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

[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/manu...0999/90310.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.

harborFreightLoot.jpg

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 ? 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 ? 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/manu...0999/90310.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