Block Plane Shootout - One Plane to Rule Them All | Hand Tool Shootout

[@RidgidRon]

I like the Atlas 46 gear hanging up in the back ground-big fan myself. Good Review.

[@MrFritzzz666]

Lie-Nielsen No. 60-1/2RN Low Angle Rabbet Block Plane with Nicker

[@hullinstruments]

Great video and very informative! Regarding The cheap junk plane you showed.... I agree all of the other ones in your video are definitely more desirable. However, if that’s the only thing folks have,...... they can be tuned and set up to work great! 20 years ago or so......when I was in middle school and first starting to get into woodworking… A family friend set up one of those cheap junker planes. He probably spent two hours flattening the soul, cleaning everything up… Making sure the iron contacted the body properly. Honed the blade to the proper angle and taught me how to keep it sharp. That was one of the tools that got me through several years of woodworking as a young teenager. And if they’re set up properly they can definitely work for folks! Another example of cheap tools… The five dollar set of woodworking chisels sold by Harbor freight… I got a hold of a set when I was about 15 years old. The steel was decent actually, however a few years later when I was about 18… I tried my hand at rain heat treating the steel using directions in an old Blacksmith book. I just use a blowtorch, a magnet, and then tempered it in my toaster oven. Took a few tries but it came out great… And I proceeded to re-harden the entire set. I refinished the stock wooden handles and shake them a bit… And that set of chisels took me through high school woodshop, woodworking after high school, and I use them full-time eight hours a day until I was about 25 in my guitar making business… And I could afford to buy premium tools. I still use those chisels and a lot of the cheap tools that I started with… I use them all on an almost daily basis. Especially in an “iffy” position where I might chip the blade on one of my nicer tools or I’m not totally sure about what I’m doing. I would like to add, that great quality planes and other tools can be found for the same low price. It might take a little bit of poking around online, and junk stores, antique shops, yard sales and what not. Start asking people that you come in contact with every day like coworkers or friends. You will get your hands on some great quality tools in a hurry for free or very cheap. Like a block plane for example… I’m sure you can find an old Stanley for under $10 heck probably under five dollars. As long as it has enough of the blade left and isn’t too damaged… You can tune it up and have it cutting like butter for generations. If you have a local scrapyard that allows visitors… Check with them on a regular basis. A few of my local scrapyards constantly have hand planes, handsaw‘s, and all other types of goodies. It’s best to get by there every day or two even if only for a few seconds. Try to be nice to the employees and maybe bring someone a milkshake or something… You could literally stock a whole woodworking and metalworking shop with power tools and everything within a year or two. I have a beautiful Bridgeport milling machine that was brought to the scrap yard… I have all kinds of incredible things I found in there. And out of all the great stuff... the best value is in the accumulated small hand tools and accessories that I’ve gotten for cheap or free.They may be a bit rusty and need a bit of love… However they will be almost free considering most scrapyards sell iron for $0.30 per pound. A block plane probably doesn’t weigh more than a pound so you’re looking at under a dollar. Hope this helps someone and don’t let finding and setting up quality tools keep you from trying woodworking. Honestly it’s probably the most fun part anyway! Give it a shot!

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

I don't know how to go into any more depth than this. Glad you enjoyed the video.

[@ZeeFrankensteel]

Read everything , nicely written and grea ideat about scrapyard. Never thought about retempering cheap chisels, to make them better. I'm mostly a weekend tinkerer and like you find that putting life back in older tools really makes great users. For me, it started out with axes as I have a forest land and would make my own hand hewed logs. I did have a few 100 year + axes. At one point, it depressed me as I knew all the original owners were deceased and I was just seeing them gone by! when using the axes. So I then bought new premium specialty axes, having even had 2 hewing axes forged in Latvia . I was now the original owner of these new axes. Felt nice te be the first user. Have about 10 vintage axes, 8 new ones (all have different functions like planes and chisels). A balance of old and new to keep me sane! If Iwere to do it again, I would start with the old ones again, as you learn to get them back to life, regrind, sharpen, also nice to see how they were functionally designed. All in all, as you surely know there are different schools of thought. Some say start with great quality tools so you know from the start how they feel. Others, say to upgrade as you go along. I guess each personnality finds how they want to go about it naturally.

[@radiusnorth1675]

To people new to woodworking there are to different "styles" of block planes in this mix. The most useful ones are the LOW ANGLE block planes with bed angles of about 12 degrees.

[@Thom4123]

My latest block is my favorite it's a L/N rabbeting block plane. For dialing in tenons it's so sweet. But I still love my $30- Stanley low angle block plane. And in the future I hope to add to this list. It's truly how good you get at sharpening. Awesome video looking at several planes.

