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(11-01-2016, 07:58 AM)DaveinOhio Wrote: Now that comment left me a bit confused about your thoughts on the quality of the WR planes. The first and last sentences seem to contradict each other.
Dave
Maybe I should have said the fit and finish of the LN and LV planes is way better than the WR plane, but the design and function of the WR is less of a gap. The WR adjustment knob has a bit more play than the LN knob, but most reviews that compare the two find the WR is a decent plane. No lifetime warranty on the WR plane. A quick look at several reviews of the WR and they are all consensus that it's a decent handplane. One reviewer compared the WR No. 3 to a LN No. 4 and in the end, couldn't tell the difference in the surface the planes left behind. Both produced equivalent shavings. Both had flat soles. The WR blade took a bit longer to prep than the LN. A properly tuned Stanley would perform as well, and cost a lot less (see Admiral's post). Paul Sellers reviewed a WR (by a different name - same manufacturing source), and found it a very good plane, but also said it performed no better than a properly tuned Stanley.
Still Learning,
Allan Hill
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Just curious to see if anyone has purchased these yet? They are selling the No 4 and block plane in a set for $200. I looked at the WR planes too and these would be my first planes. Thoughts?
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Have a few Woodriver planes, along with many LN and Stanley, and my WR 5 1/2 is one of my every day users. The blades and cap irons are excellent, but I don't like the shape of the rear tote on the 5 1/2 , but it was simple enough to remove some material. No they are not as nice as LN but most already know that....
However as bench planes the WR can't be beat within their price range, but would recommend saving your money and buying LN or LV block planes.
Rob Cosman uses WR planes for most things, and has some very good YouTube videos of setting them up right out of the box, highly recommend his tutorials!
Regards,
Andy
mos maiorum
-- mos maiorum
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It would be worth knowing if the Bench Dog planes are just plain cast iron or if they're made of ductile cast as LN, Veritas, and WR. The Rockler info just says "cast iron". Big difference.
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12-11-2016, 04:15 AM
(This post was last modified: 12-11-2016, 04:16 AM by KlausK..)
Probably a good retailer would advertise with ductile cast iron if the plane body really had this feature. So at the first glance my guess would be, that the body is just cast iron. BUT since I'm nearly sure that the plane has the same roots as the Rider plane, it might be of ductile cast iron. The Rider plane is advertised this way.
http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-rid...e-ax945300
Perhaps it would be a good idea to question this to Rockler themselves.
Klaus
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Another thing we should all remember; a plane is nothing more than a jig to hold the iron cutting edge. Cutting edge has to be sharp. Chipbreaker must be tuned properly. Perfectly flat sole is great, but if your toe, heel and mouth are coplanar, you are in business. LN and LV work out of the box. These likely will need a bit of attention to the iron and chipbreaker, presuming the frog is properly seated. You are likely able to do good work with these, but IMHO no better than with a vintage Stanley with an aftermarket iron (which in my experience gives you 95++% of a LN or LV, which I happen to view as the gold standard for regular bench planes).
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Rob Cosman reviews the WR 4 1/2:
Rob Cosman Review WR 4 1/2
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Isn't he connected with Woodcraft financially?
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Thanks all for the thoughts.
Rob does do work with WC...I have heard him state that he does classes for them now and then. That tells me that he does get paid from them. He was not really "selling" hard in the video but the fact that he looked at it and said it was pretty decent is just about the same.
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In the beginning of the video he states rather forcefully that although he does have a financial relationship with Woodcraft, the review of this plane was done on his own initiative and without compensation. From all I can tell, Cosman seems like an honorable man, but as the saying goes, YMMV.
I found the review thorough and comprehensive even though I do not own any WR planes or plan to own any of their planes. All of my hand planes are either vintage Stanleys, Lie-Nielsen or Lee Valley models.
