Union making a run on the X planes?

[Jason Buresh]

https://www.unionmfgco.com/shop-online

I stumbled across a Union manufacturing website and it looks like they are going to remanufacture the X series of planes.

I didn't realize they were still making planes. Not cheap though.

[Ray Newman]

Nice looking and unusual plane.

Price???-- a Lie-Nielsen #4 is US$300+, Lee Valley #4 is $225. So I would say price is compatible with Lie-Nielsen and Lee Valley. And they probably will be a limited production run(s)....

It is tempting me.

[Jason Buresh]

Although the price is comparable to the Lie Nielsen or Veritas, those brands are trusted for quality.

I know Union was a high quality plane back in their day, but the plane pictured on their website is from 1904. I would be interested to see what a modern one looks like before sending them a check.

[Pete Taran]

They are very active on Instagram under the user ID of unionmfgcoofpa Looks like a quality product to me. Been watching their progress for about 6 months.

[Jason Buresh]

Pete,

Good to know! Thank you. I will have to check them out over on instagram.

[ken hatch]

Interesting, in the photo the cutter does not look too thick, I think they are publishing .040 thick. Bottom line, I've long thought and said if someone made a turn of the Century (Bailey) plane with modern materials and tolerances I'd buy. While this isn't a Bailey design I may have to put my money where my mouth is and support.

Will report when it arrives,

ken

[mike stenson]

I don't think those are production examples. There are too many dings on both the knob and tote to be fresh outa mfg (and let's face it, the iron's got too much patina). I suspect that's an original plane.

[Jason Buresh]

Ken and Mike,

Yes, that is an original plane. I went to instagram and found a picture of a newer manufactured one. Looks pretty good. Its is a X0 in the picture below

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[Pete Taran]

Those planes have adjustable mouths, so the frog doesn't move, just the plate in front of the iron. Like a block plane at 45 degrees. I like what they have done with it personally.

[Josh Robinson]

Very exciting to hear an old brand reinventing itself in the US. I picked up a WoodRiver #4 plane at a woodcraft store after I had bought a Lie Nielsen plane and was immediately reassured that the extra $150 was well spent. I’m a believer in my daddy’s philosophy that the little extra you spend on a 2x6 over a 2x4 is negligible over a the life of a long lived asset! I hope Union competes with Lie Nielsen. I’m just a novice wood worker with no affiliation with any brand.

[Don Peters]

Ken,

I just reread Union's web page about new X irons. They're not .040 thick; they're .040 thicker than Stanleys.

dp

[ken hatch]

Ken,

I just reread Union's web page about new X irons. They're not .040 thick; they're .040 thicker than Stanleys.

dp

Don,

I've looked at the new plane and while I've ordered one and I'm interested to see what it is like, I doubt I will like it because it looks very heavy with an iron that is too thick to sharpen easily even if it is O1. But I will not know until I get my hands on one.

We have been sold snake oil and sizzle for so long I doubt if a company made a plane sans snake oil and sizzle they could sell more than a few planes, that's the bad news, the good is there are still plenty of old pre-war Bailey planes around and you can find good new thin cutters for most of them. The big problem, at least for me, is finding good chip breakers.

ken

[Rafael Herrera]

The next plane in the pipeline is the X4 1/4. I think they are taking orders at this time.

[Pete Taran]

I'm excited for the release of this plane. Union was the only company I know of that made a standard bench plane with a frog that was rigid and added a movable mouth like a block plane. That could get close to infill performance if properly executed. The fact that they are making their plane bodies out of ductile cast iron via investment casting tells me they aren't cutting any corners.

[Rafael Herrera]

I believe the Metallic Plane Co. were making fixed frog, adjustable mouth planes in the 1860s. Their patent was granted in 1871 (http://www.datamp.org/patents/displayPatent.php?pn=121406&id=8614). I tried to do a quick Union plane history search, but couldn't find info on the mouth adjustment, only about their vertical post (http://www.datamp.org/patents/displayPatent.php?number=763721&typeCode=0), the patent was granted in 1904.

Does anybody have a Metallic Plane Co. plane?

Do you use it?

Do you get superior performance when setting it with a tight mouth?

[William Fretwell]

Strange their web site shows an historic picture and not the plane you would buy. The prominence given to rejected castings is bizarre. They claim there are few, so why promote them at the start of a new venture? Second row up 4th from the left is one reject they missed.
I would like to see the chip breaker design and junction with the blade. At this point buying one is a huge leap of faith, more based on having a number 1 to 100! Any historical increase in value for the collectors run won’t happen in my life time!
A hands on review from somewhere would be most useful.

[Rafael Herrera]

There are no pictures because it has not been built yet, they're taking pre-orders.

They're are more active on the Facebook plane forums about what's going on.

They just released their X0A plane, it looks like a no. 2 or no.1 equivalent.

I think that at this stage these planes are popular with collectors and early adopters.

You'll need to wait until they post proper reviews and other marketing information.

[Jake Hillestad]

I want to want one...things I dont need are another 4 size smoother or a 1/2 size gimmick. Give me a 3, 5, & 7 equivalent and I'll open the wallet pronto.

[Pete Taran]

Indeed they did, and I even have a few. The adjustments are rough and the castings are often found broken. I think the main motivation for the adjustable mouth on the Metallic Planes is they used a tapered iron like wooden bench planes. In the pics attached you can see the smoother I have. It's missing the lever cap which I thought someday I would try to recreate. The bed is two pieces, the lower half inch is part of the bed, but the upper part is let in by milling slots in the side. The iron is adjusted by the prehistoric looking wheel that moves a dog in the frog bed which grips the cap iron screw. It's pretty jenky in my opinion, and like I said, is often found busted as the cheeks are pretty thin where the frog is let in. The Union is in another class. Still excited for what these guys are doing.

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I believe the Metallic Plane Co. were making fixed frog, adjustable mouth planes in the 1860s. Their patent was granted in 1871 (http://www.datamp.org/patents/displayPatent.php?pn=121406&id=8614). I tried to do a quick Union plane history search, but couldn't find info on the mouth adjustment, only about their vertical post (http://www.datamp.org/patents/displayPatent.php?number=763721&typeCode=0), the patent was granted in 1904.

Does anybody have a Metallic Plane Co. plane?

Do you use it?

Do you get superior performance when setting it with a tight mouth?