Originally Posted by
Chris Hachet
Let me know how the 4 1/2 works out for you. Been thinking of adding one to the stable.
It's working out well so far. It works great and is nice to look at. I have a Stanley 4 1/2 and a Millers Falls #10 (same as 4 1/2) that I've fettled the daylights out of and only got them to work well (as opposed to REALLY well), even with a Hock iron on the 4 1/2. I'm in the process of thinning the herd in a major way so I thought I'd let them go and take the plunge on a good wide smoother. I like the ability to close the mouth way down on this plane. I put a super fine edge on the iron and so far I've tested some maple, some oak, and some walnut and I'm able to take full width shavings that are pretty thin. More importantly, the resulting surface finish is really nice. I may invest in a high angle frog at some point so I can deal with swirly grain.
Sharp solves all manner of problems.