing the wrong cheap plane. Get a Grizzly 10” smoother. The quality is much better than the Amazon, and approaches the. Stanley. The grizzly compares to the Wood River like the WR compares to the Lie Nelson. Just replace the blade with a WR blade and you have a high quality tool. I got one last week on sale for $25.. The 10” and 14” together were $75 shipped! So far they work as well as my Vintage Stanley’s. If you are truly interested in sourcing lower priced alternatives check them out.
Actually we are slowly revieing numerous planes with videos like this. Our rate will be about one a quarter . I will put grizzly on the list
As JKM often says, buy once, cry once. You never get more than you pay for and usually less.
Agreed , as a beginner with hand tools , I'm waiting for my lie nelson low angle jack plane to arrive soon and I knew I'll be happy using it , buy costly work easy & perfectly 👍 .
Totally agree
There’s nothing worse than a crappy hand tool. The reason you’re using a hand tool in the first place is because you take pride in your work. Hard to be proud when the tool is so severely compromised. I say save up the extra $150 and buy the Woodriver #4 or a bit more for the #5 1/2!
You know I agree
So, I value your opinion and I'm not buying junk. However, the Sergeant in me says "hey f%ckface what should I buy to plane this wood? End on a recommendation
You should buy a quality plane. My recommendation is to get a bed rock style number 5 1/2 plane. If you want the best by Lee Nelson planes. If you want the best value and save a little money I recommend would River Plains. I have several other UA-cam’s with the specific recommendations this video was specifically to evaluate this one plane
What I don't get with machined bodies is why the variation is so high. They're probably made on the same CNC machine as more expensive tools so getting precision doesn't really cost any more than not. Programming is programming. It's well known that many companies contract manufacture a wide range of quality tools on the same line with the only difference be tolerances or raw material quality.
The only things I can figure are1) this level of tool is machined on a CNC that has been "handed down" from a company that has upgraded so it's a little clapped out; 2) the cutters aren't changed as often as they should be to save money so they don't cut smoothly and 3) taking one less pass raises machine productivity. Finally the dies for the sand molds for the frog casting are not tossed out as often as they should be resulting in a sloppy casting that can't be machined enough to make it right.
I suppose that if you were a finish carpenter, this plane might be sufficient. It would be awfully painful to have $300 plane grow legs or be dropped down a stairwell.
I was looking for a water jet service a few years ago, the first company I went to gave me back a sample that was rough and poorly cut. The second company now does all our cutting and it is fantastic. Probably both started with similar machines but for a lot of the reasons you mentioned they sure don't produce the same quality.
I think if you are going to get into the area of making commercial videos, you should do a crash course on sound reproduction - placement of the mic for example - the sound of that plastic wrapping rattling as you turn the plane back and forth is louder than your voice!!! And guess which one we’d prefer to hear? And what’s going on with the flag on the wall and the two flags on your apron? Can’t remember where you are?
Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Why the nastiness?
Should have called this inferior Chinese plane comparison 🤣 Veritas and Lie Nielsen are the tops, Woodriver is decent; on par with Stanley. Everything else is just a plane.
Thanks for watching and commenting
Looks like you almost ran out of lateral adjustment just to get a full width shaving. Have a Groz plane that doesn't allow enough lateral adjustment to go full width. No amount of monkeying with the frog (or anything else) could save that thing.
Yes that’s another common problem I probably should have emphasize that a bit more
I have to agree with Rob.
I spent so much money on the low quality tools or on tools that I didn't even need. If I combined all my lost money, I would have custom made hand planes with my name and logo laser engraved on them.
after so many bad decisions in woodworking and in my life in general, I finally learned and now I only buy the top of the top tools.
I do understand however, that many people really can't afford planes 4 or 10 times more expensive than that Amazon Basics plane. Please don't worry too much. You can buy your first hand plane for 50 bucks, and spend more time preparing it to work. You can flatten the sole, and the frog base and so on. You can refine the threads, and grease them well with high temperature car engine solid grease. After investing some time and effort in the cheapest plane or other tool, you can actually make it perform 90% as well as the top of the shelf tool.
so if you can afford 400 bucks plane, go for it. if you can only afford 50 bucks plane, prepare your mind for some extra effort and time, and you can make it work pretty decent too.
That frog looks like it was cut with a fly cutter, very crude machining I don't think it is worth $ 50.00
Neither do I
This is totally useless plane. This was my first planer and created doubt in me if I ever be able use a plane. After days of grinding , levelling and struggle I made it work.
Really, so do you still use it?
Excellent example of plane chatter.
That high pitched sound he talks about is the first thing I noticed. I didn't think the reason was going to be vibration of the blade. I thought it would have been quality of the materials used in the plane.
Probable a bit of both
Looks exactly like the Kobalt plane sold in the states in Lowes. Bought one just to try it out. It was horrible. Gotten a lot of old beat up planes to work couldn't get that one.
Yup, i understand
Just checked the amazon store to see what the reviews were like and I can't believe it has a four star rating from 495 reviews.
495 people that think a hand plane is to hold paper from blowing off your desk! At least their happy, don’t show them the pile of rocks in the back yard!
