Harbor Freight "#33" Bench Plane - I like it. Especially for less than $10.

[Nick Sorenson]

Well I picked one of these up this week during a trip to town and I think it was the best $7.50 (with a 20% off coupon) I've ever spent on a tool. I bought the Stanley (they call it a #4) at Lowes a few weeks ago and this plane is better. I also just picked up a Type 18 Stanley (1946 maybe) #4 smoothing plane. This makes curls just as well if not better. I'm quite impressed with it. It's got the dual knobs (one for each side) that have to be fine tuned to get the blade to cut evenly on both sides. At first I thought I wouldn't like this, but I put a little vasoline on the threads and it's smooth as silk and easy to fine tune. Once I have it set to take just a fine see through shaving, I tighten the chipbreaker screw down tight and it's ready for use.

The sharpening out of the box wasn't nice (just rough) but with a quick secondary edge I had it making nice shavings. After I could see it'd work well, I spent a couple hours and tuned it. I put a nice polished sharpening on the blade (80-2500 grit then buffed), flattened the sole (the closest I've seen out of the box), polished the sole, and a few other minor preferential things. But all in all, I'm happy to say it's working great. I used it to smooth some surfaces out of the planer today and it works easily as good as my original vintage Stanley #4. I'd like to try a better iron in it eventually but really, it cuts nice as is so why not leave it be.

Also interesting is that the exact plane is sold in Lowes under the stanley name for $25 or so and this one has wood handles where the Stanley has plastic. Nothing wrong with that necessarily but one more little detail that I liked about this cheapy. I was quite surprised.

http://www.harborfreight.com/no-33-bench-plane-97544.html

[James Scheffler]

I've been curious about that one. Let us know if the blade holds an edge ok.

Jim S.

[Zach England]

For what I spent on my favorite smoothing plane I could have bought almost 40 of those.

Just sayin'.

[Nick Sorenson]

For what I spent on my favorite smoothing plane I could have bought almost 40 of those.

Just sayin'.

No doubt... good planes are expensive these days, regardless, I felt this was a good value. Infact I almost bought a few more (still considering it) But... what would I do with them? I guess maybe a sharp backup when I don't feel like stopping to sharpen.

[Zach England]

The first hand plane I owned looked similar. I bought it before I was really into woodworking. It said "stanley" on it and came from Lowes for about $15 as I recall. I sharpened the blade freehand on one of those black oil stones you use in boy scouts. It worked ok for trimming my doors. When I got into woodworking and began to be curious about hand tools I flattened it and sharpened the blade properly and it worked pretty well. The two knurled nuts on either side of the plane are a logical and cost-effective way to adjust the blade.

That having been said I have no buyer's remorse over any of my Lie-Nielsen, Veritas or Bed Rock planes.

I harvested the knurled knobs and screws for a (still incomplete and probably abandoned) wooden plane project and threw the rest away.

[Peter Pedisich]

Nick,

That is a nice copy (from India) of this plane - see pic - I have 2 of them, one is called Brillant 300 and the Other is branded as a Kunz, and both say made in Germany. My understanding is that it was originally a toolbox or carpenters plane. The mouth on mine is wide like a mail slot, but I flattened the sole and sharpened the blade and it makes very fine shavings. I bet the HF 33 is even better - the castings look thicker! I find the spokeshave type blade is easy to adjust.
I bought mine for $8 plus shipping so you paid less! what a deal. I really like the handles on the HF. India is a respected as far as iron castings go.

Pete

[Tony Zaffuto]

On a lark a few years back, I bought one of these, to see how much I could make it perform. In short, I got it to perform damn near as well as anything commonly available, including any LN, LV or Clifton.

First, I surface ground the sole and then the sides. Next I touched up where the blade bedded to make sure contact was full. After that, I purchased a blade for it from a guy over at Woodnet (blade was 1/8" thick). Finally, I touched up the cap to give even pressure to the blade. Allowing for about $30.00 for the new blade, and about $30 if I were to put a cost to grinding, and another $20 for time to tune other portions of the plane, with the cost of the plane itself, I had a very high performing plane for well under $100.00, that could take sub .001" shavings easily in the cherry I typically work (measured with a micrometer and not calipers).

