FWW's "Every Handplane Needs a Tuneup" - a video response

[Pat Megowan]

I'm not sure how spending $425.00 make a product immune from deficiencies, in fact I'm certain that this is not the case. Has anyone here spent much more money than this on equipment only to find that manufacturing tolerances have not been held? ... Mistakes happen in production - period.

Well said! The making of things is challenging, nothing is failsafe. More care in manufacturing can reduce problems impressively but not eliminate them. A person highly skilled in metalwork can almost certainly further improve a fine plane, but like everyone else will benefit from returning a plane that slipped thru with significant mistakes.

we all need to go back to our shops and put the time in to actually do what we are speaking of.

Bingo. Knowledge isn't robust until is has serious mileage on it. The catastrophes, dead ends, "good enough" outcomes, and genuine successes along the way cover a great distance between idea/opinion and excellent results, earning the term "hard-earned".

Chris' use of the word "opinion" seems significant in another way; earning a skill inevitably personalizes it, adapting it to the worker and their environment. When they then share it (here, for instance), it is both informed and biased. It may work for another reader, or not--that reader likewise must head to the shop, where they will find...

...in many cases this means spending money as well as time.

Yes...and Ouch. Answering the ubiquitous forum question "what's the best...?" is almost always a matter of trying stuff, much of which won't be the best answer for you. Forums can suggest options and factors to consider, a tremendous help but still someone else's journey, not yours.

Consider playing the odds as you earn your knowledge, letting the tool tell you where it needs work, and letting the manufacturer make it right if they can do it better or with more safety to your pocketbook. And by all means learn some metal work, it's cool too!

Yet another opinion;-).