WoodRiver #4 Bench Hand Plane, V3

Comments about WoodRiver #4 Bench Hand Plane, V3 :

I also have a Groz #4 that I've never been able to get a decent shaving with, no matter how much I tune it. When I got the wood river I took it out of the box, cleaned the grease off and was getting great shaving immediately. This plane convinced me that I actually CAN use a hand-plane and that the problems before were really poor quality tools. I've resharpened the blade a few times and everything always goes back together smoothly. The only complaint I have is the amount of play in the thumb screw to adjust the blade depth. When you change direction there is quite a bit of motion before there is any change in the blade. That makes it a bit difficult to get the depth if you over-shoot. This is a great plane to start with. You can certainly find better for more money, but I don't think you can go much cheaper and have it work, at least not without a LOT of work on your part to "fix" the tool.

Comments about WoodRiver #4 Bench Hand Plane, V3 :

I owned Lie Nielsen Planes and that Woodcraft plane is near from Lie Nielsen and less expensive.

Comments about WoodRiver #4 Bench Hand Plane, V3 :

Just a quick honing and some minor adjustments and it was taking very fine shavings from a curly maple top I'm working on. Rob Cosmans video on you tube is right on the money as far as how long it takes from unboxing to planing.

Comments about WoodRiver #4 Bench Hand Plane, V3 :

Out of the box, with no tuning, I was making shavings as good as my Lie Nielsen #6 out of the box. The depth adjustment dial is a bit stiffer than the Lie Nelsen to adjust, but overall this plane is a pleasure to work with.

Comments about WoodRiver #4 Bench Hand Plane, V3 :

I bought this plane along with the #7 jointer, both of them are of VERY good quality in their construction and performance, the blade needed very little work to get its back flat and polished, sole was flat right out of the box, and I only spent some minutes sharpening the blade and adding a secondary bevel. The quality of machining in the frog and sole of the plane are just perfect, and ease of adjustement for blade movement is very nice. Have used this plane to smooth table tops and smaller pieces, even though I have not "honed" a camber in the blade it leaves a very nice, uniform and smooth surface. Only "con" I could add is that, my hands being maybe larger than average are a little "uncomfortable" gripping the rear tote, which by the way is made of very beautiful wood and left unfinished but smoothly sanded. However I belive this "con" has more to do with my poor technique using the tool than a flaw of the tool itself. Anyway, Im very happy with this plane.

Comments about WoodRiver #4 Bench Hand Plane, V3 :

Minimal fettling needed for set up. Spent 1min honing the blade on waterstones and it was good to go!

Comments about WoodRiver #4 Bench Hand Plane, V3 :

I'd like to add some pros and cons but honestly I haven't had the chance yet to use the plane. I purchased it at my local Woodcraft store two days ago. I cleaned off the oil and began to check out the flatness of the back of the iron. Boy was I surprised. I actually can't think how anyone could make a plane iron so out of flat. There were hollows all over it. I've been lapping with 180 sandpaper for 2 hours and it sill needs work. The feel of the plane is great and the mechanics of it seem to work quite well. I'm looking forward to see how it performs. I may be spoiled in that all my other planes are Veritas or Lie Neilsen. I was hoping to save a couple hundred on this #4. I hope I didn't blow it. I'll update the review once I get the iron in working order.

Comments about WoodRiver #4 Bench Hand Plane, V3 :

I bought this plane because I'm building a small boat. After very little work on the blade with an 4000/8000 stone, it makes gossamer thin shavings. The rear handle is a little short and close to the plane iron for my hand but I guess a #4 is kinda of small plane. I really like the plane and you can tell it is a quality piece compared to my other plane (14" 20 year old Craftsman). I was a little disappointed to see it was made in China though. I didn't notice that until I got it home.

Comments about WoodRiver #4 Bench Hand Plane, V3 :

Got this to go with my grandfather's 4 others that are over 80 years old. This completes my set and is worth every penny.

Comments about WoodRiver #4 Bench Hand Plane, V3 :

I've had the #4 for 5 or 6 weeks and have been very happy with it. I used it for general planing of southern pine, poplar and black walnut straight out of the box with no problems and no tuning. For smoothing I did give the iron a few strokes on the water stones to give it a slight camber. Straight from the box it would plane the walnut as smooth as glass and take shavings less than 0.002 with no problem. However, being honed square it did leave faint tracks, which cambering quickly cured. My first WoodRiver plane, but it won't be my last. My only regret is that the product line isn't more comlplete.