100%! There are some other woodworking channels that I really admire, but, as a novice, it can be very frustrating with how quickly they cover a subject or assume you know exactly what they are talking about and move on. Been watching Rex for several months now and have never gotten frustrated or confused. I've learned a ton and gained confidence. I am actually finishing projects and accumulating tools and different types wood. This channel is my favorite! Thanks Rex! 💚

You can tell Rex is on a whole 'nother level just by the way he has to wear hearing protection during hand planing (8 minute mark). Jokes aside, I do love him to bits. Down to earth, pragmatic and cheap (in a good way).

those are headphones🤣

I was wondering why this ugly handled plane looked exactly like my Buck Bros plane. May I ask how you flattened the curve on the breaker? I have been futzing with this plane ever since I bought it and thought I was doing it wrong (Why in the hell isn't the blade coming out?) I'm so glad to have come across this video for if nothing else then scrub plane it is! thx all

Looks a lot like my Kobalt

@@EMWoodworking I was thinking that too, but the mine didn't have this problem, it was much better out of the box then my #5 from Tay tools, which cost much, much more.

This is exactly what I was thinking soft jaws so the chrome looks good this would have worked but to late know

That's exactly what I did when I bought my Great Neck plane from Home Derpo.

I think it’s not so much that the angle is wrong, it’s just that the curve is far too big. So if you just flatten it, you end up with a chipbreaker that is too flat.

@@taitano12 Buck Bros. Home Depot, 35 bucks. I'm guessing they change names once people catch on about these pieces of fine machinery. lol

@@JasperJanssen recreate the curve will be not a big issue.

I'm delighted that I've saved someone some money. It's really what I'm here for!

Just introduced a hacksaw in the video I'm shooting right now!

​@@RexKruegerwhich video was this?

Arnold Kotlyarevsky I picked up a HD hand plane. I followed Rex’s advice on how to fine tune it, and it cuts pretty well. As good as a Veritas? Probably no, but good enough for what I need to do.

Glad i went to Menards and picked up the Irwin Record instead

Makes a good scrub!

Man that's some luck! For your neighbor to have those planes and just GIVE them to you. Crazy.

@@RexKruegerRex have you seen the Spear&Jackson planes on Amazon? Everything from $20 block planes to $35 #6 planes, but it looks like a proprietary blade system. I haven’t seen anyone review them, so I was looking through some of your older videos to see if they were in here.

I don't like these screw mechanisms either.

It's honestly a GREAT scrub plane. I love it.

Seems like a good move.

I've been thinking about buying a Faithful No7 so it's good to hear positive things about it. Did you have to flatten the sole at all? I can't imagine that's easy on a plane that long.

I second that. Got myself a Faithfull #4 and #5 for dirt cheap. One has to put some elbow grease and thought into making them decent working planes, but I didn't find a better option if you live in a country where almost no vintage Stanley is ever to be seen and are on a budget. They've got decent weight, a working adjustment mechanism, a decently flat sole out of the box and a blade which is not pure crap. After 2 or 3 hours of work it was possible to get consistent paper thin shavings from the #4, the #5 also works fine after some work. I also got myself their #3 since it was on discount last week - on first look it is the first disappointment from Faithfull since it seems to be impossible to advance the frog to a point where the mouth opening is appropriate for a smoothing plane. But I will take a second look at it, probably there is something one can do to work around that shortcoming.

Richard Keel It did take a bit of work to flatten it, about 20 but I started on 80 grit and worked up from there right up to 2000. I have a lot of upper body difficulties due to some nerve damage that’s shutting my lungs down. Even I can say it isn’t hard work, because the plane is so big and heavy it does the work for you.it creates its own momentum and the weight on the paper makes it easy. I’d go for one knowing it needs work doing, but once it’s done that’s it forever. The blade is ground to about 30° so you don’t have to re profile it but it’s rough and needs flattening on the back and effort to polish it up, but it holds its edge really well. It’s obviously not my most used plane, but it puts a smile on my face when I do use it. I’ve just looked up how much I paid and it was £37.83 off eBay! Wow, even a better bargain than I thought.

@@markharris5771 We can't get these in the states. Bummer!

Viktor Frohmiller I’ve not tried any of their smaller planes. I saw a video by someone who loves their planes and he warns people off the block plane. He said it’s totally unworkable and he hates it. My #7 blade is fine but I'm thinking of getting Ron Hock blades for my smoothing #4, my #78 and my iron Jack plane. I know it adds about £30 to the cost of each plane but I believe it’s worth it.

I second that. My Kobalt is still my go to smoother, because I'm cheap.

I was going to make the same suggestion. They have block planes as well.

No, YOU and I can get used Stanleys. Many people cannot. Thus, I make these videos.

They don't sell them in the US. Drag.

I might get the Tay even at that price. It sure looks nice.

