Quangsheng/Woodriver Plane Review. Plus Budget v Mid Range v High End Planes.

[@davidjennings9253]

Hi John - There is no doubt that the Quangsheng planes are well made and a huge leap up from budget planes. They also have some advantages over the old Stanley and Record planes as they are Bedrock design which gives a bit more solidity and the blades are thicker too. You must watch out for any rust on the soles though, as they are made of cast alloy steel rather than cast iron. If you are unluckey enough to get any surface rust on them during the winter it is amazing how quickly it can penetrate the suface and leave some horrible pits. Whereas the old cast iron planes will discolour and leave staining from rust, it really eats into the alloy Steel. With the weather we have suffered in Britain the last few years you must keep the planes wiped over with Camellia oil or better still as I have this last year 'Plane socks' are a worthwhile investment. The other thing you can do if you are looking to save money is to buy and restore some old Stanley or Record planes and fit Quangsheng blades and cap irons which make a huge improvement. I cannot justify the prices of the modern plane makers and as my old S and R planes have served me well for over fifty years I didn't see any reason to replace them. New blades are a good investment though and makes you realise there is noth wrong with the old planes. All the best and stay safe - Dave

[@jerrystark3587]

I have an array of Stanley planes and spokjeshaves, two Lie-Nielsen planes, two Veritas router planes, three Veritas spokeshaves, and several Wood River planes. I use them all frequently. ... I upgraded all my Stanley planes with Hock blades and I am glad I did so. This made a real difference in performance, in my experience. I had to spend some time flattening the backs of the blades on my Wood River planes at the outset, especially a number 5, but the planes worked beautifully thereafter. I find them to be a great value and I recommend them without hesitation. My Lie-Nielsen 4 1/2 smoothing plane was a birthday gift from my wife. This plane worked well from the moment I unpacked and cleaned it. The fit and finish were incredible. It is the best plane I have ever used -- right out of the box. If I had any reservation, it would be that it is a bit heavy. It is less nimble for end-grain work. Yet, I do find that the weight helps it smooth the face of a piece of stock very nicely. Make of that what you will. My Lie -Nielsen low angle block plane (a gift to myself) is probably my favorite tool, period. It is always at hand when I am working in the shop. If I need a block plane outside the shop, I use my Stanley block planes. If someone needs to use or borrow a block plane, I lend them a Stanley block plane. Nobody else uses my Lie-Nielsen block plane. Ever. My Veritas router planes are excellent tools. The machining is exceptional and the performance is first-rate. They are much better made and much nicer to use than my Stanley router planes. Obviously, the Veritas planes are more expensive, but they are well worth it. They are designed better and work better. Same goes for Veritas v Stanley spokeshaves. I also replaced the plastic handles on my Stanley planes, including the router planes.. I made new handles of Bubinga and Brazillian Cherry, which look, feel, and work very nice. New handles are an easy upgrade for a good affordable plane that has plastic handles -- plastic handles are gawd awful to use and worse to look at. ... I think your assessment of the Quangshen/Wood River plane is very sound. When you compare these planes with those from Lie-Nielsen, the difference in machining is the difference between "Very good" and "Exceptional". In use, however, I think few people would be able to discern a meaningful difference in performance. (If Wood River made a scrub plane, I would buy it in a heart beat.) ... If you can afford an heirloom plane, purchase a Lie-Nielsen plane, by all means. You will never regret it. If you want a less expensive plane that will perform as well, consider the Quangshen/Wood River planes. You are unlikely to be disappointed.

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

The Lie Neislen planes are fantastic out of the box, if money was no object I would have the complete collection.

[@738polarbear]

Actually the best review I've seen John ,bravo.Keep it up boyo..

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Thanks will do

[@barts208]

Here in the US, a Lie-Neilson a #7 is $425 and the WoodRiver #7 is $348.00 so its not a big difference unless you get the WoodRiver on sale. The Lie-Neilson Jackplane is $245 vs WoodRiver $239. Of course the shipping is probably the killer for those outside the US. Nice video, thanks for sharing, I may have to look for a WoodRiver when they go on sale.

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

If that's the case I would buy the Lie Neilson every time but over here Quangsheng planes are half the price

[@justinsane332]

do yourself a favor and buy veritas or neilson

[@1999GGO]

When flattening the faithful, did you have the blade clamped in? else you flattened it without taking all the internal tensions into acount , to flatten a plane have it in working position just with the blade fully retracted into the body, the clamping presures actually twist the plane a bit.

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

I did indeed

[@linkinarmory]

Damn! That was plane school! Good info John👍🏼

[@jamesnderry]

Great video! A Lie Nielsen no 7 is $890 in Australia whereas a Luban 7 is only $400 so it's great to know it's a viable option.

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

They are half the price here to so Its a great option.

[@1pcfred]

@@JohnMcGrathManInShed I've seen old Stanley No. 7s for around $40 or so.