It will cost you a lot of time.
But if you can get it to work like a well made plane you would have learned all that there is to learn about hand planes.
Another way to look at it.
Hand tool woodworkers should know everything there is to know about their tools.
I would counsel if you want to do that, start with an old Stanley, Record, or Millers Falls or similiar
Someone would be better off spending $50 on a used Stanley #4 on EBay.
Absolutely
Great review...great teaching in the process. Lousy plane for sure. .
Thank you for watching and commenting I really appreciate it
Total garbage, you could by a swap meet Stanley and spend an hour or two cleaning it up for half the cost. Or you could buy $50 dollars worth of food and give it to a homeless person and put the karma in the bank.
Rex Kreuger did a review of some budget planes from India that, if I recall, were okay for the money. I've used an older (1970s) Stanley that's "contractor grade" for years. It's not great, but better than that. It seems to me that a decent cheap plane--like I already have--could become a scrub plane when I get something better. So a total beginner wouldn't have to lose anything by buying something cheap-ish to get started Too bad the Amazon doesn't appear to even qualify for that.
What a piece of junk, a woodworker can probably address most of the imperfections, but that frog makes it completely useless. We are manufacturing junk and polluting this planet. This one is difficult to recycle (I can detail why), I guess it goes straight to the art bin.
Didn't wood River steal the Lee Nielson plane ? If that's true you can't be biased to a thief
WoodRiver “stole” Stanley’s plane. Just like how Lie-Nielsen “stole” Stanley’s plane.
In my kit only three planes were bought new. Those are fine quality devices. The majority of my planes are old Stanleys with rosewood totes and knobs. Aside from ruined or missing parts, the chief caution I'd make about them is to verify that the back of the blade near the cutting edge is not deeply pitted and/or that I will be willing to spend $40 or so for a quality after-market replacement. Typically such oldies are available for half the cost of the Amazon Basics and may require a similar degree of fettling to make them work very well compared to Amazon's offering plus their totes are comfortable, beautiful classics.
It is made in India and you can buy it much cheaper than 50 Canadian dollars
I think you missed the point…
I agree with your assessment, but think it helpful to distinguish between problems of fit and finish that can be repaired fairly easily with elbow grease (sharpness, sole concavity and roughness, handle shape, chip breaker profile) and deal killers (frog to blade and body fit, screw advance). Even the latter can be addressed if you need to, but are not worth it in my opinion either. The blade advance looks bad enough that if it were the only problem, I'd use a hammer.
But I would expect that a rusty old $20 Stanley would be quicker to set up well, and then work better.
Simple answer...no lol.
Just buy his tools
Rob, you got the blade sharp but the question is, how long did it stay sharp?
Depends on what you are planing, a very dense tropical wood vs a soft species like White Pine. Could see triple the planing time on the Pine.
Nooooo, see Matt Estlea’s recent review of same/similar plane
Surely save your money and buy something to refurb right?
i imagine that an experienced user would be able to fettle the tool into a serviceable plane. however, i cannot see an amateur able to do that. i agree that it is $50 poorly spent.
Interesting, casting and machining finish is identical to the Kobalt No. 4 sold at Lowe’s.
Watch Matt Estlea's video on hot rodding this thing. He did some great work on a. crappy plane.
Wow, I was shocked you even went down this road. Granted having good tools does not make us any better as Woodworkers or Carpenters, but at least it takes one variable out of the equation. I would add if one could not afford a better Plane save the money and be on the lookout for a used one at an estate/garage sale as a used slightly worn yet originally higher quality unit would be better than this new one. Rob, thanks for being as honest as you could bring yourself to be under the circumstances ,lol.
I've a British Record no. 5 that has a similar screw tightened cap iron. I find that it's my least favorite No. 5. The levered Stanleys and Millers Falls I have all are easier to fettle.
25 minutes wtf
I cant help but think a lot of reviews like this are just nit picky. 15 years ago I bought a hand plane from harbor freight for $10. I still use it today over any of the expensive planes ive bought or inherited.
Some are more fussy than others. What do you do with this plane you speak of? I Know what I demand of my planes and this would not make the cut. FYI, I expect to be able to eliminate sanding on any hard or soft wood with my plane (few exceptions noted).
@@RobCosmanWoodworkingyeah since then I tried to use it to do basically anything smoothing with it, which is what it's supposed to be made for and the blade literally curled over on the first pass. I bought an old Stanley on eBay for $20 and restored it and that's been my go to lol. I feel like these days people are better off getting an old quality plane and restoring it. Especially when they can be found for less than that Amazon basics one. I'm curious how well the edge retention on their blades are though
Good honest review, thanks Rob. While it might be possible to flatten the sole, flattening the face of the frog and the contact points on the body for the frog would be difficult without some machining capabilities.
Well you probably could do it with a lot of coarse sandpaper adhered to a flat substrate since i think the metal is so soft, but I hate to think of the time and effort it would take
you can use the files / ink and some patience my friend ;)
@@TigerCarpenter It's not worth the trouble. Plus you could never reach inside and smooth out the points where the frog is seated on the body. Yes you could get to them and flatten them, but they all need to be at the same elevation within 0.0005". You can't do that without a milling machine.
