Woodcraft WoodRiver bench planes...are these any good?

[Tri Hoang]

I just saw the new planes being advertised on Woodcraft website but with little info available. Any good/bad experience with these? I am particularly interested in the #5.

According to Woodcraft website...

• Modeled after the Bedrocks, Stanley Tool's very best line, WoodRiver planes feature the same heavy castings and fully machined frogs
• This arrangement reduces chatter by supporting the blade and helps to reduce tear-out when planing highly figured wood
• Lightly finished rosewood handles provide comfort and control
• Most importantly, the tools require almost no tune-up prior to use
• Soles and sides are machined flat and square within tightly held tolerances ensuring these planes are as close to ready to use as can be made
• Usually, just a light touch up on the high-carbon Rc60-64 blades will enable you to go right to

[Chuck Tringo]

These are pretty new, I believe WC just got them in this week or last, so I doubt that many have used them yet, but I'm quite intrigued also, they look good in the magazine, I need to take a trip and see them in person...just wish they made a jointer as well.

[Dewey Torres]

Not sure of the merit because it may be a bit like chevy telling you the avalanche is a great truck but woodcraft magazine has a tester that rated these planes as very good "for knock offs" and said WC pumped money into the plane body to make it solid and square which is very important in a hand plane. Currect issue with the Tansu on the front pg 17. They are also lining up a hanfd plane test against other models in a later issue.

[Chuck Tringo]

Not sure of the merit because it may be a bit like chevy telling you the avalanche is a great truck but woodcraft magazine has a tester that rated these planes as very good "for knock offs" and said WC pumped money into the plane body to make it solid and square which is very important in a hand plane. Currect issue with the Tansu on the front pg 17. They are also lining up a hanfd plane test against other models in a later issue.

exactly why I want to get a hold of one....not so sure how much merit I put into WoodCraft testing or reviewing one of its own products...not like I expect Burger King to come out and say try our new whopper, its not as good as a 1/4 pounder but buy it anyways

[Randy Klein]

Although I haven't tried one, the tote looks rather uncomfortable.

[Tri Hoang]

The Albuquerque WC store here does not have any in stock yet...I guess I'll wait a little. If it turns out to be OK...it could be better for me to get one of these than to hunt for a used stanley bedrock on auction sites.

[Richard Niemiec]

Huge debate going on over in Woodnet on this, worth reading.

[Bill Keehn]

Why not just look for an actual bedrock at the flea market? You could probably get it for a third of what WC sells these for.

[Mike Henderson]

Why not just look for an actual bedrock at the flea market? You could probably get it for a third of what WC sells these for.

The one big difference I see is that the new planes won't break. If you drop a bedrock (really, I suppose I should say, if it falls off your bench) the body won't break. Yep, I dropped a plane and the body cracked on the side by the mouth. Makes you want to cry.

I don't see any reason why the woodcraft planes won't be decent. The metal of the body is standard and low cost, and the machining is all cnc so it'll be accurate. If the iron is good and the tote comfortable, it should be an excellent user. If you had access to the costs to make an LN plane, I'm sure you'd find it was a small percentage of the selling price. LN doesn't sell that many planes so they have to make a good margin to support the business.

Mike

[David Keller NC]

"Why not just look for an actual bedrock at the flea market? You could probably get it for a third of what WC sells these for."

Because a true Stanley bedrock that's not damaged (i.e., no broken tote, no cracked front knob, mouth not cracked, correct blade, etc...) is going to cost several hundred dollars unless you run across someone that doesn't know what they have. A non-bedrock in similar shape is the one that goes for $50.

[lowell holmes]

If you find one at a flea market, maybe. Ebay prices are double the Woodcraft prices. I have three Bedrocks, and they cost much more than that 5 years ago.

I would probably go ahead and buy LN planes now. I have LN 4 1/2 that I consider to be a good value at $300.

[Ken Werner]

If you buy a Bedrock or a LN, chances are excellent that the value of the plane will rise over time. That's my experience, again and again. All other issues aside [including my decision NOT to purchase an Asian knockoff product] I believe that the WC planes will go down in value over time. Just my opinion. I also would echo what Rob Lee and Derek Cohen have written in the woodnet discussion - that purchasing these planes supports a direction I find distasteful.

[Mike Henderson]

If you buy a Bedrock or a LN, chances are excellent that the value of the plane will rise over time. That's my experience, again and again. All other issues aside [including my decision NOT to purchase an Asian knockoff product] I believe that the WC planes will go down in value over time. Just my opinion. I also would echo what Rob Lee and Derek Cohen have written in the woodnet discussion - that purchasing these planes supports a direction I find distasteful.

I haven't read the woodnet discussion so I don't know exactly what was said - so if anyone would like to amplify on the comments of Rob Lee and Derek Cohen I'd appreciate it.

I don't know what direction they're talking about, but having a wider variety of tools, at a variety of price points, does not seem like a bad market direction for the people who buy and use the tools.

Personally, I'm not very worried about a tool losing value over time. I don't buy tools as investments and I expect them to wear out and lose value. Essentially all my tools do that. I have a pretty complete selection of hand planes, but if I was just starting out in woodworking, I'd welcome the ability to purchase a new plane that worked well at a decent price. I still remember when I was just getting started in woodworking - I was appalled at the cost of tools and the number of tools I needed. It was very expensive to get started.

I welcome Woodcraft to the marketplace. If the combination of "quality" and price meets the needs of a significant segment of the woodworking market, they'll be successful. If not, the planes will fade from the market. That's what our economic system is all about.

Mike

[Ken Werner]

Personally, I'm not very worried about a tool losing value over time. I don't buy tools as investments and I expect them to wear out and lose value. Essentially all my tools do that.

Mike

Hi Mike,

I think some tools do wear out over time - turning tools, chisels, plane blades, and certainly power tools, but others - planes are the main example -do not wear out in one woodworker's lifetime [unless they are wooden bodied.] I think that when one plunks down quite a bit for a high quality plane, it's reassuring to know that it will hold most of its value. I have to say also, that the good quality old Stanleys, the LV, and LN tools I've bought over the years have all held or gone up in value. This helps me justify my tool purchases.

I don't want to speak for Rob and Derek, they are far more articulate than I. But we each express an opinion with our purchases. I, for one, will support LV and LN, and not some manufacturer in the far east. I like Woodcraft, but I don't like what they're doing on this issue.

[Rob Lee]

I haven't read the woodnet discussion so I don't know exactly what was said - so if anyone would like to amplify on the comments of Rob Lee ....(snip)

Hi Mike -

The basic thrust of what I was saying is that some of the products are blatant copies of original designs. In essence - it's theft ...pure and simple.

There are some that will do anything for a buck, and others who will support/enable that activity to save one....

The discussion has misguidedly centered around the bedrock planes - which aren't really the nub of the issue - and has caused much of the discussion to go off track.

Cheers -

Rob
(gone skiiing for the first time in 25 years....)