No one really needs a $400 smooth plane. No one can look at a piece of furniture and tell whether it was made with a Harbor Freight or a Karl Holtey. It's not right to convince people otherwise when they're trying to get into the hobby. Frank Klausz and Paul Sellers use old Stanley planes, alongside whatever else they have. One wonders how many expensive new planes they would have if the manufacturers didn't give them to them. I would have a bunch myself if Lie-Nielsen begged me to take them and use them in videos. Unfortunately, I have to pay for my tools.
If a person is too lazy or busy, or unable to develop the simple skill, to spend two hours fixing an old Stanley, how will that person ever manage to build anything out of wood? You can't complain about spending a little time fixing a plane and then spend twenty hours making a cutting board.
The people who built the furniture and did the other woodworking at the palace at Versailles used wooden planes, carbon steel saws, and foot-powered lathes. Nobody using a Lie-Nielsen plane today does better work than they did.
I'm not suggesting everyone should use Harbor Freight planes, but obviously, some skilled people have managed to do it, and many others have done great with $25 Stanleys from Ebay. It hasn't been that long since Stanleys and Unions and so on were the best tools available, and top craftsmen used them without problems. Look at all the exquisite furniture that has been built with them.
My first plane was a c. 1980 Stanley #4 I found in my dad's garage. It was a real piece of junk. I fettled it for fun, and I found it worked beautifully, even with the big crater in the bottom where someone let it rust. I kept it even though it's cheap because I would have to be crazy to throw out an excellent plane. It makes me wonder how many good planes people have thrown out because they never gave them a chance.
Last edited by Steve H Graham; 06-16-2017 at 9:17 PM.
Cry "Havoc," and let slip the dogs of bench.
I was socially distant before it was cool.
A little authority corrupts a lot.