What Plane(s) Do You Wish You Hadn't Purchased

[Jim Koepke]

This was actually suggested by a Tony Zaffuto in the "Two Favorite Planes" thread:


[edited]
Maybe we ought to have a thread "what planes do you wish you never purchased"? For me, I guess my Stanley #6 and my LN small chisel plane (or is it the Woodriver 9-1/2 block plane-just too dayam uncomfortable).

My planes which gave me no joy would start with the Stanley #75 bull nose rabbet plane. The #90 is a better plane if just for the adjuster and lower angle. A bull nose shoulder/rabbet plane is not as useable as the longer nose shoulder planes.

Next would be a #18 block plane. For me the various standard angle block planes usually do not have an advantage over a bench plane or a low angle block plane.

A smaller block plane like a #102 or #103 are used because of their convenient sizes.

Who else has purchased a plane or two that doesn't really work out in their work?

jtk

[steven c newman]

A Wood River No. 4

Was more trouble than it was worth to use....

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Large Stanley Sweetheart shoulder plane. I rarely have need of it, so when I finally needed to use it, I pulled it out only to find that it has manufacturing defects. Too late to return it and I was not able to get a hold of Stanley to discuss. The only thing that I saw was that I needed to package everything and send it to an address. I needed a replacement screw, but people here told me how to fix it myself. I am way more inclined to purchase a tool that is not Stanley because of it.

Shooting plane. I just never used it and did not have a lot of luck when I tried. I finally dumped it and bought a sandpaper based shooting plane, that I have never used...

[ken hatch]

Jim,

Does a WoodJoy cigar shave count? Mostly because it has a A2 cutter that chipped so bad on its first outing as to be almost unsharpenable (not a clue if that is a word). Before I could get a replacement the company closed. IIRC non of the other makers cutters will fit.

ken

[Joshua Lucas]

Large Stanley Sweetheart shoulder plane. I rarely have need of it, so when I finally needed to use it, I pulled it out only to find that it has manufacturing defects.

This is exactly what I was going to say.

[Tony Zaffuto]

This was actually suggested by a Tony Zaffuto in the "Two Favorite Planes" thread:



My planes which gave me no joy would start with the Stanley #75 bull nose rabbet plane. The #90 is a better plane if just for the adjuster and lower angle. A bull nose shoulder/rabbet plane is not as useable as the longer nose shoulder planes.

Next would be a #18 block plane. For me the various standard angle block planes usually do not have an advantage over a bench plane or a low angle block plane.

A smaller block plane like a #102 or #103 are used because of their convenient sizes.

Who else has purchased a plane or two that doesn't really work out in their work?

jtk

Patrick Leach, in "Blood and Gore" said the #75 is only good for scraping paint or putty from windows. I actually bought the MF equivalent from Patrick for that task. It failed even at that (I forgot about that plane!).

[Christopher Herzog]

I have not cared for the LN 102 bronze plane. Always reach for my apron plane or if real tiny the violin plane.

[Jerry Thompson]

It's a joy to use but I bought one of Steve Knight's last planes. I planned on two large tables and was told a 24'' jointer was not long enough. So I got a 30'' razee with and adjustable mouth. It will take whisper thin shavings and did the job. I have found no real use of it since.

[Jake Hillestad]

No. 2 Bailey - really don't know why they exist. Found nothing it could do that a No. 3 or a block plane couldn't do better, for my work anyway. Classic case of "Too many and not enough".

[Frederick Skelly]

No. 2 Bailey - really don't know why they exist. Found nothing it could do that a No. 3 or a block plane couldn't do better, for my work anyway. Classic case of "Too many and not enough".

It might depend on the work you do. I love my Bailey #2. Different strokes I guess. :)

I could live without my LV bevel up smoother - it's basically a 4 1/2 but I seldom use it. (Wont sell it though.) Likewise, my #6C. Bought if from a buddy who had Tom Bussey prep it. Works well - just dont use it.

[David Carroll]

I bought the LN Small Chisel Plane, It's a nice enough plane, well made and works nearly as good as a wide paring chisel. I just never have found any compelling reason to use it.

DC

[Osvaldo Cristo]

This was actually suggested by a Tony Zaffuto in the "Two Favorite Planes" thread:



My planes which gave me no joy would start with the Stanley #75 bull nose rabbet plane. The #90 is a better plane if just for the adjuster and lower angle. A bull nose shoulder/rabbet plane is not as useable as the longer nose shoulder planes.

Next would be a #18 block plane. For me the various standard angle block planes usually do not have an advantage over a bench plane or a low angle block plane.

A smaller block plane like a #102 or #103 are used because of their convenient sizes.