[@mattslater4605]

I also spent hours trying to flatten a Faithful no six. Still arched like a viaduct

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

They are cheap for a reason.

[@Annaisineire]

That's precision stuff John!!! Well done...

[@EddyCarroll]

Quality review, John - nice work as usual!

[@Bjornarp]

"you could drive a buss under that faithfull plane" hah! had me giggling

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

😂

[@MarkDennehy]

Lovely plane John. BTW, little detail - those curved sides on most bailey planes weren't there on a few bailey-pattern planes. I've a Record T5 plane which was made for schools (it's got a tapped hole in the sides for a handle so you can use it on a shooting board which is what I use it for) and it had flat topped sides. There were a few others as well.

[@jlmfoy365]

Hi John, I bought a Quangsheng no6 about 9 mths ago and I love it, Workshop Heaven are waiting delivery on the shoulder plane and spokeshave I want so I will have to wait for those. I have no qualms about recommending Quangsheng, terrific tools. Regards Jim

[@מעייןהמלבלבתחייםםםם]

I bought no 6 Luban and the quality can be noticed out from the box. The sole was almost dead flat- it took me 10 minutes to work on it!!!! The blade took me around 40 minutes of working- the angle was exactly 25 degree from the box and i finished with 40 strokes on the strap. The blade is very thick so for me it's a big plus, the chip breaker is top quality, the plane is very balanced and comfortable to work with.

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

They are not bad at all, I will certainly get some more Quangsheng planes.

[@MrJinga27]

Nice comparison and detail mate..

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Thanks 👍

[@GARDENER42]

I've just bought a Verum, which is made by Luban. Initial thoughts are it's very well made & took less than 30 minutes to fettle the lever cap, chip breaker & iron to my satisfaction. Ran over the sole edges with a #1,000 grit diamond stone to Depth adjustment is excellent, with less than 3/4 turn of lash from extend to retract (I've an Adjustar inbound from Rob Cosman to fine tune this). I've two old Stanley 5½ planes, as well as a 6 & 7, all with thicker, aftermarket irons & am looking forward to tomorrow, when I can get out to the bench & compare. I still want a Clifton 5½ though, even though they're twice what I paid for the Verum (Black Friday sale plus another 10% off...).

[@billlarrabee9436]

I have two planes my father had and they might be from my grandfather's time. One is made of hardwood and metal parts, the other is all metal. I will have to look but I might have more than than two. Anyway, you gave me an idea on how to put them into a useful shape. Great video!

[@justinsane332]

buy a granote tile from your hardware store, put down abrasive paper and flatten. that with a sharp blade will usially bring all planes to functional.

[@MCsCreations]

Pretty interesting, John! Great review! 😃 I'm going to take a look at those!!! Stay safe there! 🖖😊

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Thanks 👍

[@danhill8071]

I’ve got a Quangsheng 5 1/2, great tool, good blade, Then i dropped blade onto concrete😔, needed a spare blade anyway so put a Clifton blade and cap iron in it and it’s now a phenomenal tool.

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

They seem to be pretty good

[@robinalexander5772]

Very interesting.

[@Woodwork086]

Very happy with my lathe John got it today if it wasn’t for you I probably would have bought a crap one but you can not beet record power

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

good stuff!

[@lewisbutterfill1072]

Have you thought about making a miter saw station

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

It is on my list

[@BredaToon]

I have 2 Quangscheng planes (5 1/2 + 7) and absolutely love them. I'll be adding a #3 at some point. They are a massive upgrade from my old Stanley and Nooitgedagt planes.

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

They seem to be pretty good

[@brendanlenane2685]

I have a hand plane I found in a skip that I must try and fix up. Will be watching your tuning and sharpening vids a few times first.

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Cool, thanks

[@andi_baut_was]

Hey, Andi from germany here. I was nearly ready to by a Woodriver because of Rob Cossman's presentations but they are so expensive. I saw your Video then and thought that might be something for me. I by old Stanleys and Rekords in the UK. love them, but after Brexit..... Here is a forum discussion about the company name in china. is woodshop heaven the seller of these "Wood River". by the way, where are you located region, love you pronouncing if i could say that. I struggle some time with Sharpening and chattering with the old one's thats why i look for the "good RC Planes" Br. and i hope you will have a great summer upcoming with less rain. cu

[@davidosullivan3432]

I was looking into these planes I could do with an no7 . I must add my 2 cents John. I am predominantly using hand tools with a few years and if there is one valuable lesson i learned it’s about tool steel and how to sharpen. I have 01, A2 and Vertias PM11 but my favourite is the simple cheap high carbon blades. Why? Speed razor sharp in a minute. With does high end steel takes some work and will wear out that lapping paper in no time (been there) you really need water stones or diamonds for theses steels , lapping paper is excellent for high carbon Steel and will last . My set up is a Stanley no5 and no4 with a heap of spare blades sharpened with different cambers and angles depending on the work ahead, don’t get me wrong theses high end steel hold a great edges but with out the right gear to get there you will find yourself doing more sharpening than wood work . For example I hand a vertias low angle with a PM11 blade sharpened to 25 for a shooting board end grain and an 01 blade sharpened @ 48 + the low angle is 12= 60 for a super tear free finish , the rest of my blades are old Stanley That I can sharpen on the fly . Give me a faithful with a sharp blade over a lie Nielsen with a dull blade any day . I would strongly suggest watching the English woodworker “Get sharp” series ,

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Cheers David, its always good to hear about other people's experience. I use a secondary bevel so it makes sharpening quick, initial setup can take a bit of work but the 3M film does a pretty quick job on my Lie Neilson plane.

