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

  1. #1
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    Woodcraft WoodRiver bench planes...are these any good?

    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
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    Last edited by Tri Hoang; 01-27-2009 at 11:28 PM.

  2. #2
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    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.
    That which does not kill you will likely raise your insurance premiums.

  3. #3
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    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.
    Dewey

    "Everything is better with Inlay or Marquetry!"


  4. #4
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    Although I haven't tried one, the tote looks rather uncomfortable.
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  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dewey Torres View Post
    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
    That which does not kill you will likely raise your insurance premiums.

  6. #6
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    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.

  7. #7
    Huge debate going on over in Woodnet on this, worth reading.

  8. #8
    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.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Keehn View Post
    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
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Richard Niemiec View Post
    Huge debate going on over in Woodnet on this, worth reading.
    Thanks for the tip...I just finish reading that thread. Not much information on the planes but rather how similar it is to a LN and the whole lot more on the impact it may have on LN and LV.

    I am not sure how big the market for hand planes is but these new planes (and the new premium Stanley planes) just segmented the market further.

  11. #11
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    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.

  12. #12
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    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.

  13. #13
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    "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.

  14. #14
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    These planes are mfg in India (according to a WC employee that posted on woodnet), so I would lump them in the same boat as Groz, Anant, and the other imports from that area. Quality will certainly be lacking off the shelf. However with tuning the Groz planes I had worked just fine. One thing that looks better here is the blade thickness. The Groz blades were fairly thin. At any rate, I am sure they will make good users.

    You won't find them in my shop though. I am trying, as much as I can justify, to buy American tools. So for now my planes are old iron and new Lie-Nielsen. Eventually I may get into making some as well. At any rate, I too find the cloning trend to be in poor taste here.
    Quote Originally Posted by James Carmichael View Post
    I suspect family members are plotting an intervention.

  15. #15
    Hi -

    Small correction - it's actually China, not India - at least - that's what the post reads now.
    Cheers -

    Rob

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