[@gibtsnocheinenfreien]

Simply awesome video. Thank you very very much!

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

Thanks so much!

[@YouCanMakeThisToo]

A shoulder plane, I could really use one of those. Or at least just really want one. Great shoot out!

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

+YouCanMakeThisToo thanks Caleb! I need one too.

[@travisreese7229]

Rick, shootouts are your forte. Between chisels and saws I have found your way of classifying and describing the most clear and unbiased I've seen. You show not only the pro and con but inform a user who makes a lower end choice how to get the best from their investment. Many reviewers scale their description to the type of work they prefer or teach: i.e. high end guys with high end results only review high end kit. There is something to be said for that angle, but if you are the everyman making your first choices, I prefer your perspective.

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

+Travis Reese thanks so much for the thoughtful feedback Travis. I will really take that into consideration.

[@jackbrennan3625]

My block plane was found in church basement wall during a remodel, Don't even know what brand it is. Come to think I need to sharpen the thing. Nailed it again Mr. Rick.

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

The holiest of holy clamps. I bet it takes heavenly shavings. Thanks for watching!

[@jackbrennan3625]

Not with a dull blade haha.

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

Well of course not, sharpen that bad boy up.

[@jimbo2629]

I bought an £11 block plane on eBay. It was advertised as exellent. Of course it wasn’t. I sorted out the bed with my milling machine and flattened the sole and replaced the blade. It’s as good as the mid range planes and is the right size and comfortable. For serious work I use a Stanley number 3 instead. I think having a superb block plane is superfluous. I have a rebate clock plane but the blade edges make it less comfortable.

[@MoGiMaL]

Yes, what I was hoping for was the mid grade - ish block plane, Stanley, Vs these expensive ones.

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

The Kobalt is a pretty nice plane for the money. Just needs a lot of tuning.

[@ronhau1542]

Skew block plane from Veritas is hard to beat for the money.

[@daphlavor]

I have a Stanley 220 that was in my grandfathers tool box. It works well as I am just starting to learn about hand planes, the ins and outs, and adjustments therein. I have had my eye on a low angle plane , and this video has made my mind up to go with the DX-60. Thanks

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

+daphlavor I love mine!

[@oakenarm]

My 1st hand plane was a Stanley Sweetheart 60 1/2 block plane. Still one of my go-to tools.

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

+oakenarm it is a great tool. That is why it has been copied so many times.

[@738polarbear]

Personally I prefer my veritas Apron plane . Magnificent little plane . more maneouverable than any block plane.

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

That is a fantastic plane. I always find myself reaching for my Veritas planes, they just feel right.

[@douglasanderson7260]

Good video, I have often though about replacing my block plane, I have a taytools plane that I got on Amazon, I got it when I was first building up my collection, but I do not use it very much. I had to do a bunch of work to get it to a working state, flattening the sole and getting everything setup correctly. I often look at the veritas low angle block plane but still have not pulled the trigger on it, since I kind of realize that I do not use a block plane all that much. For much of the work that a block plane does I tend to grab one of the different tools.

[@extreme.4576]

Great info!!! I still have my first new block plane I ever bought it's a Buck Brothers. I still use that plane a lot but my new Lie Nielsen adjustable mouth block plane is the greatest block plane I've ever used. Thnx Again

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

They are pretty amazing. This shootout just scratches the surface. So many good blocks around.

[@watermain48]

Nice comparison Rick, thanks for sharing it.

[@christopherharrison6724]

Thanks great review I have a low angle block plane coming made by quangshang will give it a try and let you know.

[@joshuarainey4940]

You keep doing these videos you won't have much arm hair left. Great video though love learning these things.

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

+Joshua Rainey always gotta test your sharpness, we'll when you are shooting video anyway.

[@areuaware6842]

Nice review! I find myself using my block planes less and my smaller "Apron Planes" more these days.

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

Ya I dig mine, I use it all the time

[@Badgerworkshop]

Interesting and some lovely looking tools.

[@oldmtnwoodworking]

Excellent shootout. I'm with you on the "mid-range" planes. I would like to see how a decent Stanley stacks up. Love your video style too.

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

+Old Mountain Woodworking thanks so much. I hope to revisit this with a classic and a Modern Stanley plane.

[@thatseventiesman3865]

I would buy a Stanley or the DX60 because they are versatile and reasonable to good quality planers.