[@jimbo2629]

I use a Worksharp. Takes longer to walk to it than to sharpen the blade (almost).

[@thomaswilliams4694]

Are you sure it's the same as a woodriver Rob cossman compares a luban plane with a wood River and there are definitely some differences

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

I saw that video Rob did the Quangsheng is very like the woodriver it has the same lateral adjuster where as the Luban planes have a stamped metal one. They are all coming from the same place

[@jimbo2629]

My Qiangsheng number 5 has the most comfortable tote I have ever used. The plane is quite heavy. Exellent plane. Much less backlash than Stanleys. I had a Stanley that was poor for years till I discovered it was the same as your Faithful. I flattened it with my edge sander and it transformed it. That showed my edge sander was flat. The sanding belt wore away, but it was all cheap and quick. A getter blade and it is now an exellent plane. You could get the Faithful sole machined flat and put a better blade in It. Why didn’t Stanley reduce their backlash? It can’t be that difficult.

[@pete.b4197]

Thank you John! Good information this china plane and faithfull plane! And i rispects that you give neutral feelings for this planes!!

[@whittysworkshop982]

Just for reference..... good writing paper is about 4thou, newspaper is about 2thou, and a blue Rizla is about 1thou :) I got that from David Charlesworth :)

[@patbassman8251]

A feeler gage cost about $5

[@whittysworkshop982]

@@patbassman8251 paper costs even less 🤷‍♂️😂

[@tslicker1990]

Nice review, but you get what you pay for! Always remember the resale value on a tool!

[@Realism91]

Rob Cosman is the Canadian dealer.

[@1pcfred]

It figures that he'd be in cahoots with the Chinese.

[@joeyshofner639]

I was going to buy a Wood River #5 before the Covid-19 hit, now the price for one has jumped a hundred dollars, UGH!

[@JohnMcGrathManInShed]

Wow that's a big jump in price?

[@richardc6932]

Get your hands on a Canadian made Veritas in the same size and do another comparison. Quality of the Veritas line and price for us here in Canada is better than WR and less expensive than LN. The additional features of an adjustable sliding mouthpiece, centring screws for the iron and the ability to add an optional fence as well as customizable frogs of 40 deg. and 50 deg.,knobs and totes available to fit your taste makes it a no brainer. Without the proper feeler gauges the use of a bruised corner of note paper is not scientific.

[@craigevans147]

It was probably a reject because of the casting, bought and resold by Quengsheng. Or maybe Quengsheng licensed the patent. Or maybe they did what typically is done and all patents were ignored🤷‍♂️.

[@1pcfred]

Looks like where the sprue was ground off to me. Someone just dug in too much. The patent ran out on Bailey pattern planes over 100 years ago now. Patents are only good for 20 years.

[@craigevans147]

@@1pcfred except companies who hold patents tend to change the most minor of things so they can repatent it which is what I figured had been done. Glad to see such an awesome design able to be made by everyone.

[@richardsinger01]

You can’t patent a 100 year old design. If there is something innovative in the manufacturing process they could patent that I suppose.

[@robertfrost5020]

OMG couldnt keep up with how fast you speak :)

[@petertiffney4413]

If you get a quensheng plane from workshop heaven there tolerance rating is higher than Rutlands who also sell this model plane the plane body is ductitle iron not caststeel. The irons are 0.1 lie Nielsen will cost you 200 plus at least. But the quengsheng plane is worth every penny.

[@justinsane332]

well, when you buy neilson, you arent supporting an openly hostile nation which is a plus, and the service cannot be beat. you pay more for the quality, but also the garauntee for the life of the tool. Nielson service is top notch. my woodriver 5 has bad machining causing the lever cap to move when adjusting blade depth, and if i knew what i know now would never have bought one. pay more, support local, and have peace of mind that if ever the tool is damaged, it will be fixed free of charge. just my opinion.

[@antonia4722]

Faithful are less than a fifth of the price of the others!

[@billwarner5357]

It pronounced Lee not lie I before E when the sound is EEE

[@Exiledk]

I just bought a 62 from Axminster. I won't buy chinese again... ever.

[@justinsane332]

same.

[@patbassman8251]

You said Jointer plane , Us Brits / Irish, call it a Try plane , Yanks call it a Jointer.

[@richardc6932]

The Chinese manufacturers will copy anything for a price but not in quality .