I also stripped the finish off the tote and handle, refinishing with boiled linseed oil and painted the plane body a green similar to a Clifton. I gave the souped plane away about a year ago to a fellow SM-creeker.

In short, this plane had all the basics to be a super performed!

[jeff vanek]

HF has their big tent sale this weekend, I will check these out, thanks!

[Brian Kent]

I admit - I am very surprised, especially hearing about some usability from people who use more respected planes.
I have an Anant 4-1/2 that now works quite well. On the other hand, when I had 2 Buck Brothers from Home Depot they were not redeemable for me.

[john brenton]

I have always been put off by anything HF, but I bought the 40" lathe, the HSS turning chisels, and a set of japanese carving chisels. They are all great. The shape of the grind on the chisels is good, and the carving chisels come honed to a mirror shine.

[Zach England]

I bought come c-clamps from HF online once just because I needed a certain size for a one-time use. They are in the shape of a C and they clamp, so I guess they are pretty decent.

I have actually never been inside a Harbor Freight store.

[Nick Sorenson]

I bought come c-clamps from HF online once just because I needed a certain size for a one-time use. They are in the shape of a C and they clamp, so I guess they are pretty decent.

I have actually never been inside a Harbor Freight store.

I buy lots of their rubber handled adjustable clamps. They work GREAT and are like $3-$12 depending on size. There is quite a bit of junk there. That's for sure. I guess that's one good thing about their return policy. I've used tools that have had major issues right away or fresh out of the box. They either go into the trash or usually back to HF. I can usually tell how a tool will work right away fortunately. Seems like they've gotten better than they used to be in general. But still plenty of junk. You don't have to search too hard obviously. Their spray guns are decent for the price. I bought their 4 pack of chisels for $5 and they were decent. Their drills have been so so. I'll stick to Bosch and DeWalt on drills and impacts. Not worth messing with the HF stuff in my experience so far.

[Zach Dillinger]

Their drills have been so so. I'll stick to Bosch and DeWalt on drills and impacts. Not worth messing with the HF stuff in my experience so far.

I've actually owned two corded drills from HF, use them in car restoration work / some home carpentry. One literally caught fire within 10 minutes of plugging it in, the other has worked well for 2 + years. Very hit or miss with their electronic stuff.

[john brenton]

The smell is something else. When I walk in it always reminds of my plumbing days. The whole store smells like they just cut a cast iron fitting on a chop saw. The iron, and the oils PERMEATE every fiber of your being. I feel sorry for the wives of the employees that work there. You know they can't get that stink off.


I bought come c-clamps from HF online once just because I needed a certain size for a one-time use. They are in the shape of a C and they clamp, so I guess they are pretty decent.

I have actually never been inside a Harbor Freight store.

[Zach England]

I should go down to Harbor Freight and check out their spray guns. I don't use spray guns in woodworking, but I use them a lot in my ceramics studio, which is my main pursuit right now. The glaze particles are very abrasive and wear out the spray guns pretty quickly.

[Nick Sorenson]

I should go down to Harbor Freight and check out their spray guns. I don't use spray guns in woodworking, but I use them a lot in my ceramics studio, which is my main pursuit right now. The glaze particles are very abrasive and wear out the spray guns pretty quickly.

The spray guns would be perfect for this. I use their $30 all silver siphon cup gun and for gravity feed, their purple with white 20 Oz cup HVLP when I can get it for $10. I recommend the purple one for the price. It's a good gun. It's cheap in terms of build quality but it sprays good for $10. It's not as efficient with fluid as a $300-$600 HVLP would be but it works just fine.


I've actually owned two corded drills from HF, use them in car restoration work / some home carpentry. One literally caught fire within 10 minutes of plugging it in, the other has worked well for 2 + years. Very hit or miss with their electronic stuff.

