No. 60-1/2 Adjustable Mouth Low Angle Block Plane
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The housing is made of cast iron and is flat and true on the inside. Brass or aluminum fittings are available. bronze. The blades are made of carbon steel. Steel screws have been machined. There is no aluminum used in the construction. Minor casting flaws were present in the housing I received, but they had no effect on its functionality. It's a good plane; I've had mine for over a year and have had no problems with it; however, because it's a small hand plane, I wouldn't rely on it for daily use. You get what you pay for, and this is a decent mid-range tool.
There is a thickness of on the plane blade. 1/8" (125"). It is in good condition, but will require flattening and sharpening.
It all depends on how you plan; if you plan with grain 30, it appears to be better; if you plan with grain 25, it appears to be better. This is a low-angle planer, and I've found that 25 degrees is the best angle for it to work.
The planer is about 1 3/4" wide and 6 1/8" long, and it works great! It's nice and heavy and sharp!
Selected User Reviews For No. 60-1/2 Adjustable Mouth Low Angle Block Plane
This was given to me as a present for Christmas. I spent a few hours fine-tuning it, and it produced nice, clean shavings. It appears to have been well-built. Any comparisons to a top-of-the-line model are ridiculous because this isn't a top-of-the-line block plane. The iron is a little finicky to adjust, but once set, it cleans up nicely. As a hobbyist, this was exactly what I needed.
The product I purchased has a significant flaw in that the mouth was poorly machined, resulting in one side having significantly more metal than the other. It started cutting into the wood I was planing by tilting the blade. I was able to solve this problem by placing a piece of paper towel over the area where it was too low. This, however, is not a viable option. br>br>After a short-term fix, I was able to start getting some really good results. So, if the product didn't have the defect, here are the benefits and drawbacks:br>br>Pros:
- Can quickly adjust the cutting depth of the bladebr> - Two blades that can be sharpened as neededbr> - Angles can be adjusted thanks to slots in the blade. br> Heavy- duty, and it should last for a long timebr> - It is possible to obtain super fine shavingsbr> - Because of its higher cutting angle, it can plane knots and other difficult-to-plane areas better than a No 4 block plane. -br>br>Consbr>-br>-br>-br>-br>-br>-br>-br> Between the depth adjustments on the nobs for adjusting the blade depth, there are weak areas. As a result, the blade depth may be accidentally adjusted depending on how you hold this planer. Holding it in a different way is the solution.
- Because there are so many moving parts, getting the blade straight takes some time. br> - Because it's made of metal, it'll heat up quickly if you start hammering on wood.
- Because of its narrow and short size, it's more difficult to get a flat cut; even with a 1 and 1/4 inch wood piece, it's difficult to level it. I'm not sure if it's because the blade isn't seated properly.
This plane is of excellent quality, equal to or better than the four bench planes I currently own. There are two blades included in the package. This small Chicago-based company, which values feedback, listens to customers, and responds to emails promptly, has quickly established itself as a go-to source for tool purchases.
To the nearest tenth of a millimeter, the sole is perfectly flat. It's good enough at 005". It appears to be square to the nearest tenth of a degree. 002", and if you're going to use it for shooting, you'll have more issues with the small reference surface than with the manufacturing tolerance. The irons are as thick as a Stanley 3 iron from the 1950s. The one that was installed had a damaged edge, but with a little elbow grease, it could be fixed - The steel isn't particularly hard, and the back was dished, but it wasn't difficult to repair. There isn't much more to ask for at this price point than all the adjusters to adjust. br>.
I desperately wanted the low angle blockplane to work, but I had no choice but to return it. I knew I'd have to sharpen the blade and possibly flatten it before sending it in, but this one would be out of my league. I couldn't fix the mouth because it was so far off. I anticipated that all of the fundamentals would function properly. This one should've never been allowed to leave the factory in the first place. I feel sorry for the vendor.
It will need to be fine-tuned for a while. This is the first plane I've ever flown in. I put it on the shelf for a year because I was too afraid to clean and tune up the iron. Following that, I purchased a Calistro No. After a lot of elbow grease and some blood, I was able to get the 5 plane to work satisfactorily. So, I took this dusty Calistro 60 1/2 out of the box, and all I had to do was hone the iron on the back, which had deep flyout marks across it, in a cosman style. As you can see in the photos, I used a course and fine diamond, then a 4000 and 8000 cheap wetstone with a small metal ruler on top to create a micro bevel. It's fine if your back is cupped. It wasn't difficult to achieve microbevel, and that's all that matters. I ran the bevel through the same grits using a standard roller honing guide. It took less than an hour for this thing to start shaving sweet shavings after I picked it up again. It is not a problem. Have I been waiting for a year? LOL. The images are self-explanatory.
Arrived in good condition, with two irons as described and a nice solid cardboard box. All of the parts are pressed metal except the body, lever, and knobs. Then. The key hole in the lever cap is too small to remove the cap; it's easy to drill it out, but it's still a pain in the backside. The lever post is a screw, not a stud. A fixed stud is what I'd prefer. The cheeks, sole, and irons are all ground to a grit of around 80. Friction between the plane and the work piece is increased by the rough body. There is more force when there is more friction. The advantage of a low-angle plane is that it requires less force. The irons' 80 grit surface leaves a lot of material to remove in order to sharpen the edge. The plane is still serviceable.
But it will have to do until something better comes along. Lee Nelson, Veritas, and Clifton have all been on my mind lately. I paid $350 and received exactly what I paid for. I had to tune a hand plane that was nearly flat and worked as well as an old stanly, but not quite as well. I purchased planes made in China and India for $50 to $150 and received planes that worked ok but required a lot of tuning. I've never had one with a flat sol or blade, though! All I did was check the sol and hone the blade like the $350 boys did, and it almost worked. I bought the best plane I have for $40. Thank you very much (caliastro)!.
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