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10-01-2019, 01:05 PM
My Fine Woodworking arrived, and I thought I saw an ad on bunch of shining L-N tools...as it turned out, they're all Rockler's new planes (Bench Dog).
https://www.rockler.com/bench-dog-tools-...lder-plane Simon ▼ 
10-01-2019, 03:11 PM
I would pass on these. Bench Dog is now owned by Rockler. They may be sourced from India, which has a reputation for even less quality than the WoodRiver branded planes from Woodcraft (think Groz and Anant). They are not exact clones of Lie-Nielsen planes (LN doesn't even have a patent on any of their bench planes). The manual is generic for all Bench Dog planes, and has precious little information in it about the parts, etc. I tried to see if I could find an Indian or Chinese plane that looked like the Bench Dog offerings, but I couldn't find an exact match. The body castings look unique and the totes are not the same wood. The screw on the totes to the 4-1/2 and larger bench planes protrudes above the foot of the tote, which will likely cause great discomfort during extended sessions of planing.
This Woodworkers Journal Review is more like an advertisement. They don't mention a single thing about how the planes perform in real life. https://www.woodworkersjournal.com/bench...nd-planes/
Still Learning,
Allan Hill ▼
10-01-2019, 03:45 PM
(10-01-2019, 03:11 PM)AHill Wrote: I would pass on these. Bench Dog is now owned by Rockler. They may be sourced from India, which has a reputation for even less quality than the WoodRiver branded planes from Woodcraft (think Groz and Anant). They are not exact clones of Lie-Nielsen planes (LN doesn't even have a patent on any of their bench planes). The manual is generic for all Bench Dog planes, and has precious little information in it about the parts, etc. I tried to see if I could find an Indian or Chinese plane that looked like the Bench Dog offerings, but I couldn't find an exact match. The body castings look unique and the totes are not the same wood. The screw on the totes to the 4-1/2 and larger bench planes protrudes above the foot of the tote, which will likely cause great discomfort during extended sessions of planing. They've been selling these types of planes in Australia for awhile now under the brand name Rider. https://www.finetools.com.au/products/ax...hand-plane Long story short, if you have enough money, you can have your own brand of planes. 
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10-01-2019, 05:40 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-01-2019, 05:48 PM by Bill_Houghton.)
(10-01-2019, 03:45 PM)mvflaim Wrote: Long story short, if you have enough money, you can have your own brand of planes. Watch the magazines for my new line of "Bill's Best" planes. Mine, unlike those cheap imitations, will be made from unobtainium that simultaneously weighs next to nothing so your arms don't get tired in long planing sessions and has plenty of mass to power through knots and tough grain, AND will feature revolutionary self-sharpening irons made from PM-V42 (definitely the answer). As to the Bench Dog* planes, let's keep in mind that LN's designs are heavily based on designs from Stanley (the Bedrock bench planes), Preston/Record planes (shoulder planes), and perhaps some other makers. So Bench Dog, WoodRiver, and those folks are imitating an imitator. ------- *Why no bench cat tools? ▼
10-02-2019, 07:37 PM
(10-01-2019, 05:40 PM)Bill_Houghton Wrote: Watch the magazines for my new line of "Bill's Best" planes. Mine, unlike those cheap imitations, will be made from unobtainium that simultaneously weighs next to nothing so your arms don't get tired in long planing sessions and has plenty of mass to power through knots and tough grain, AND will feature revolutionary self-sharpening irons made from PM-V42 (definitely the answer). Bridge City already makes those planes.
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