066 - Luban Rabbet Block Plane first look

[@brianbuildsstuffau]

I have a couple of Luban planes and I love them. From my very 'hobbyist' perspective they are streets ahead of anything you can buy in any of the big name hardware stores. Thanks for the video. All the best, Brian.

[@MarkSWilliams27]

Thanks for mentioning that the Lubans, other than the blade, are the same as Wood River. Interesting.

[@philbeaumont6650]

Hello sir Knight. As a compatriot, I am faced with the same dilemmas when purchasing tools here in the great down-under. I have the extra burden of being new to this craft;so I rely on those of you who are generous enough to share your knowledge and experience with me.. Thank you for your time and effort. I will give this plane a place among my tools. Regards Phil

[@timothyades9983]

I bought one of these planes in the UK under the same brand name. I can confirm that the build quality of these planes is very good. They maybe don’t look as pretty as the LN or Veritas planes, but perform very well. I did however have a small problem with mine where the mouth opening was so tight, that I had difficulty getting the plane to take a cut without the shavings getting clogged. I could have easily used a file to open the mouth a little, but chose to sell it- which I now sorta regret. I also own a low angle jack plane from the same brand, which is a fantastic plane - easily better than any of the old Stanley’s i have restored!

[@EditRoom2012]

Firstly, great to find another local woodworker putting up great videos. Keep them coming Paul. I've got the Veritas and the Luban block plane and I find no real difference in functionality between them. The tight mouth of the Luban can be a problem if you want a deeper cut but these planes aren't really designed for deep cuts. I do wish the mouth was adjustable. I also find the blade hard to sharpen but I think that's just me. Anyway I use it all the time. It is a great block plane. Cheers.

[@linkert810]

Follow up, follow up, follow up! Four years later, do you still have it, are you using it? If it was stolen would you purchase it again? That kind of a thing. I'm trying to put together a minimal type workshop (apartment, need to lug everything outdoors) and any tool that does multiple jobs reasonably well is a win! I'm concidering going for the "JUUMA" version of this plane which is sold in Europe. I've seen that the LN rabbet block plane is aparently "finicky" to adjust.

[@SharpEdgeWoodworking-UK]

Enjoy it Paul. I have exactly the same one....though mine are branded as Qiangsheng here in the UK. Ive been using mine today in face and I absolutely love it. I also recently picked up the regular LA Block and the Shoulder Plane which I have reviewed on my channel...and both are also very good. Though I dont own one, I recently tried a Wood River at a woodworking show which too felt equally as nice. I would certainly endorse these tools over an old Stanley/Record.

[@roybailey1134]

I have a few Luban's too and they are nice block plane's, I have a Lie Nielsen rebate block plane, and I have a few veritas plane's too .

[@Igorfun]

Hi Paul, I have the same plane from Quangsheng and a number4, since 3 years, I bought them together and I 'm very pleased with them. The edge keeps up very well and I can take really thin shavings.Enjoy

[@JorgeAraujo]

Great review and its really great learning that this brand is rebranded as the woodriver planes, which I own and love... but looking online they offer more planes than woodriver, so I can get for example a #8 or this Rabbet block plane... thanks for the review.

[@armanmirk]

oh man. i'm learning so much from your videos.

[@rausl8740]

Hows this plane going? What do you think of the blade - does it hold an edge well?

[@stevecollins9450]

Really good description, Paul. Thanks.

[@roni3425]

Nice review on this plane mate! I’ve got mine just for a week and it’s a pretty good quality concidering the price . The only thing what should have been better is the little too small wheel and the blade which is slightly broader as the plane bed itself in my case. But it cuts nicely and smooth.

[@kz.irudimen]

The iron is supposed to be larger than the sole on a rebate plane. It's a feature, not a defect :) Paul Sellers says on his blog: "The 2mm of extra width beyond the width of the plane itself creates a relief between the side edge of the cutting iron and the plane body without which the plane stair-steps away from the intended cut line with each and every subsequent cut or stroke of the plane."

[@bellrobert1978]

This is a great concept being two planes in one. Is there any drawback to a standard block plane?

[@taiqidong9841]

As with all rabbet planes you should watch out for the open sides. Cos' sharp as these come, you get nasty cuts just by inadvertedly brushing your hand or vingers on the side of these. So, I have a standard (Luban) block plane for the normal work and this one for rabbets and tenons. That way I'm allways well aware of whitch plane I'm working with. Oh yes, and I never put this one on its side for the same reason.

