Lowes seems to be carrying this plane with some positive reviews. Anyone in the Sawmill community have good experience?
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Lowes seems to be carrying this plane with some positive reviews. Anyone in the Sawmill community have good experience?
Contributor
No experience with these. My curiosity has me wondering where they are made.
The little block plane looks worth checking > https://www.lowes.com/pd/Jorgensen/5013525471
Maybe next time in town it will be given a look.
For $15 it is doubtful it is made in America.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Contributor
Any relation to that Kobalt POS they also sell? For $40?
A Planer? I'm the Planer, and this is what I use
Contributor
So for $15 it seemed worth taking a chance. Reading the revues one person wasn't happy due to it not being sharp right out of the box.
There were a few on the hook so they were compared. My choice was the one with the best paint job.
Here it is next to a Stanley #103:
Jorgensen 102.jpg
The paint job wasn't great on the few inspected, a couple had bubbles or missed coverage.
It seemed to work without a honing, it just wasn't great. Here it is disassembled:
Jorgensen 102 Disassembled..jpg
A few minutes on the stones got it working better.
There isn't much room for lateral adjustment of the blade. It seems to cut deeper on one side than the other. There was also a bit of a squealing when cutting end grain.
It will likely take a bit of fettling. Will report more later.
If anyone cares, it was made in China.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Contributor
It looks exactly like my LN violin plane right down to the adjuster knob.
Contributor
Might have to pick up that chamfer plane they are also offering.
Member
I have seen a couple of people on You Tube buy then and then get them 'ready' to use. Some take more work than others, but do plan to spend some time making sure they are properly tuned up.
robo hippy
Contributor
Yes Rex Kreuger did a video on this plane. Basically said interesting concept, poor execution. I think he was impressed by the iron & chipbreaker though.Originally Posted by Reed Gray
Contributor
Rex Krueger makes good videos, though this one couldn't be found.
Another search paid off > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaCZvaTgrW0 < watching it now.
jtk
Last edited by Jim Koepke; 01-26-2023 at 4:23 PM. Reason: Another search
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Contributor
Rex Krueger points out a few discrepancies in the Jorgensen smoothing plane. He also mentions they are not available. This may be due to this being posted a couple months ago.
Currently the Lowes web site indicates they are low on stock in my local store.
This may be like the Buck Bros. blades at the other big box store. When they sold out, they were gone for good.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Contributor
I saw the reviews on You tube and for the price they seem like a decent buy. I think the 60-1/2 block looks like a better deal. A 3MM thick 01 blade (.118) I mean one can't even buy an aftermarket blade for the price they want for the plane. I haven't checked them out because it is a 60 mile trip one way to get to a Lowes. For the price I think they are worth a try.
Tom
Contributor
My only caveat to this would be the buyer should be familiar with fettling a plane. It has all of the parts, the buyer may need to do a lot of finish work.For the price I think they are worth a try.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Contributor
10" ?????
Contributor
Here is the most important part of the work done to get the Jorgensen #102 up to being somewhat useable.
The Jorgensen #102 was cutting more on the left side than the right. There wasn’t enough room to adjust the blade laterally. A closer inspection indicated there were other problems to correct.
Here is an image of the blade from the underside:
Blade Not Bedded.jpg
There is a gap visible on the left side. A shaving is caught between the blade and the blade’s bed.
Looking through the plane toward the light part of the reason can be seen:
Light between Blade and Lever Cap.jpg
In cases like this a small piece of paper can be used like a feeler gauge to check the fit where it is suspected contact isn’t being made.
Some grinding was done to the lever cap to get it to seat better atop the blade:
Lever Cap Grinding.jpg
There was also some filing on the side of the bed to open up the area to allow for a touch more lateral blade adjustment.
It also takes a little finesse when adjusting the blade to keep the lever cap, blade and body all aligned.
It did finally get pretty much even shavings from side to side:
Cutting End Grain Alder.jpg
This is on end grain alder. The plane does squeal a bit but it leaves a smooth cut.
Not too bad for $15, for that price you can’t expect premium quality.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Contributor
So..we talking about a block plane...or the 10" long Smooth plane?
A Planer? I'm the Planer, and this is what I use
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