I've got a pile of those orange corded drills. They're not bad. I've used the extra brushes in them to fix other drills. Really for $10 when they're on sale they're decent. The bad is the keyless chuck. You can't grip the thing.

[Dave Lehnert]

I had one in my hand and put it back. May have to rethink that. I own a rabbet plane I got at HF a few years ago and it works well for the $10 it cost. http://images.harborfreight.com/manuals/90000-90999/90310.pdf

Since the owners kids has taken over HF they have made a vast improvement in the stores and think the quality of some stuff is better. The prices has gone up also to match. Don't get me wrong, still low end stuff but good.

[Terry Beadle]

Ahem, I confess. All this talk about a #33 got me slippin' and slidein' and found myself in the Harbor Freight parking lot in the middle of a tent sale. Good think I didn't take any credit card or check book with me or I'd be a goner.

209325

I also found a 1/2 inch 16foot tape measure for $1.79. It also has the fraction measurements on it. I think it's worth more than that...maybe even $3 ! Hoot!

The clamp you see in the picture is similar to one I saw on a guy's video where he was showing how he used his Japanese saws. $9...ouch! Expensive ! Hoot!

I took the blade out to the sharpening station and worked it over on a 800, 3000, 6000 and 10000 series. The primary bevel was set from the factory to 23 degrees so I increased it just a bit to 25. I wiped down the body of the plane and sole. Installed the blade and it took 3 thou shavings right off the bat. I backed the blade off a bit to see just how thin it would go and got 1 1/2 thou shavings. For a $9 plane that's smokin' !

It is smaller than a 3. Maybe a 1 1/2 to 2. It has very nice knobs and handle for a cheap plane but wow, I'm pleased.

I'm going to use the #33 for glue removal and other smaller jobs. Wedge tuning etc.

I'm counting this as a gloat for us that are living on social security, it's a blessing to find such a value.

Enjoy the shavings !

[Trevor Walsh]

I'd love to know if HF even has a tight spec on the blade material. Have you guys read the post on John Economaki's blog about his trip to a Chinese tool factory (http://www.bridgecitytools.com/blog/2010/10/25/5-for-a-18-twist-drill-only-in-america/)? It's some scary stuff. No wonder the American job market is in the can. The only jobs around are going to be retail clerks in Asain-made dumping grounds.

[Dave Lehnert]

I'd love to know if HF even has a tight spec on the blade material. Have you guys read the post on John Economaki's blog about his trip to a Chinese tool factory (http://www.bridgecitytools.com/blog/2010/10/25/5-for-a-18-twist-drill-only-in-america/)? It's some scary stuff. No wonder the American job market is in the can. The only jobs around are going to be retail clerks in Asain-made dumping grounds.

That would be a concern if the HF plane cost $179.99 but we are talking a plane that is less than sales tax on a premium plane. The wood handles alone are worth the price.
I don't think you will find many who purchased a $200 Lee valley and see this at HF and say Rats! I got ripped off.

[Jonathan McCullough]

I own a rabbet plane I got at HF a few years ago and it works well for the $10 it cost. http://images.harborfreight.com/manuals/90000-90999/90310.pdf

I added that one to my order from their catalog years ago when HF didn't have a retail store anywhere nearby. Turned out to be a pretty good plane, made in India. Pretty much a Record/Anant version of a 78. Sharpened the blade and it did just fine. I don't think they sell them any more.

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

I think more than anything, this proves the point that in this day and age, making a good plane shouldn't be hard. Maybe making a great one is, and certainly as you get into things like skewed rabbet planes, or other weird things, you add complexity. I certainly appreciate the effort companies like Veritas put into making the best piece they can, and adding the little features that make it a little bit better, and there are plenty of reasons I like to support companies like Lee Valley and Lie Nielsen.