If it's off by 3/16 or thereabouts you will end up with the two notches running into each other... which means a lot of slop in adjusting (and may mean you can't adjust back without removing the iron)

Lever caps, irons (both the cap iron and the cutter) are very commonly switched between planes. Usually it's between planes of the same brand but you see hybrids like you bought on a semi-regular basis. In case you haven't heard of this yet planes made from mixed parts are often referred to as Frankenplanes :-)

@@DG-zl6ml Thank you DG. I'm always dubious of 2nd market but price got me here. I was worried it wouldn't be in good condition. Actually its functionality is fine and [with recently gained skills] I managed to hone a great edge, so its all singing and dancing. Shame its a frankenplane, which explains the deal I got but at least it works. Cheers mate.

@@negotiableaffections Any good car boots in driving distance of where you live? If there are you should be able to find an all-original plane in due course should you want one..... and you could reasonably expect to pay less for it than for a decent cup of coffee these days! Vintage chisels are another thing well worth haunting car boots for, plenty of them about and they often sell for just a quid or two each. Oilstones too if you like them or want to try them on the cheap.

@@DG-zl6ml Funny enough, we've just been preparing to pay a long overdue visit to our local 'boot sale'. I shall have my eyes peeled. Cheers

I might have got a bad one, but if the QC is this bad, I'm still not recommending this thing.

I would love to mod it, but it's cast pot-metal. Very fragile.

@@RexKrueger A machinist could easily lathe a custom adjuster. Might cost more than the plane unless it is a buddy.

Yeah, there's not going to be any custom machining on this cheap plane!

@@upsidedowndog1256 A new one could be easily made in the home workshop from mild steel, using hacksaw, files and drill. But it's a lot of work for a plane this cheap. And anyway a much easier fix is to modify the slot in the cap iron.

I could, but many of my viewers lack the tools, so I don't think it would help them. Hell, I could MAKE a new chipbreaker.

Clogging should be solvable Etienne. It's usually down to one of two things. The first is the front lip of the cap iron that needs to be fettled - it has to press firmly to the flat of the cutting iron with zero gap, which most cap irons don't do straight from the factory. It takes between 5 and 20 minutes of filing or rubbing on honing stones to sort out depending on how badly off it is, it takes a while because you have to do a bit and check, do a bit and check because if you remove too much metal it won't work right. The second is easy, move the frog back. Many woodworker have their frogs set back in line with the rear edge of the mouth and never move them from there (I'm one of those, I have never needed to move a frog forwards on any plane in 5 years to get it to work properly).

@@DG-zl6ml Thank you for your answer, i will try your suggestions.

It is true about most of stuff. This is how OEM business works. There are huge factory-cities in China, where thousands people works and live. Factory building one after another, so long that looks endless from the inside, and around them buildings for living, shops, schools, cinemas. All people wore the same uniforms and most people dream of living there anyway. Check video abut EUPA factory. And the cheaper brands that buy those tools and sell as "theirs" do not test them, they just take it from the shelf, design new packaging, add their logo and put on other shelf.

You'd be amazed at how many parts of the country (and the world) don't have any affordable Stanely planes. People need an affordable new plane.

FYI there’s a Footprint #4 on eBay right now for $40 including shipping. Every good as a Stanley. Their #5 is great too.

@@Tool-Meister Not having a go at you but you have to be careful of a blanket recommendation of the brand. Footprint planes were produced over a long period and while 60s and maybe 70s ones were quite decent quality was poorer, and variable, as far back as the 1980s according to reviews in the mags at the time. And it took a nosedive in later years, eventually becoming about equal with other budget brands :-(

I'm on it!

Eh, I don't know. I think we all kind of know how good those are. (Generally salvageable, but not great, even for the price.)

I think you'd want to press it in a vise to get an even result, but something along these lines would work.

Jason Small I was thinking the same thing.

It is likely hardened. Anneal it or even work it hot then try oil hardening it and temper it at like 500 twice.

@@robertlunsford1350 Cap irons are mild steel.

This can be improved or solved if you need to Chris. Various solutions are mentioned throughout the comments here, by me and others, my favourite being deepening the slot to allow the leading edge of the cap to come close to the cutting edge. You then need some sort of fill put in to return the slot to around the same size it was to begin with (a bit tighter than originally can be good).

Also the frog has two screws under the plane iron that allow you to push it forward. That worked for mine. (the Buck Bros Home Depot version)

Mine hit the door yesterday and Im inpresed with it so far.

@@JamesSmith-su3oz prime decided to completely screw up my order so bad that they took it upon themselves to cancel it and refund me. Reordered it and God Willing it'll come tomorrow. Any criticisms so far?

That's a lot of work for a plane this cheap.

@@RexKrueger Yup, totally agree. I mainly wanted to mention it for the occasional time the problem shows up on a decent vintage find fitted with a 3rd-party cap iron.

I just don't feel like this plane deserves that kind of effort. I'd rather find something that doesn't need a heroic fix.

Well, I'm gonna try one, so we'll see.

I haven’t done any fine woodworking since HS.

Yeah, that's just going to close the mouth opening, it won't affect how far the blade can reach. I'm not trying to be a know-it-all here, but I own about 100 planes and I'm pretty familiar with how they work.

