Woodriver planes from Woodcraft

[Maurice Arney]

I've heard mixed reviews on the woodriver (woodcraft) planes from China. But when compared with Lie Nielsen and Veritas, the woodriver almost always comes in last. So I'm wondering why the woodriver #7 jointer is actually more expensive than the Veritas #7 jointer. Are they really comparable in quality? Or if the woodriver price is the same as, or only slightly less than a Veritas, should I just assume that the Veritas is a better product? If you own a woodriver plane (any model) what is your opinion of the brand? How does it compare to Veritas?

[Frederick Skelly]

Hi Maurice. There were a couple long threads talking about much of this on the Neanderthal Forum, 7-10 days ago. They had a lot of interest. It discussed quality and relative costs, like you're asking.

I havent figured out how to post links from this device or Id gladly hunt it up for you and post it. But you should be able to find it easily by searching for Wood River.

The bottom line that I got from it is that folks who have the later/newer WRs are happy with them. But that many of us would spend the extra to buy Veritas or Lie Neilson.

Fred

[David Weaver]

It depends on what type of jointer you prefer - bevel up or bevel down. I have no experience with the WR planes, but do prefer the bevel down style for several reasons. I would spend the extra dollars on a lie nielsen 7 (actually, I have done that).

If you like bevel up, then the LV jointer is a good choice.

[Maurice Arney]

Hi Maurice. There were a couple long threads talking about much of this on the Neanderthal Forum, 7-10 days ago. They had a lot of interest. It discussed quality and relative costs, like you're asking.

I havent figured out how to post links from this device or Id gladly hunt it up for you and post it. But you should be able to find it easily by searching for Wood River.

The bottom line that I got from it is that folks who have the later/newer WRs are happy with them. But that many of us would spend the extra to buy Veritas or Lie Neilson.

Fred

Thanks Fred... Ya I spent some time searching the forums for "woodriver" but didn't come up with anything about the pricing differences. Just struck me as odd that the chinese version would cost more than a Veritas.

[Frederick Skelly]

Yeah Maurice, me too. Let us know if you try one out and what you think!

[Jim Neeley]

Hi Maurice,

You might find my post, #12 on this thread http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?207536-Wood-River-4-for-a-newbie&p=2152997&highlight=#post2152997 of assistance.

I own a fair number of L-N BD planes plus a handful of LV BUs. As you'll see if you read the post, I went to a week-long hands-on training class at the Seattle Woodcraft store where I took my L-N's with me, while others had WR's. During the class we helped each other sharpen and shared tools so I had a chance to not only get my hands on some WR's but also to swap back and forth between the WRs and my L-Ns. My comments are there. I do not have any LV BDs, only BUs, and did not take them to the class so did not have a direct comparison there.

I have had an additional thought since that post that I'll share here.

You will hear some here talk about the importance of trying planes before you buy planes. As you may read from my post, the significant difference I identified between the WR and L-N is the amount of backlash in the adjuster. I'll leave it at that.

Now for the new point: I owned (and liked) the LV BU planes before I purchased my first BD plane. Why then did I choose the L-N style over the LV style? Hint: it wasn't because of price or appearance.

My BD planes are my workhorses, whether removing bulk waste, jointing or smoothing. Before I start planing (such as having honed a new edge) I extend the blade and bring it as close to even-cutting visually as I can eyeball it. I then retract the blade, start my planing motion and slowly extend the blade while in motion until it begins cutting. If it's not cutting evenly right off (and often isn't), I'll stop briefly and move the lateral lever to adjust and repeat. This serves to retract where it was cutting, often resulting in no cut at all until I extend the blade some more, which I do as above.

Why is this significant? The L-N / WR blade adjuster places its blade extension / retract wheel down where it's easily adjustable while my hand is on the tote and in a natural planing motion; the LV is not. The L-N / WR lateral lever is separate from the extend / retract wheel so I do not knock the blade out of lateral adjustment while extending or retracting. When I tried someone elses LV this was a problem for me. You may or may not have this problem, hence the suggestion on try before you buy. IMO the separate vs. integrated lateral lever is a big deal.

Why L-N vs. WR? I purchased my L-Ns before the Ver 3 of the WR plances were available. If I were just starting to assemble my plane set today I'd think long and hard about the value-balance on at least the #4 through #6 planes. As for the WR#7 price? In my opinion (as written in the referenced post) I think its priced out of line and, while I wouldn't choose the LV BD models, it's close enough to the L-N's that I'd find it tough to justify the "savings", given the added backlash.

This is just one man's opinion, mine.. YMMV.

Jim in Alaska

[Maurice Arney]

Hi Maurice,

You might find my post, #12 on this thread http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?207536-Wood-River-4-for-a-newbie&p=2152997&highlight=#post2152997 of assistance.

I own a fair number of L-N BD planes plus a handful of LV BUs. As you'll see if you read the post, I went to a week-long hands-on training class at the Seattle Woodcraft store where I took my L-N's with me, while others had WR's. During the class we helped each other sharpen and shared tools so I had a chance to not only get my hands on some WR's but also to swap back and forth between the WRs and my L-Ns. My comments are there. I do not have any LV BDs, only BUs, and did not take them to the class so did not have a direct comparison there.

I have had an additional thought since that post that I'll share here.

You will hear some here talk about the importance of trying planes before you buy planes. As you may read from my post, the significant difference I identified between the WR and L-N is the amount of backlash in the adjuster. I'll leave it at that.

Now for the new point: I owned (and liked) the LV BU planes before I purchased my first BD plane. Why then did I choose the L-N style over the LV style? Hint: it wasn't because of price or appearance.

My BD planes are my workhorses, whether removing bulk waste, jointing or smoothing. Before I start planing (such as having honed a new edge) I extend the blade and bring it as close to even-cutting visually as I can eyeball it. I then retract the blade, start my planing motion and slowly extend the blade while in motion until it begins cutting. If it's not cutting evenly right off (and often isn't), I'll stop briefly and move the lateral lever to adjust and repeat. This serves to retract where it was cutting, often resulting in no cut at all until I extend the blade some more, which I do as above.

Why is this significant? The L-N / WR blade adjuster places its blade extension / retract wheel down where it's easily adjustable while my hand is on the tote and in a natural planing motion; the LV is not. The L-N / WR lateral lever is separate from the extend / retract wheel so I do not knock the blade out of lateral adjustment while extending or retracting. When I tried someone elses LV this was a problem for me. You may or may not have this problem, hence the suggestion on try before you buy. IMO the separate vs. integrated lateral lever is a big deal.

Why L-N vs. WR? I purchased my L-Ns before the Ver 3 of the WR plances were available. If I were just starting to assemble my plane set today I'd think long and hard about the value-balance on at least the #4 through #6 planes. As for the WR#7 price? In my opinion (as written in the referenced post) I think its priced out of line and, while I wouldn't choose the LV BD models, it's close enough to the L-N's that I'd find it tough to justify the "savings", given the added backlash.

This is just one man's opinion, mine.. YMMV.

Jim in Alaska

Very very good information! Thank you Jim! The "try before you buy" rule is not really practical for me since there are no retail outlets within a reasonable driving distance. So I have to rely mostly on "picking the brains" of fellow woodworkers. The LN planes are nice but a bit too pricey for me so I mostly look at Stanley or Veritas. If I decide on a jointer, I think the Veritas BU is what I would go for. But on the smaller planes I'll need to look more closely at the WR line.

Thanks again!!