But honestly, at the end of the day, the basic concept of a benchplane, it's a very, very simple tool. Making good steel isn't a mystery anymore, and a plane is just smooth, flat bottomed device that provides sturdy support for that blade at a consistent angle. Perhaps giving it a depth adjustment. I'm less surprised that HF can make a plane that can be quickly fettled into a good user than by the amazing ways bargain-basement and hardware store planes have managed to screw up such a basic concept over the years.

[Zach England]

Someone should talk to Rob Cosman about making an IBC blade for that plane.

[Nick Sorenson]

Someone should talk to Rob Cosman about making an IBC blade for that plane.

From what I gather the IBC is a Cryo treated A2 iron with nice machining and a chipbreaker that is flat to the blade like what Lie Nielson does with their flat (non stamped) chip breaker?

fwiw, The chipbreaker on this is also the cap. But I'm sure it could be improved. I ground mine flat so there's minimal gap between it and the blade.

[Zach England]

It was a joke. I hardly think anyone is going to put a $100 blade in a $10 plane.

[mike holden]

"It was a joke. I hardly think anyone is going to put a $100 blade in a $10 plane."

But Zach, Isnt that what the IBC blade is designed for? a $10 dollar garage sale stanley?

[Zach England]

I don't know. My vintage planes all have Hock and Lie-Nielsen irons and I have never used an IBC product. This reminds me of the DIY hifi enthusiast community. Every now and then there will be an off-the-shelf cheap consumer product like a sony cd player or something and the internet community will get all excited about it because someone figured out some interesting mods for it, so people will buy a $100 CD player and put $1000 of mods into it.

[Trevor Walsh]

I agree that the LV/LN users aren't going to feel ripped off, I just think that when you buy a new tool for ten dollars, precision grind it and stick an aftermarket blade in it is strange. About the same effort could be spend in $$ on a reputable USA company employing skilled laborers and working on the value of the American economy, rather than re-enforcing the Chinese mindset of "if it's cheap enough Americans will buy it and not complain if if stops working/breaks quickly etc."

Conversely, spend the same $10 and effort on a vintage plane and reduce the need for new manufacture. It may cost only $10 from China, but what other social/environmental practices are we promoting?

For example the electronics recycling companies that Chinese peasants work for melt LEAD solder out of circuit boards in the same woks they cook food in. Scores of children now get daily lead poisoning because it's cheap and no one has to pay for it (in the US)

As an aside, I have an ICB iron in a 9 1/2 that works really well. It's a well make blade. Though I'm not sure if they only come in A2 or not.

[Nick Sorenson]

I don't know. My vintage planes all have Hock and Lie-Nielsen irons and I have never used an IBC product. This reminds me of the DIY hifi enthusiast community. Every now and then there will be an off-the-shelf cheap consumer product like a sony cd player or something and the internet community will get all excited about it because someone figured out some interesting mods for it, so people will buy a $100 CD player and put $1000 of mods into it.

Not everything that's good has to be expensive and many times an in-expensive product in skilled hands (not saying mine are skilled hands) can produce great work.

But regarding your $1000 mod into a $100 CD player and the hi-fi crowd, supposedly the Sony PS-1 video game console is a very good CD player. You probably already knew that if you're into the Hi-Fi scene.

[Jerome Hanby]

I know this is an old thread, but...

I've got one of these beasties. Assuming I get it tuned up and like the way it works then i also assume I'll be wanting a better blade. is there any reason I couldn't find a quality blade that has the same geometry (mostly the width) and grind two slots in it to fit the adjusters on this plane?

Or better yet, anyone found a source for ready to sharpen good quality replacement blades?

Thanks

[Bill Houghton]

I know this is an old thread, but...

I've got one of these beasties. Assuming I get it tuned up and like the way it works then i also assume I'll be wanting a better blade. is there any reason I couldn't find a quality blade that has the same geometry (mostly the width) and grind two slots in it to fit the adjusters on this plane?

Sure, why not? Plane irons are mostly parallel in their thickness (the same thickness all the way along), and if you've got the tooling and ability to grind the needed slots, I'd give it a shot.

If I recall the reviews correctly, some folks even thought the iron was decent; so I'd try it out first.