Who else has purchased a plane or two that doesn't really work out in their work?

jtk

I am a power tool centric woodworker but in my three decades of amateur activity I purchased five manual hand planes. Three very low quality Stanleys no. 4 and a block plane. All of them were purchased new at very low price as an unexperienced guy I thought they were like hammers - it doesn't make difference for an occasional user. But if was a sad experience. The first no. 4 I throwed in the garbage and the other two planes only occasionally I tried with mixed results.

Finally a couple of years ago I decided for a radically different approach: I made my researches and discovered I had very poor technique and that matters for an efficient use of that apparently simple, actually very complex hand tool. Additionally I went to higher quality purchasing LN block and Jack planes. What a difference!

BTW even my trash planes, sometimes, could make a barely acceptable job when correctly adjusted, sharpened and used.

[Jim Koepke]

I made my researches and discovered I had very poor technique and that matters for an efficient use of that apparently simple, actually very complex hand tool.

A baseball bat is an even simpler tool. It can be more complex, requiring even more skill to have any success using it as intended.

jtk

[Jason Buresh]

Patrick Leach, in "Blood and Gore" said the #75 is only good for scraping paint or putty from windows. I actually bought the MF equivalent from Patrick for that task. It failed even at that (I forgot about that plane!).

Now see I love my 75! I use it on half laps, tenon's, rabbets,
and other random jobs around the shop. Yes I know there are probably better ways of doing it but it works for me. And it was cheap.

If I had to pick 2 I would probably say a cheap Irwin record plane I got from Menards before I knew any better. It has plastic handles and they didn't even clean up the sprue from the molding so it cuts your hand in use. I didn't even bother fixing it because it's such a piece of junk.

The other would be an old beading plane I picked up. It doesn't work well at all and doesn't really have a guide to keep it straight.

[justin sherriff]

old Stanley 62 the mouth is chipped on one side and the other has a crack and is starting to chip out so the plane just does not work very good. It looks nice other than that.

[Tom M King]

The Record 044C combination plane, bought new in the 1970's. I had bought some Record bench planes, shoulder planes, and router planes, and liked all of them.

I like the Record cutters, and still use them in my 55's, but the 044C has the worst depth stop ever designed. It has a screw that goes down into a plastic sleeve, which is supposed to keep it from moving. It doesn't. Not worth any discussion past that. Don't ever buy one.

http://www.record-planes.com/record-no-044c-plough-plane/

[Bruce Haugen]

Stanley 9-1/2 block plane. I don’t like anything about it. There’s nothing it can do that a 60-1/2 or DX60 can’t do better. Besides, it’s just enough bigger that it’s not easy to hold, and my hands are not small.

[Bruce Mack]

L-N #4 1/2. It is a great plane but too large and heavy for my usage. I'd be happier with a #3.

[steven c newman]

Well, there was a plane called a Kobalt, still on sale at Lowes....tried it for one week....then returned it for a full refund. It made the ones at Harbor Freight seem like Veritas No. 4s.....yeah, THAT bad.

[Stew Denton]

I bought two planes hurriedly, without time to really look them over because of a limited time situation. Never again, both had cracks in the body, and after the parts needed to fix them were found and paid for my two bargains ended up costing quite a little more than it would have cost to buy better planes that were already complete and in better shape.

Stew

[Derek Cohen]

Patrick Leach, in "Blood and Gore" said the #75 is only good for scraping paint or putty from windows. ....

I DISAGREE!!



It is not even good enough for scraping paint and putty from windows.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Rob Luter]

A few. A #75, a #45, #46, #6, #5 1/4, #112 Scraper, #12 Scraper, and a handful of assorted block planes. All gone now and I'm better off without them. The all worked well (except the cursed #75) but I never used them. Since I downsized my kit to what I really need versus what I thought was cool I realized how redundant they were.

[Tony Shea]

I have not cared for the LN 102 bronze plane. Always reach for my apron plane or if real tiny the violin plane.

That's literally the first time I've ever heard that. This is probably my most used plane of all time. I have so many LN and LV planes too but this plane sits on my bench and touches every piece of wood. Let me know if you want to sell it!

I would have to say a 70mm Tsunesaburo Kanna is my least favorite and expensive plane that I really should just sell. This was my first jump into Japanese handplanes and I really should have started off with a smaller version. It just is too wide to be comfortable especially when pulling. The other issue is the bed angle is around 40-42 deg which I find is too low for most of my work. It's amazing for softwoods and produces a glass surface but I just don't do enough with those woods. Overall it's a plane I should've never picked up.