@@bobd. yes and no. my car is 12 years old, and has so many customizations that I wouldn't even trade it for the new one and of "better" make.
but of course talking about 50 bucks item, it does make sense to save up and buy something of higher quality to start with.
Well spoken.
I spent $50 on a rusty Stanley #4 I found on ebay. I cleaned and sharpened it and I must say it is a pleasure to use.
Rob, nice review but why didn't you goto your Shapton?
Good catch. I figured “the plane cost $50, do I really want to use $400 worth of sharpening?” Probably best to just use the minimum acceptable edge, which was the Trend Diamond stone.
@@RobCosmanWoodworking good point, someone that buys a $50 plane wouldn't be buying a shaptop.
Well sayed rob, nothing like saving for a woodriver plane
Lie Nielsen or Veritas is you want the best possible option. 🤘 I have a vast collection of planes and would say woodriver are equal to Stanley. Veritas and Lie Nielsen are masterclass tools.
@@vanniedudeI agree on that point. To be informative and fair to viewers any review should include options to the tool being reviewed. I enjoy all of Rob’s tips and tricks and methods of woodworking but I rarely take advice of a single reviewer’s recommendations unless I have heard from others (users not sellers) to back up the recommendation. Tools purchased on someone’s opinion might not always work for you.
In Italy we say "the less you spend the more you spend"
I like that....can i use it?
That top piece with the knob and logo might be zinc.
Your guess is as good as mine
I found on ebay there is a brand called anant made in india that looks interesting. But the shipping from england is cost prohibitive. It would be interesting to see a review of that brand.
Rex Kruger did a vid on Indian planes ua-cam.com/video/vSnKkSDb8aw/v-deo.html
@@Steve_1401 they're not the same. anant from what i could find is a fairly "old" indian brand, paul sellers mentioned not liking them and their quality being bad in the 70s and 80s. old forum posts from the early 2000s say they're decent planes tho but their new models look.. janky. seems 90s-10s were their golden days. the planes rex reviewed (at least the better one from grizzly) is sold by an american compagny, they're just manufactured in india whereas anant is both an indian compagny and may or may not manufacture for grizzly.
The review was excellent but I have to say that I believe you should have sharpened the blade exactly how you would have to your planes to get a completely honest review. Maybe sharpening it to the 16,000 would have helped take thinner shavings and give it a finished surface. We don't know by this review.
Thank you for the content, Rob. I always enjoy your videos.
The problems with this plane go well beyond a sharpening issue. The 1k sharpening did a decent job on the pine, the frog, sole, adjuster knob, lateral adj lever, cap iron and frog seating surface all were terrible. Waste of $50.
The sound of that plane in action though O_0 Wow! Cringe worthy! Definitely better off saving up for a Woodriver, Veritas or Lie Neilson plane for sure!
I certainly think so
I bought a $15.00 plane on Ebay. I plan to make it a sort of scrub plane. And that frog on your sample is only a little worse than the one on my Great Neck G5. My favorite plane so far is my Millers Falls #9b (#4 size).
If you have not done so yet, put a modern aftermarket blade in it and you will be amazed at the improvement
I bought this plane from Amazon, and it's an upgrade compared to the Groz planes I bought from Woodcraft.
Two wrongs don’t make a right!
I have the same plane (just Buck Bros instead of Amazon Basics) and have some things to add. I work with pine with knots in it, and since the blade isn't well supported by the frog, when it hits knots it flexes and digs into the wood quite badly. Also, the sole of the plane was ground crooked so one side of the plane is at 87 degrees and the other at 93 degrees, rendering it useless on a shooting board. It is still my only plane, but whenever I use it I wish I had a better plane.
Great comments very useful. I really appreciate you commenting good luck
Better off buying an oldie but goodie
Absolutely
"I am somewhat of an experienced wood worker" Yeah, Rob. I think you might qualify. Who knows, maybe if you really put the time in, you might be able to say you are an enthusiast.
Maybe that should be our next t shirt slogan
Hi Rob , It’s sad that Manufacturers (Management sales) take pride in there products. I’ve learned a Graet deal from you and Thank you !!! PS love my Saws thanks.
Amazon only takes pride in making the cheapest product they can while squeezing customers for as much money as they can.
Rob, this is very interesting and helpful. Keep up the great work. There are two measurements I'm curious about. First, how much "backlash" is there? Specifically, how many turns of the depth adjustment nut are needed to go from retracting to advancing the blade? Second, how close to square were the sides to the sole? If not square, how close in terms of thousands of an inch?
I have Stanley’s with sides out of square to the sole. But then I don’t use a shooting board. Backlash really annoys me, but is only a bit less on my expensive ones. It can’t be that difficult to machine more accurately when you are turning out thousands.
If starting up buy old Stanley’s on eBay. Later on upgrade the blade and you have arrived. The top grade planes are too heavy for me for prolonged use.
I bought a cheap block plane and improved it using my milling machine. Quality of blade is really important.