[Jerome Hanby]

Thanks for the confirmation. If the blade turns out decent, I'll buy a few spares next time I'm at HF and just call it a day. I received my Klingspor Worksharp (compatible) disks and extra glass wheels and this weekend I'll be spending most of my shop time waiting for glue and shellac to dry, so I may get my sharpening operation setup and give this plane and its blade a little test run.

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

Certainly making good steel for blades shouldn't be exceedingly difficult in this day and age. Having them be nicely flattened and ground prior to receiving them would make things more expensive, so you may have some lapping and grinding ahead of you, but that's really a one-time proposition. Of course, the stock blade may be on the thin side, which might not be desireable - but you'd have to see how it performs.

How long are the blades? (or rather, how long do they need to be to engage the adjusters?) I'd be tempted to see if a spokeshave blade could fit in there, if I wanted to replace the blade . . .

[Jerome Hanby]

Little longer than the Spokeshave blades I've seen, but shorter than the plane irons with which I'm familiar. I would probably find an available plane blade the right width and grind slots into it rather than starting from scratch. Would still have some flattening and sharpening to do, but nothing more than any other plane blade...

If I get into it this weekend, I'll try to find a blade out of one of my record planes that is similar width and take some pictures of them side by side. I'll post those pics along with some measurements, maybe the information will prove useful to someone else.

I've also been tempted to tear this little plane into pieces and see if the parts (specifically the adjuster) could be used for some shop made planes. At $10 a shot, would be cheaper than any adjuster I can buy! But, if it sharpens up and works halfway decently, I'll have to give it a reprieve and grab another one for my experiments.

I don't really expect much form this thing, but I picked it up for about half price during one of the HF parking lot sales after reading in this thread a while back. Worse case, the tote and knob are pretty nice, bet I can use them for something...

[Tony Zaffuto]

I had a #33 HF plane. Bought it as a "project" to see what I could make of it. I got it to take sub .001" shavings (measured with a calibrated micrometer, not calipers). Here is what all was done (I'm sure I posted all this sometime ago, maybe even in this thread): first, I bought a new blade, from a Woodnet guy, IIRC I paid about $35.00 for the blade, next, I had one of my machinists surface grind the sole and then square the sides to the sole, again, I think I may have assigned a cost of around $45.00 for labor and burden, then I cleaned up the blade bedding area and tuned up the chipbreaker/blade clamp so the edge bore on the blade correctly. For appearance, I stripped the knob and tote and applied BLO as a finish.

Pretty easy to get this plane to perform to sub .001" shavings (cherry). The casting was not bad and the sole, when stock, wasn't too bad either and probably could have been tuned easily with a granite plate and Sc paper. The stock blade could be made razor sharp, but I didn't try using it, so I can't comment on how long the edge would last. The Jim Reed blade I put in the plane was 1/8" thick and closed the mouth up pretty nicely. Think I paid $7.00 for the plane and had fun seeing what I could make it do. I ended up giving the plane away to an aspiring Galoot in need of some tools.

[Jerome Hanby]

Was that Jim Reed blade (he said like he had a clue what he was talking about) off the shelf ready to fit that plane or did you have to do some adapting to make it fit?


I had a #33 HF plane. Bought it as a "project" to see what I could make of it. I got it to take sub .001" shavings (measured with a calibrated micrometer, not calipers). Here is what all was done (I'm sure I posted all this sometime ago, maybe even in this thread): first, I bought a new blade, from a Woodnet guy, IIRC I paid about $35.00 for the blade, next, I had one of my machinists surface grind the sole and then square the sides to the sole, again, I think I may have assigned a cost of around $45.00 for labor and burden, then I cleaned up the blade bedding area and tuned up the chipbreaker/blade clamp so the edge bore on the blade correctly. For appearance, I stripped the knob and tote and applied BLO as a finish.

