Comments on: Smooth talking planes

By: Paul Sellers

Paul Sellers — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 10:17:00 +0000

Thanks for the vote there. I feel compelled to help my fellow woodworkers get to corre of their need and then they can get to other planes if, and I say if, they feel the need to. I have several Veritas planes and I really like them.

By: J Guengerich

J Guengerich — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 08:02:00 +0000

I agree 100% with you Paul.
And this is why; I’ve used hand planes for maybe three years, and not very successfully either. You have used them for almost 50 years and very successfully, to boot. My understanding is that you are trying to help out us guys that are new to hand tool woodworking by showing us how we can obtain tools at a reasonable cost. (And showing us the pros & cons along the way.) BTW, a Veritas No 6 went for $214 US today on ebay, I bought my Stanley No 6 for about $60 and it came ready to work, the gent must follow your methods because it is effortlessly removing thick or thin shavings. Don’t get me wrong, Veritas makes NICE planes/tools but the cost is higher, even in the used arena.
For people that are just beginning to piece together their tools, I would advise that they follow your advice and be patient, there are good deals out there in the used hand tool market,

By: Simon

Simon — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 17:38:00 +0000

Woodcraft is a power tool company and with the exception of the WR line of planes (Rob Cosman helped out with that product line), I wouldn’t shop for hand tools there.

By: Matthew Hickey

Matthew Hickey — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 15:46:00 +0000

Well put Mr. Sellers! I for one am tired of being lied to! Why anyone would make excuses for the lying of others is beyond me. It is deception and it is immoral. Period. It is one of the reasons why I wanted to be a woodworker to start with; honesty of materials, construction and craft. Words not often syncronous in our modern madison avenue marketed culture.

By: bmg

bmg — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 13:48:00 +0000

I take your overall point. But what the heck were you expecting for $14.99? Or even $30? Of course it’s going to be rubbish at that price. Unsuspecting people may fall for it, which is wrong, but if something sounds too good to be true…caveat emptor.

By: Marhkco

Marhkco — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 13:23:00 +0000

I hope you don’t mind if I point out that Stanley was (and is) a profit-making enterprise. As such the fact that it was cheaper to produce a thin and flat iron for its planes, I suspect, is what really drove the Bailey plane production. Were they good enough? Sure. Were they as good as the thick-ironed planes of the day? I doubt it. But, the higher profit and cheaper price of mass production was what it was really about.