[@jimbo2629]

I use the Luban for fine work, Stanley for joinery and $10 Chinese to take off the arris. The cheapo Chinese has the widest mouth ever but it still works! I find the Luban planes heavier than I would like. I find the backlash in all adjusters really annoying. It can’t be that difficult these days with cnc machinery to virtually eliminate it.

[@craigmckinney2219]

The scratches on the bottom probably are not in the steel. I have noticed that new planes and other tools often have a coat of shellac or varnish/lacquer as a minimal protection against initial scratching. Often this is not noticed because the first step is generally to flatten the bottom... ergo the film is gone. If this is the case,your steel wasn't scratched at all.

[@davidjennings9253]

They are well made and good quality except for one feature. The particular cast iron used is far more likely to suffer from rust than for example the Stanley or Record planes. I purchased one in the winter time and left it in the wooden box it came in and after not using it for a couple of weeks found that there was rust on the sole and sides. When this was removed there was bad pitting which I have never suffered on my other planes. The actual performance of the plane after honing was excellent and the blade holds an edge very well and definitely benefits from being thicker than a Stanley blade, but you must be careful to protect the body from a damp atmosphere. Keep it well coated with camellia oil and it should be fine, but the pitting on mine is too deep to get out which is disappointing and happened so quickly.

[@fergusward237]

Now that you have had it for more then a year, could you please do another review? Cheer

[@TheWoodKnight]

My views on it have not changed

[@berniesr]

Thanks for the information and taking the time

[@hornetsting7982]

Great video Paul, thanks

[@ReddickDesign]

I have the low angle block plane and the shoulder plane from Luban and love them both, i know that the Wood River planes in the US are made in the same factory. Is is as good as a Veritas or a Lie Neilson, NO, does it do the job and do it well YES. I find the blade hold an edge well. So to all the people knocking chinese made tools, get over it! Thanks paul

[@TheSMEAC]

I’ve got the Lie-Nielsen Rabbeting Block Plane (No° 60-1/2) and wouldn’t trade it for any other block plane. I use it for 95% of all block planing.

[@hansverdel7571]

Nice (p)review! I too have one of these (branded as Juuma). With this one too the small mouth opening gets in the way. That's why i'll return to the Dictum (Quengsheng as well) model that has an adjustable mouth and is still very affordable. The first one broke when falling on a concrete floor. Otherwise they seem of equal quality.

[@TheWoodKnight]

+Hans Verdel I've actually found in the way I use it, that it isn't an issue. I could certainly see the use of a rabbetting blockplane AND an adjustable mouth block plane, or just a generally 'coarser' block plane. I actually have a spare blade, so I might just make a small wooden one with a larger mouth.

[@labrat7357]

I believe that you might have given this plane a better review if you had sharpened the blade properly. I have both the Luban and the LN rabbet block planes and they both perform similarly and far better than you showed the Luban to be capable of. The shaving your showed the plane producing would be representative of the maximum thickeness this plane should be asked to produce. It is capable of far finer work than you have shown.

[@robinalexander5772]

Hi I have the plane in video and for me it works well with a nice feel. Can I suggest you look at Clifton planes out of England sold by Fine tools Australia out of Melbourne. Fit and finish of these planes are extremely good. A 5 1/2 $579 in my opinion better than lie Nielson. Cheers from Tasmania

[@TheWoodKnight]

If I had the budget, I'd check out Clifton, LN or Veritas. Unfortunately, Luban is bang on that sweet spot for me. The LAJ/#62 is actually *really* killer for the price.

[@robinalexander5772]

The Wood Knight I paid $109 for the rabbit plane, I also brought 4 other Laban planes and fined them really good and yes don't cost a fortune. Cheers from Tasmania

[@christschool]

Paul, its quite easy to find pre-WWII planes in the US that are in very good shape. I'm not sure where you are looking, but it appears you're looking in the wrong places. I would be interested if that plane you have there has a flat sole, it doesn't seem flat looking at how it's sitting on your bench.

[@TheWoodKnight]

I'm not in the US, that's why I kept mentioning Australia... and yes, the sole is flat.

[@hightower2537]

+christschool idoit

[@christschool]

Hightower Ever heard of Ebay Hightower or the internet? I can buy anything from anywhere in the world.

