Rabbet Plane, No. 92

Comments about Rabbet Plane, No. 92 :

If this tool were priced at 30 bucks or so I would have given it 4 stars. But for over 100 dollars the price far exceeds the tool's quality! I was extremely underwhelmed with the quality of the blade - rough and uneven milled surfaces shouldn't be a factor in a tool that costs this much! Setting the gap and blade right isn't a simple task either. The body is constructed solidly but I wouldn't recommend it at this price.

Comments about Rabbet Plane, No. 92 :

It pains me to write this review because I am a HUGE Stanley tools/plane fan. I own several vintage Stanley planes I fixed up and they work great. I decided for the[$] bucks (caught a sale from Woodcraft.com) I would give this "new" plane a try. I carefully researched because I didn't want a Chinese made tool or a Mexican tool like the new "Stanley Sweetheart" line...this plane was UK made so I figured it would be a winner. The item description says "factory ground and requires honing before use"...boy they aren't kidding, mine was so bad/rough I would have had to start from "ground zero" and go through all the sharpening steps (course to fine) along with the final "honing" after wards (to be fair, Woodcraft did offer a sharpening service for an extra $5, I declined) The absolute disappointment lies in the machine work/body alignment. When assembled and tightened with the blade iron in place and an average usable opening I put a machinist straightedge (not a ruler, I mean a $80 nice precision tool) on the bottom and sides. Try 0.008" (almost the thickness of(2)two $1 dollar bills) clearance from the back sole to the front adjustable sole...very unacceptable for any plane/rabbeting use I can think of, I was taught that 0.001 to 0.002" is acceptable. The sides are not true either and you can't correct any of this without damaging the nickel plate finishing. You can literally take mine assembled and look down the sides from the bottom, it is so obviously crooked and misaligned and I can't believe it made it from the factory into the box. My final complaint is the threads on the adjusting screw. Mine were rough to turn...would get easy then tight. The treads are not anything you can use normal taps and dies on to fix either, they are unique and reversed threads. I will be returning this plane and will be getting either a Lie Nielsen or a Veritas medium shoulder/rabbet plane...at least either of these will be usable right away even though they cost around $175.