I keep hearing so much about these Wood River Planes and how they keep improving from version to version. A few weeks ago, Rob Cosman made an appearance on The Wood Whisperer Guild and made mention of how much he likes these planes. This is coming from a guy who not only does great work, but used to sell Lie Nielsen planes for like 15 years. Since then I have been itching to get my hands on them to see what all the hype is about.
Unfortunately the Woodcraft booth didn’t have any of them at The Woodworking Show last weekend to try out. I decided to head over to my local store last night and see if I could get some play time. Sure enough they had a Jack plane and a #4 Smoothing plane so I was indeed able to try them out.
Now I didn’t really have that much time or any tough wood to work with. All they had was nice straight grained stuff to play with. You know the kind of wood that the demonstrator hand picks to use at a trade show. But I did get enough time to play around that I was quite impressed. The fit in the hand is comfortable, the sole flat, mouth tight, and the adjustment is smooth. The similarities to a Lie Nielsen plane or a fully restored Stanley Bedrock were uncanny. At 1/3 of the price, I admit to being shocked. There are definitely some fit and finish elements that separate the Lie Nielsens from this bunch but Wood River is not claiming to be the premium tool, but rather a more mid line tool. Based on the performance I saw, they are a few steps above mid level.
Now I have 3 smoothers and 2 jack planes so I was really looking at their #3 plane for my own tool kit. Alas, no dice but they guys there did tell me that the planes are going on sale. Sure enough I get an email today telling me they are on sale until January 29th, 2011 at 10% off. Quite a deal.
I went ahead and ordered one and I’ll be sure to give a full report as I get more time with the plane. In the meantime, if you are willing to trust this cursory review and the word of Rob Cosman (Tommy Mac told me he likes them too) then head over to Woodcraft now and make your purchase.
If you are so inclined, use this link below. It is an affiliate link and helps out the site when you purchase. Happy Planing!
They look nice, a shame they want 100$ for shiping to Sweden.
/Conny
If you buy them from Workshop Heaven (http://workshopheaven.com) in the UK where they’re called Quangsheng, they’re a later model, only slightly more expensive, but the postage to europe is free for orders over £100
I have the 2nd generation of their no.6 (The first generations were the ones that had issues) Other than touching up the blade and the chipbreaker it was flawless out of the box. Though I mainly use it as a try/jointer plane it can do VERY thin shavings too if desired. I even dropped it on concrete once and other than needing to sand out a couple burrs the plane continued to function perfectly. From a functional standpoint, I would not hesitate to recommend them to any woodworker.
I took a Rob Cosman class at Woodcraft and he was using the No. 6 in class. One of the students bought a No. 6 during the class. Rob took the blade out and sharpened it. It was taking sub-thou shavings right out of the box. Personally, I will never buy one because of where they are made (gotta support the local guys) but they are nice planes for the price. I’ll still pay Tom his asking price because he lives here – not to mention his planes are still the best.
I agree Gator, and I usually try to patronize the small shops but I don’t think we can ignore a brand that is at least making a solid attempt to up their quality. Competition breeds innovation, but you’re right Lie Nielsen are the best and pigs will fly before I ever give up mine.
Please do give us a full review as I am very interested, but would like to see some reviews from people who aren’t working for Woodcraft.
Thanks Shannon, I’m looking forward to the full review. I’m interested in the #4. I would not buy a Chinese plane online though. I would rather want to visit my local Woodcraft store and check the sole for flatness and squareness prior to purchasing. The folks at Woodcraft are usually cool enough to let you check the merchandise first.
I agree Julien, that’s just what I did unfortunately they didn’t have the model I wanted in the store. I think this will be part of the test however as so many of my readers do have the ability to drive into a store and try out the tool. We’ll see how it goes once the plane arrives.
I’ll buy from whoever makes the best planes for the money. Right now, I think that is Veritas. I have nothing against Canucks.
Got a #4 for Christmas; after less than 1/2 hr of sharpening and adjusting I was getting performance well beyond any expectations or experiences. Just ordered a #5 at 10% off – can’t wait.