Steve Knight's Kits Recommended
I would also recommend you go to Steve Knight's web site and take a look at his kits. I have several of his planes and they are excellent and are in my opinion the best value on the market.
If or when you order a kit from him, make sure you get the best blade possible. I recommend the O2 blades rather than the bottom line blades the kit may come with.
A benefit with dealing with Steve Knight is his advice and commitment to your success is freely given and very good. He knows what it takes to make a good plane.
Not affiliated, but very satisfied.
My poor choice of words...
Steve, your sense of humor always makes me smile too... :D
I was referring to the Galoot Tools blade options. I have the Performance Series Galoot blade in your smoother and I recommend it highly over the Economy Series Galoot Tool blade. It's as good as my best Japanese blade.
I have two O2 blades in a 17" razee jack and a 9 inch jack. They are every bit as good as the Performance Series blade from Galoot for my purposes. I use them in cherry, red oak, SYP, and some exotics. They keep me happy. I will say the O2 blade is more easily sharpened but both types take a simple honing to keep in the action.
There is nothing "cheap" about the O2's performance and that's for sure. Other choice of words like bargain, best buy, trade off etc don't do them justice either. I shouldn't have used the word cheap as it makes me feel inaccurate to say the least. High quality, solid performance...great price !