Rex Krueger Opps, I can see how that may have been implied by my comment. 😳 Sorry about that. I was a little too excited that my cheapo plane was finally taking shavings. Unfortunately I think now the blade has slightly less support and may chatter. Anyway please chalk it up to me being an enthusiastic novice.

That was my experience too, except the yoke broke about a week after I got it all tuned up. No easy replacement part and shipping it back to Buck Bros would cost me more than I paid for it, so there warranty is essentially useless. Got some practice in sharpening the iron, but that's about it.

Since that first post, I've actually been able to make this into a decent smoother. I needed a different iron and chip breaker, but it has really been a good one after all.

I think a spare would work great!

It's possible Jim. The slot position in cap irons/chipbreakers varies, just have to try it and see. A mate of mine got a vintage Stanley recently with a third-partly iron set installed and the cap iron's slot was exactly the same as the one on this plane Rex just reviewed! It had to be set a fat 1/4" back to allow the cutter to project.

A chip breaker is just a cut up and bent piece of mild steel sheet. If you have the means to make things out of mild steel sheet, you could even make a chip breaker. Use the one that came with the plane as a pattern and just put the adjuster key hole in the appropriate position.

Sure enough, but many of my viewers and international. Ebay shipping kills them.

You might notice that I showed a vintage Stanley in this very video.

Stop the struggle. We'll find something better.

Way too much effort for this thing.

You might notice that I showed a vintage Stanley in this very video.

I totally agree, but if the QC is this bad, I cannot recommend the plane.

@@RexKrueger I completely agree, you don't want your viewers to get a tool that does not meet the standards you are saying it has.

I think the best fix is just to find a better cheap plane.

Rex Krueger Fair point! Much more in keeping with the theme of your series that way, too. I’ve really enjoyed the series as well.

If you recall that review, I had trouble using that plane and it doesn't have adjusters. I'm looking for something with all the features I use.

If you have the equipment to do it evenly (like a good machinist's vise) then that would probably work. But if the chip breaker edge gets a curve to it, then you're going to get a lot of jamming.

Ahhhh... very good to know. Thanks!

Also, i expect that if you flatten the hump out on the chip breaker, enought to get the lenght needed, it will likely loose too much rigidity

I was thinking the same thing while watching! Rex, with your skills & ingenuity, I'm sure you could make that work. Thank you for the great content!

ACTUALLY... I was thinking of a Dremel and a Mig Welder... First, take a stone-tip with the Dremel (or similar rotary "hobby tool") and grind off the chrome around the adjustment hole. While you're at it, go ahead, and dabble at roughing the surface IN the hole and around it on the "under-side"... just to be sure you've got good clean metal there to work with. Don't forget to wipe down and remove all the dust... clean, Clean... CLEAN... Then, without too much skill or hell to play, hold up the face mask and jab the mig probe into the thing... Just "gorilla weld" it full of hot metal... jab-spatter-jab-jab... pfft... nothing special. Okay... for those who are concerned... It's worth pointing out that you SHOULD absolutely gob some "nozzle jelly" into the tip of the mig-welder for every job. This prevents the wire from getting melted down in the nozzle and while it does make a bit of mess in the work, it ALSO prevents you from buying up every stupid nozzle fitting for a wire-feed welder in the county. Trust me, there's nothing more irritating than not being able to work because you've welded your welder shut. (been there, done it, hated every minute of agony) Next, just as the descriptive suggests, jab at it in short bursts... Take the extra time and patience to gob in small bits of hot metal, so you build up the filler... AND finally, no. It really doesn't take a whole lot of skill at welding for this kind of thing. You load the thing up with metal, and go back to the Dremel again... Worst case of overloading (you'll notice before you're there) only means you may want or need to borrow an angle grinder and a disc (the discs cost about a dollar a piece) to shave away the excess. Mostly, you really ONLY need to be as flat as possible on the "under-side", where it mates with the iron... so you actively prevent chatter. The outside, just needs to be flat (ish) enough to allow the cap to press everything down. SO finally, we're back at the Dremel, and after "cleaning up" (smaller tools make smaller headaches in clean-up...btw)... You can fit a metal cutting bit in the thing (yep, they take small drill bits nicely, too.) and after marking out the hole in the new position, attack it like a mortise in wood. drilling a series of holes INSIDE the layout, and then using the stone bit(s) as necessary or even resorting to needle-files to "join" those holes together to make one large "shapely" hole... perfect for fitting to your adjustment doo-dah... Not that I'd recommend running out to buy a brand new tool just to gob the thing full of hot metal and run angle-grinders and dremels all over it just for kicks... but... you do what you have to do with whatever you get. ;o)

Started watching all of rex vids (great vids by the way) and was like, ok I can do this......if only this video had come out before I purchased this exact same plane and just thought it was me not doing something right $37 bucks won't break me but it sure left me disappointed and feeling dumb oh well we all gotta learn some how

@@hugoromero8414 I caught the last video where he introduces this plane and he said "will review". I am glad that I waited. Rex makes learning about new ideas real interesting, practical and fun .

@@hugoromero8414 It's not you. The plane is no bueno.

@@edwardleroy7648 Thank you!!