Stanley Medium Shoulder Plane. The Stanley shoulder planes are basically useless when compared to LV or LN. They just are not machined well enough to cut shoulders accurately and I absoluetly never will use this plane again since owning the LN small, LV medium, and LV Large shoulder planes.

[Jim Koepke]

Rob Luter mentioned a #12 scraper plane. Mine sits forgotten along with a #80 on a shelf.

Maybe one day my use of scrapers will flourish. So far the joy of scraping has eluded me.

jtk

[Chris Fournier]

My first plane regret was a Record #4. Tuned it up tried it and waited for my LN #4 to arrive! Bought twice cried once, sold the dog. LN Bevel up Jack. I thought that this pre-production piece would be the answer to so many problems in my shop. It never was and never will be. I will sell it one day.

Dishonourable mention: Record compass plane. To be fair the plane did it's job and it was a tough job on a very unique piece made of a trying wood species. It was a pig to use and the sole where it is joined to the frog was a pretty lame effort by Record. I probably solved a problem that didn't exist by silver soldering the joint. I keep this plane out on a shelf just to aggravate myself. Beside it I keep the woodie that I made to see if I could make a better functioning compass plane, albeit with one radius. It was far superior but not adjustable.

Early on I worked in some pretty tough exotics and any plane was gonna have it rough.

And shame on me I don't think that I've bought a hand plane in at least 15 years!

[Stephen Rosenthal]

I absoluetly never will use this plane again since owning the LN small, LV medium, and LV Large shoulder planes.

Tony, I’m curious. I own and often use the LN Small and Large shoulder planes but not the Medium because I’ve always considered it redundant to the aforementioned. What does the Medium shoulder plane do that the other two can’t?

[Thomas Wilson]

The one Janicewhokeepsmehumble didn’t know was coming. Eventually, I made her laugh about it. Plus, I washed a lot of dishes.

[Prashun Patel]

Been thinking about this more. There are NO planes I regret purchasing. The reason is that every single one of them has been easy to sell or gift to someone who wants it. I'd say I recovered most of the purchase price. Most of the new and vintage planes i've had did not depreciate from what I paid.

Owning each for a couple years is a great way to figure out if you can make it work, and how useful it is for you in the long term.

If I hadn't bought a bullnose, and tried like heck to make it work for 6 months, I would probably still be itching to buy one every time it comes up in the classifieds.

[Jim Koepke]

Most of the new or vintage planes in my shop have not depreciated greatly from their original price.

For some, since they were purchased, the 'new' planes' retail prices have risen enough to make their 10-20% depriciation catch up to their original cost.

The auction and other prices of vintage planes has increased the value of those in my shop.

It is possible to make a profit by purchasing some old tools at yard/estate/garage sales. It is still possible. It is just more people getting up earlier making it more of a challenge.

jtk

[Jim Matthews]

Clifton #3.

Damned heavy, no more useful than a decent block plane and so expensive I worried about using it.

It went to a good home.

[Tony Zaffuto]

Clifton #3.

Damned heavy, no more useful than a decent block plane and so expensive I worried about using it.

It went to a good home.

Jeez, the Clifton #3 is one of my favorites!

Guess this all goes to show there is no right or wrong plane (well maybe the #75)!

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Im going to duck early. I'm sure there are people out there that love this thing....
I don't like my scraper plane insert. The one that converts your plane into a scraper plane. Maybe it is me, and inability to adjust properly, but I personally could never get it to work. Better to just use card scrapers.
Dodging flak now.......

[Chris Fournier]

Im going to duck early. I'm sure there are people out there that love this thing....
I don't like my scraper plane insert. The one that converts your plane into a scraper plane. Maybe it is me, and inability to adjust properly, but I personally could never get it to work. Better to just use card scrapers.
Dodging flak now.......

Aside from the Stanley #80 I'm with you. I have a couple of LN scraper planes and they are testy to work with although the little one belongs on my cane rod tapering form and does a great job there.

[Tony Shea]

Im going to duck early. I'm sure there are people out there that love this thing....
I don't like my scraper plane insert. The one that converts your plane into a scraper plane. Maybe it is me, and inability to adjust properly, but I personally could never get it to work. Better to just use card scrapers.
Dodging flak now.......

This is the first time I've ever heard of this contraption. I assume you mean the one that Lee Valley offers? How long has this been out in the wild? I personally don't think I'd use it but is def interesting.

[Frank Pratt]

I didn't buy it; it was a gift from about 15 years ago. A Veritas bronze skew edge trimming block plane. I sharpened it & used it for about 5 minutes & put it back in the box, which is where it is today. It has a 90* fence that is cast in as part of the body, so it's strictly a 1 trick pony, which is one strike against it. And it just isn't that nice to use. It's not a wonder that they were not offered for long.