[@TheWoodKnight]

+christschool And in the context of this, where I am in Australia, you may not realise that shipping from the US is a bit of a killer. 40USD ($53AUD) or so for anything is fairly common, plus the price of the tool. This plane was 81USD ($109AUD) and other than honing was ready to go, which compares pretty favourably to a sight-unseen-second hand tool that requires luck to make sure its not a complete bomb.

[@naturalfibre]

+Paul “TheWoodKnight” Jenkins ...did I miss something...when in Australia did we start rabbetting???...maybe I am just getting old....:)

[@kingoftheswing.2078]

nice clear review....cheers....

[@davidjanuszewski5020]

I assume that this type cannot be used for shooting, is that correct?

[@TheWoodKnight]

+David Januszewski it's not impossible, you can offset the blade to one side (ie away from the side thats down on the board), but I've not tried that. It'd create a more shearing cut

[@csle1962]

Great videos.

[@RadenkoPetkovicRPWOODWORK2015]

thanks for info all the best

[@roybailey1134]

You forgot about Clifton plane's they very very expensive but the quality is second to none, I have a few Clifton plane's from before Clifton changed hands, they have a stay set chip breaker and Bubinger handles and are green, the new Clifton's now don't have the say set chip breaker and the handles are walnut instead of Bubinger, they have cut down on the quality but not the price unfortunately , the first Clifton's are the better plane's, and are all Bedrock plane's very thick chip breaker and blad Iron's absolutely brilliant plane's in every way possible .

[@JgHaverty]

T10 is a great steel!! Nice :)

[@eternaldrive]

Hey Paul, Three and a bit years on and I came to the same opinion to you about the used market for planes in Australia. You really don't know what your getting yourself into with ebay. The premium stuff is a bit out of reach for me maybe if you do this for a living they make sense. Most reviews I have found say the Luban planes will work very well after you do minimal fettling.

[@TheWoodKnight]

I now have three luban planes (this block plane, #4 smoother, and most recently a low angle jack). I haven't had to do any fettling, just had to hone the edge of the blades. For the LAJ, I didn't even bother taking the blade to the grinder, just straight to water stones. They're great value for money

[@wermisstmisstmist]

There´s no nicker on the Lubans!

[@thatguythatdoesstuff7448]

Wow. What a ripoff. The LN Rabbet Block plane is $175 in the US. A $100+ markup is atrocious. -- I agree about your sentiment on the older planes. The demand became too great and they became stupid expensive. That and you never really know what you're going to get until it arrives. I don't even bother with eBay any longer. Veritas and LN are my only choices, because I know exactly what I'm going to get when it arrives at my door.

[@TheWoodKnight]

+Theball Player 175USD = 242AUD, shipping from LN to AU is ~50USD (~70AUD) (though it might be more than that - that was the price I was quoted for two chisels). That puts it at 312AUD. Bad exchange rate doesn't help, exorbitant shipping from any North American provider is also a real problem. The Luban (aka WoodRiver) at 109AUD or 79USD is pretty good value.

[@qqkk5581]

It took you almost 14 minutes to tell us that?

[@ashmajumdar8155]

I bought a luban rabbet plane. Blade was skewed , tolerances were rubbish. The plane does not cut at all. It is nothing more than a rubbish paper weight. Waste of money. I wish I had money towards a quality lie Nielsen

[@s0nnyburnett]

20 bucks or so for a used plane made in my hometown vs a lot more for a questionable chinese plane from who knows where made from who knows what? Sorry mate, no thanks. Flea market all day everyday till I die before I give the chinese any more of my money.

[@TheWoodKnight]

s0nnyburnett If you can get a plane for AUD20 that isn't a rust bucket and comes with all the parts, go for it. If like me, you struggle to find a usable second hand plane for less than AUD50 which would still need several hours of work to be rust free and flat, suddenly AUD100 doesn't look so bad. Its T10 (the chinese designation for W1) steel for the blades, and cast iron for the body.

[@s0nnyburnett]

Paul Jenkins Unfortunate, I feel for you. I don't know much about tools from Austrailia, were there any native tool manufacturers from the first half of the 20th century that left some treasure to be found? Or were they mostly imported?

[@TheWoodKnight]

There are some locally made that were good, some that were bad. I think a lot of it has to do with our population density - I wouldn't be surprised if the woodworkers in America would make up half the total population over here. As a result, locally made stuff didn't have the support to keep the businesses alive without cutting corners :(

[@elmohead]

If you want an Aussie made plane and can't find any, that sounds like a business opportunity to me.