A friend stopped by my shop today to show me a Buck plane he picked up at Home Depot as a gift for his son. The stem on the yoke was too short to properly engage the chip breaker to raise and lower the iron and no amount of tuning would correct the problem. The bottom of the frog was milled but it wasn't even as one side was deeper than the other. The mating surface on the sole was painted and wasn't milled at all and the chip breaker had a significant gap where it met the iron. But what do you expect for $30?
I don't know the quality of the Kobalt plane, but there is a YouTube video where a guy compares the effort it takes to get a Lie-Nielson, Stanley and Harbor Freight plane to the point where they will perform reasonably well. As expected, the Lie-Nielson performed well right out of the box, the 80 year old Stanley required a medium amount of effort to get it to work as well as the Lie-Nielson, and the least expensive plane from Harbor Freight required the most effort. He put a value of $15/hour on the time he spent working on the planes and concluded that the price of the Lie-Nielson isn't all that unreasonable considering the effort he put into the other two. IMHO, the older Stanley is the best value if you're just looking at getting a plane to work as well as a new quality plane but not necessarily look like new. I've bought several Stanley's on Ebay and typically pay $30-$40 and have found them for $20 or less at yard and estate sales. The Harbor Freight is just too much work regardless of price.
I've also watched Rob Crossman's evaluation of the Woodriver plane from Woodcraft and think this brand may be a good choice given the OP's desire to get something that will work well right out of the box. Of course he's going to have to spend more money than he would for a Stanley but less than he would for a Lie-Nielson.
Last edited by Roy Turbett; 11-07-2017 at 1:06 AM.
I was in the same situation in summer 2015. I also bought low angle rabbet block plane made in China (same as WoodRiver but called Juuma). And then I bought low angle jack plane. I have 18 planes now by the end of 2017 (one Juuma and others are Veritas).
Sharpening was and still is a huge part of that. I chose coarse diamond plate and one combo waterstone 1000/6000 early on, after some try with scary sharpening (on sand paper). Good side effect of that is that now I can sharpen knifes really good also!
I would not fix on just two planes. I think your question about two planes is not the right question to ask... I would change that question. There is WoodRiver starter set of three planes that looks very much like what my most used planes are now. I still use low angle rabbet block plane. And other two are #7 and #4-1/2. In case of WoodRiver's Ultimate Cabinet Maker's Kit it is low angle block plane and #4 and #6 (I would prefer bigger #7 though). Or you can get them one by one over time.
I'm not using low angle jack plane all that much now, not after I bought dedicated shooting plane (that is a wonder tool!). But then again, when I was starting out I did bought it as my second hand plane. So, you do that too and let's see how many planes you will have in two years!
I agree with everything you say, in my time eBay has provided me with both gems and lemons. But I think we may be losing sight of the gentlemen's original post content, he just wants a plane for touch-up, or at least that's how I'm reading it. The Kobalt isn't top notch but from my experience the amount of tuning actually wasn't that bad for what I paid,my sons use them and neither of them are hand tool users by inclination(tools with tails are their preference), but for the occaisonal use they get it done!
One thing is for certain, I know crap about planes.
Good info in here. Perhaps I shall pause this whole endeavor and wait till the situation arises and then ask advice on that particular situation. The reason I am asking now is because I know at some in the near future I'll need a plane (I have a crap bench plane that I bought at my local hardware store for $20) and I dont like waiting for the need to make the buy. It usually wrecks a day (or more if it has to be shipped).
Thanks for all the info, everyone.
I still think we're guessing about the OP's goals here. I'm reading a lot of good advice that doesn't seem to me to be relevant for what OP wants. OTOH- if he wants to move into a hybrid, or even handtool, style of work he will want a couple planes.
Well, maybe we should let him decide how into this he wants to be on his own.
My advice to someone getting into hand planes would be that there are nuances and tradeoffs and they need to do some study to optimize their selection(s) to their needs. Then, if they didn't want to make that initial investment, I'd tell them to get the Veritas starter set. I'd say this on the theory, that if they won't study the basics to make a selection they won't learn to use a chip-breaker and they won't learn to fettle lesser planes. I have the Windriver Low-Angle Block plane and it's decent, but it took a lot more tweaking and had a steeper learning curve than the Veritas planes I own (or the LN planes I've tried at their road shows.) That warning said, I do like the selection in the WR set a little better than the LV one and you'd save a few bucks.
OTOH- I still read the OP's goal differently and think a LA Block plane would be ideal for 70-80% of what he wants and adequate for almost all the rest.
This has mostly been ignored here and can't really be emphasized enough as the way you keep (or get) a plane to perform well. Again, lots of systems and lots of tradeoffs. All, (well most,) can work well and the choice depends on personal preference and working situation.
For my hypothetical no-thinking beginner, I'd suggest the Spyderco Medium and Extra-Fine ceramic stones, which should be fine for keeping any decent iron sharp and seem to have a minimal hassle factor. For the rare flattening, coarse repair or reshaping, etc. I'd just suggest sandpaper on MDF. (If you're rust hunting, making major mods, or really prone to major repairs then diamond "stones" become much more interesting.)
I'm pretty sure this doesn't qualify as a "power tool guy". (And cut it out. You're going to scare him before he's properly hooked! )
Oops, more info while I was typing speculation.
I think this is a rational approach and would get you the most optimal selection of planes for your needs. OTOH- stopping a project while you wait to get a tool isn't great. So...
I don't think there's a collection of planes where a block plane isn't useful. Maybe start with the block plane, which is the jack of all small tasks, and will handle a lot of things so you have something on hand. Then if, or when, you run into surfacing larger boards, fitting some specific joint, or whatever other task that overwhelms the Block plane in your shop, you can look into augmenting your set.
Good luck!
I MIGHT have a "spare" low angle block plane, a spare #5 jack plane, and either a spare #3 or #4 smooth plane. IF the OP wants to pay the shipping.....I can box them up.
All will be tuned up, and ready to go right out of the box. Let the OP try them out....and see how each fits into what he is doing.
Just a thought....
I would not pass up Steven's offer. I would start with a #5. Learn how to drive on that and the rest will be easier. Block planes are a great tool but you won't learn much about planing. A straight BD Jack will do most any job.
Jim
That's certainly true and worth remembering.
Personally, I find them to be an acceptable product. I have two. I wrote this review about four years back. I'm still very happy with that WR#3. In fact, they are on sale for 20% off right now.
Last edited by Frederick Skelly; 11-07-2017 at 9:52 PM.