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

I love my Dx60, I don't do enough tenons to warrant one of the specialty planes

[@shonuffisthemaster]

thanks for the informative video. i think the cheap planes could have been left out as theres almost no point in comparing them to the high end planes, but good video overall. im a handyman but have been doing allot of doors and such lately. i was looking for a block plane specifically that i could plane into corners with, because sometimes the door stop needs to be adjusted and i dont want to pull it off and re nail it, and also one that has a fence for planing down edges. seems like the veratas skew would be my best bet. it was helpfull to see it compared to the lie neilson as thats the other one i was considering

[@davidervin7345]

If I could buy any plane I wanted I would buy a Cessna. A great review. Seriously, it should be blade (how thick, sharp), and throat and adjustability. Also how well the blade stays with the body. Or, does the heaviness of the blade not seem to matter?

[@southbendkid]

I've yet to find a Stanley 9 1/2 or 60 1/2 where the adjustable mouth seat is parallel to the plane sole. The mouth piece will only be co-planer with the sole in the position it was originally ground in. After scraping the sole flat I scrape the mouth piece seat parallel to the to the sole. Then I scrape mouth piece mating surface flat. Of course, now the mouth piece is below the sole. I place a brass shim between the mouth piece and its mating surface to bring the mouth piece slightly above the sole. Then I rescrape the assembled plane. Now the mouth piece will be co-planer with the sole in any setting.

[@m.d.e.845]

Good video!

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

Thanks!

[@FredMcIntyre]

Thanks for the info! 👍

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

No Problem Fred!

[@HandToolRescue]

I think you've actually found the worst block plane I have ever seen.

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

+Hand Tool Rescue ya that 5$ one is shotty as hell. I got it as part of a lot.

[@ColeTrain17]

Im a homer for Lie Nielsen but I like that veritas

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

+Cole Wyatt I am glad you have come to terms with that. It is like McLaren vs. Ferrari, one is engineering on an established principle to make something better, the other is trying to make a bright red version of something that has always worked.

[@joshuamacdonald4913]

I dont mind a well tuned cheap block plane (i dont use block planes often), but im sure i wouldnt care for a stamped one like that. As far as an open mouth goes I have an unknown one, its identical to a german made one I have, that acts like the moth is closed when useing it. I also have a 3rd similar to the other cheap one. I spent $1 or less on each but most of the time I use a #4 or a chisle for these tasks.

[@MintStiles]

They have trouble keeping the Veritas in stock. Just got mine today. It is just... sexy.

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

I do love that plane

[@MrBeefMode]

Awesome match up! You got me interested in veritas block planes now. I'd like to see how it compares to my stanley #65 low angle, it's a bit on the older side

[@manimazinani8331]

FYI the Veritas Skew Block Planes can have a fence and a depth stop added...

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

Ya, the Lie Nielsen comes with one though which is nice.

[@leroy5007]

I bought Cobalt block just for the hell of it, to see if I could true it up. save your money buy a 12-pack instead.

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

ha! Agreed, it is fine but not a precision tool. Good for a carpenter or someone on site fitting cabinets or doors.

[@ihadabadday7709]

If I were buying a plane today it would be the NX60. I already have about 10 block planes...don't tell my wife!!!

[@mikesmicroshop4385]

Actually Lie Nelson has a set of jaws for their sharpening jig that will do skew blades!~!

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

Ooohh, I need to check that out? I wonder if Veritas will make a skew jig for theirs. Might change my mind.

[@mikesmicroshop4385]

Here is a link: www.lie-nielsen.com/nodes/4239/honing-guide

[@shonuffisthemaster]

intresting comparison. id like to see some less expensive, quality vintage block planes however. ive always thought these were a much better deal than things like the cobalt. they can usually be had for less money and both need to be tuned / flattened anyway. also, the edge your using is straight off a dmt xxf? id say those quality planes deserve a more refined edge than that.

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

+shonuffisthemaster nah, that was just for camera. Check out my full sharpening video. I power stropped them after that. They could've split hair's hair.

[@shonuffisthemaster]

Wood.Work.LIFE. the chisel sharpening video? intresting power strop i might have to try that

[@robertbrunston5406]

Thank you.

[@fulbabumia6581]

I also want to take it. Please tell me how I can take it

[@101stuey]

Interesting video but a little pointless as a comparison, the selection of planes are not like for like ,the skew planes are not block planes.

[@mylesjohnston8759]

Stu 101 they are still block planes and they can do the same thing often skewed planes are better because it gives the effect of squeeing the whole plane without removing reference surface

[@FabianRomano1]

What do I do when I run out of arm hair ?

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

you know where I am going to go with this...

[@GeeDeeBird]

To my ears, the difference between the LN and the Veritas was largely sharpening.

[@kingputer8]

What type of blade was on the Veritas one?

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

PMV11

[@daddio159]

I think you have your skews backwards.

[@georgewest153]

Absolutely agree with Stu 101. Pointless as a comparison piece. Apples to Oranges to toothpaste. Not even sure if any points made were valid, with exception the El Cheapo is a steaming pile of...