Pretty easy to get this plane to perform to sub .001" shavings (cherry). The casting was not bad and the sole, when stock, wasn't too bad either and probably could have been tuned easily with a granite plate and Sc paper. The stock blade could be made razor sharp, but I didn't try using it, so I can't comment on how long the edge would last. The Jim Reed blade I put in the plane was 1/8" thick and closed the mouth up pretty nicely. Think I paid $7.00 for the plane and had fun seeing what I could make it do. I ended up giving the plane away to an aspiring Galoot in need of some tools.

[Tony Zaffuto]

Made to fit the plane by Jim. He made a special run of them several years ago, but I don't think he is making blades currently. You could get a piece of O1 material (MSC or McMaster-Carr) no more than 1/8" thick and file out one of your own, using the furnished blade as a pattern. O1 heat treat instructions, via propane torch, and then draw, can be found on the web.

[David Ziegelheim]

I cleaned up the surfaces touching the blade and have been working the sole...but it had a pretty severe depression in the middle. We are talking hours of sanding over granite. I have it down to about 3 thousandths on oak, but not quite done yet. A better blade would probably help. The adjustment with the two knobs is a bit funky.

[Tony Zaffuto]

Forgot all about this plane/project (I think I posted everything I did to the plane early in this thread). In the time that has since past, I have brought other planes to the same level of performance-all the plane needs are "good bones".

For the reasons of what I was able to get out of the HF plane, it is my belief that sooner or later, we'll see "off the shelf" LN performance out of a "Pacific Rim" plane. All it will take will be a tad extra of applied QC & "clean up" machining labor. Before I start a thread war, please note I'm not endorsing this, but rather offering an opinion.

[David Weaver]

I haven't used any v3 woodcraft planes, but it sounds like they're not far off from that level.

[Terry Beadle]

Update:

I'm still using my #33 after a year or more of use. It's reliable and very easy to keep tuned. I use mine mainly to soften the edges on projects and to flatten or shape smaller componets.

The blade has been sharpened less than 3 times in that year of use. In short, I must be either lucky or that blade does the job. I vote for does the job. Replacing it would be over kill and
lower my "I'm so cheap!" factor...hoot!

Here's some proof of happy use, a andirondak chair project made from reclaimed decking material.

254544

Happy plane-ing !

[steven c newman]

Seems that little plane has another use, as well. Couldn't afford a Stanley #40, but, I could re-grind the iron on a Windsor #33. Ground a 3" radius on the edge. This $9.00+ tax plane is now my scrub plane. As for the thickness of the iron? seems to be as thick as some of my old Union (1905) plane irons! If not thicker! 254556Just a bit wider than a Stanley #40, but every bit as aggressive scrubbing wood.

[Zander Kale]

The casting is decent but at 45° and no chip breaker, tear out tends to be a problem. I went crazy and grafted on a Stanley frog (steepened the angle to 47.5°) and it works quite well.
254603

[Josh Garrisi]

Zander, can you please describe the grafting process to add the stanley frog? I'm having some problems with the blade chattering and wandering in the adjustments, and this is an interesting option.

[Zander Kale]

First of all, I wouldn't call it a rational thing to do but the results are nice, a short #3 (although there is room for a 2" blade), I had all the parts sitting around and I did it on a lark.

I flattened the sole (now sure now but I remember not being impressed), removed the all-thread from the #33 and clamped it on the mill. Then milled the bed at the mouth (to get a flat reference) and the frog bed at 1/2" higher (should probably have made it higher). Look at any Bailey. Then I took a #3 frog from the rust bucket, squared the sides and clamped it in the mill (upside down) with the blade bed at 47.5° and milled the mating step. Then marked, drilled and tapped two 1/4" x 20 hold down screws. Then blued everything for looks.

By milling at 1/2", the frog was chopped by about 1/4", which meant a new chip breaker and the blade slot just about touches the cap screw (I'm using an old blade so a new one might not quite fit). Also, the way the frog is cast (and there isn't enough meat to reshape this area), it is a bear to get a the hold down screws with the frog all the way forward so I'm using hex head bolts without washers.