Amazon Basics No.4 Smoothing Bench Hand Plane - 2-Inch Blade
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I haven't had any problems with the blade except that getting it sharp and set took a long time and several tries. It works best when the depth is set very low and the shaving is very thin. Perhaps you could sharpen the blade to remove the chip?
Soba Industries, based on the adjustment frog, is an Indian company. As a result, the bed is painted, as is typical of their lower-end models. For my money, I'd go with Grizzly, who sell planes made by the same manufacturer but of slightly higher quality; I've had my No 7 from Grizzly for over ten years and have had no complaints.
Selected User Reviews For Amazon Basics No.4 Smoothing Bench Hand Plane - 2-Inch Blade
As expected, I received the plane. Taken out of the box. Checked the rough square between the sole and both sides of the plane. It appeared to be in good condition. I disassembled the plane to inspect the mating surfaces, frog to bed, and discovered that they would require some filing and stone touch-up. Checked for iron travel after reassembling the plane. I made the decision to leave at this point. The yoke would lose contact with the adjusting nut before the iron dipped below the sole, so I couldn't lower it far enough to make any chips. That problem could have easily been solved with a slightly different yoke setup. File and stone mating surfaces, sand sole to make it completely flat, and sharpen and polish iron are all expected to be required.
Smoothing Bench Hand Planes that cost more than $125 are more expensive than those that cost less than $20, and you get what you pay for with both. This is an excellent first plane or one to use on a regular basis. It possesses all of the characteristics of a premium product. end blade, but it's missing a few details. It had vastly improved after only 15 minutes of work. As an example - There were a few rough spots on the front handle - That was remedied by a quick sanding. The back handle was a tad slack - It took a long time to get this straightened out. Because the screw's long hole is far too wide, it still wobbles no matter how tight you tighten it. I took the handle off, mixed some epoxy, and poured it into the long screw opening before replacing it. After that, I threaded both screws in. The epoxy flows down, filling the void that causes the wobble. I lubricated the screw in case I needed to remove it later. The grip is now solid. steady. The worst part was a lip near the blade slot on the bottom. I needed to fly the plane over some oiled-up grass. extra fine sandpaper on a completely smooth surface (I'm using a 16"x16" 5" thick flat steel plate for this! ) This secured the foundation (flat particle board or plywood can also be used). ) Now I have a plane that is in excellent condition and performs as well as the professional models. So look for a lip at the bottom! br>br> Sure, that's a lot of work for a new tool, and it'll turn off potential users. However, with a few tweaks, it can be a fantastic planer. Photos: br>br> two more shots of the planer, this time with the handle removed- epoxy in a big hole A comparison of two Amazon 2" planers.
If you're lucky, this plane will work for you, but when I try to advance the blade, the lug on the yoke slips out of the hole in the chipbreaker. There's not much you can do about it unless you move the chipbreaker further away from the blade's edge than the recommended 2mm distance. I'm going to return it and bite the bullet for something that works right out of the box. br>br>Recent changes: br>br> The problem persists in the second plane I received as a replacement. I must be extremely unlucky, or the reviews on this site are skewed. In fakespot, it received a D.
My curiosity overcame my common sense after looking at this thing on Amazon for over a year. I can't imagine a plane from Amazon Basics being useful for anything other than planing the door or possibly chopping down construction lumber. And I was right: the thing is garbage right out of the box. The breaker, like the iron, is very thin. Nothing is flat (fortunately, the steel is also garbage and easy to flatten and sharpen, which is good because I'll be doing it frequently). br>br>Anyway, I'm sure you have similar expectations to mine if you're reading this. You'd be correct in that assumption. br>br>ON THE OTHER HAND. I turned it into a scrub plane, and I'm very pleased with the results. Everything that makes it unusable as a smoother, in my opinion, becomes an asset as a scrub. It was simple to flatten and camber the iron, and sharpening it by hand on stones is simple as well. I widened the frog's mouth by filing it open and setting it back. It scavenges like a pro! I'd prefer a thicker blade/breaker combo because there's a lot of chatter, but it gets the job done for $40.
The weight is very nice. I had to sharpen the blade right out of the box, but my high-end Stanley Baileys also needed sharpening, so that was no big deal. It has a great vibe to it. For someone who wants to learn how to use hand tools, it's a good value. I bought it just to see what it was like, and I'm glad I did. I'll be able to put it to good use.
I couldn't get the blade low enough to cut wood with it as it was. Before it protrudes past the plane's sole, the lever disengaged with the chip breaker's bitch. I had to unscrew the chip breaker from the iron and reposition it so that the knife edge and the tip of the chip breaker are 5mm apart. It's supposed to be, according to the instructions. That is clearly not by design, as it is only 2mm. Then, because the breaker was so far back, the lever cap wouldn't fit, so I had to unscrew the lever screw. My plane can be used in general, but the chip breaker is useless that far back.
This plane has the potential to be a steal - If you're willing and knowledgeable enough to tune up the tool, that is. Realize that almost no plane will fly right out of the box. A certain amount of tweaking and tuning is always required. The benefits: br> br>* The body is reasonably flat, though it will need workbr>* The parts are better than the price point suggestsbr>* The frog is adjustablebr>* All of the pieces are there to make a decent toolbr> br>* The machining is rough, especially on the frog face, with mediocre fit and finishbr>* Handles require additional shaping and refinishingbr>* Chip breaker is not flat to the blade (fixable)br>* The "lever" cap is made of some light mystery metal (replacement desirable)br>* Adjustment adequate but not smoothbr>* Concave base, high on both sides, requires flatteningbr>* Mou * Complete disassembly, finishing, flattening, and tuning requiredbr>* Made in Chinabr>Summarybr>A good candidate for a scrub plane, but requires a lot of TLC as a smoother. If used as a smoother, the quality of the blade is unknown, and it may need to be replaced. It could be a good buy if you're willing to put in some effort before using it.
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