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

They are not all winners, I try to find some interesting tid bits in these shootouts so didn't just want to do all the standard planes but more expose people to all the different things that are called a blockplane. Sorry if time feels wasted to those more informed, just trying to educate.

[@andreicharpentierquesada4530]

Im thinking to buy the lie nielsen low angle rabbeting block plane. What fo you think about? Will u recommend it?

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

Ya for sure! What do you want to use it for? That would be great for end grain but might have difficulties with curly grained hardwoods.

[@andreicharpentierquesada4530]

Wood.Work.LIFE. im considering it because im starting with western planes(i have some japanese but get some time set them and adjust) and im thining that for star would be great one low angle jack plane and the block plane(the block plane because can works like shoulder plane). I would like to make post & beam in Southern Yellow Pine. But also do other things(for that im considering buy some blades to have in differnets angles) Think you that is a good idea these two or you considerer thats there is a better choice?

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

I bought a #4 first but I think looking back at it a no 5 is a more practical idea. I think a block plane is a really good first plane or second plane as well. I recently brought bought the standard lie Nielsen 5.5 and I am loving it.

[@jackarcher3706]

I’m assuming you already made your choice, what did you go with and how do you like it? I have both, the LN rabbit block and low angle jack. The low angle jack is amazing, fantastic versatility. The rabbit block plane is good but would have gone with the standard block and a shoulder plane and not tried to use one for both if I had it to do again. Taking the blade in and out of a rabbit plain is not as easy as with a standard block, and because the tips of the blade go to the edge of each side it’s easy for them to catch on things. If you want a block plane that can be sharpened quickly and often, an adjustable throat and can be thrown in a pocket, go with the standard LN, veritas, etc rather than a rabbiting version. I have the LN skewed block plane reviewed in the video, love it as well, but partial to LN and bronze planes. I would get it over the rabbit block (no edges, bronze and just amazing to hold), but it is still bigger, not as easy to take the blade out to sharpen and heavier than a standard block.

[@minjiggaa2]

Did any companies sponsor this video and its products?

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

Nope

[@fulbabumia6581]

Bangladesh

[@mikesmicroshop4385]

Here is what a plane maker can do with a Cobalt block plane! kzbin.info/www/bejne/emPXZYd_na-Khsk

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

Exactly, look at how much material he too off that sole with a BELT SANDER. I am not arguing that it couldn't get good results. I just know you can get a 60.5 Stanley for next to nothing on Ebay and it is likely going to be already set up. I still bought it to figure it out, but it will need a lot more work before it enters my daily rotation. Maybe to clean up reclaimed wood?

[@mikesmicroshop4385]

Oh there is no doubt that he worked his behind off on it, but that being said it can be a decent tool. The Stanley that I have is a better tool to start, but it too needs a fair amount of tuning to get it to work well.

[@mikesmicroshop4385]

Well take a look at the video I linked above and you will see that you probably made the correct decision as the guy puts a LOT of work into getting one to give good shavings, and he makes plains professionally!

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

Thanks Mike, Ya he basically entirely re machines the thing.

[@lucasalati369]

Jeez what about adjusting focus on the camera?

[@2112kustoms.]

Woodriver low angle!!!

[@ashmanra1922]

aren't they made in China?

[@2112kustoms.]

@@ashmanra1922 probably, but they cut as good as the high dollar planes.

[@timback5279]

Stop putting the planes down on there soles 🤯

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

#triggered...its a wooden workbench :)

[@ericuglem6297]

Why? idiotic, taught by people who have never done woodworking, you are more likely to damage the plane blade and yourself by putting it on its side.

[@stevebettany8778]

What a comedy

[@aleksamaker8118]

Howdy

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

Well howdy!

[@adifferentangle7064]

Deliberately setting the LN plane so it looks harder on the end grain. Noob.

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

ouch

[@jacobeaston7807]

So you got 3 expensive planes and 1 cheap one and piece of trash and compared them....... whats the point? You could have at least got a plane that is medium cost and acted like we didnt know what the outcome would have been. I dont see the purpose of the video.

[@Teddy-zz6kp]

You dont use water on diamond plates

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

ya you do, to lubircate the stone, and keep the metal shavings in suspense, with a rust inhibitor. I like Windex or water with a drop of dish soap.

[@Teddy-zz6kp]

Wood.Work.LIFE. Haha obviously it doesn't work because you now have rusted diamond plates.

[@WoodWorkLIFE]

I need to clean them better after each use. My fault.

[@edvickery958]

Try Trend lapping fluid for diamond abrasive.

[@wardosworkshop7065]

@@WoodWorkLIFE how do you clean yours? I have rust on mine too...