I just had to tell somebody!
I have this #4 Stanley that I bought new a couple of years ago. Never have been able to get it to work. I didn't know if it was me or the tool. I suspected me since I have never used one. Last weekend, I picked up Rob Cosman's DVD on tuning up a plane, and wouldn't you know it he tuned up an old Stanley. After spending about 3 hours flattening the sole and frog, I could see that part of it was the tool. Yet, I still was not getting even acceptable results. Put the iron and chip breaker on the Worksharp 3k. Things only got partially better. Figured the problem was me and walked away.
This morning, I didn't have anything to do, so I broke out the sand paper and stones. Started with 180, then 200 sand paper because there were some chips that needed to be ground away. Went through the 400, 800, 2000, 4000, and 8000 stones. For the first time ever, I was able to shave my arm.
Put the plane back together and attacked a 2x4. Holy @#(%! Is this what hand planing is about? I noticed right off that I have some technique that needs some work, but this thing is taking shavings of any thickness I want, almost effortlessly. I even sharpened the Lie Nelson block plane that I have been afraid to sharpen for fear of messing it up.
I don't know why the stones worked better than the Worksharp, but I couldn't dream of these results on that thing. The Worksharp is definitely quicker, but no where near the end product. I suppose there is a chance that I am not using it correctly, but at this point, I really don't have any desire to pull it back out.
