- Amazon Basics No.4 Adjustable Precision Smoothing Bench Hand Plane with 2-Inch Blade and Wooden Handles for Woodworking, Brown

I purchased this plane for a specific, two-part project. The first part was to see what quality of plane one could get for the low price. The second part was to determine the effort required to make the plane perform as well as my Stanley No. 4 plane. First part of the project: The appearance of the Amazon Basics plane I received is very good. There was a small gob of black lacquer (paint) on the front and rear handles, which I easily carved off. I took the plane apart, and determined that the quality of the individual components is surprisingly good. The chip breaker and the cap iron are plated, probably with nickel. I do question the reason for plating the chip breaker. Second part of the project: After reassembling the plane, I took it through Paul Sellers' restoration routine. I checked the sole for flatness, and found it nearly perfect. Just a few strokes across some 220 grit sandpaper, brought the sole into perfect flatness. I tested the plane on a piece of pine and found it sharp enough to create a good shaving. I then tested it on oak, and found that it needed honing. Checking the iron (aka the blade), I found it to be as flat as the sole. A few strokes on the sandpaper flattened it. The edge of the chip breaker needed flattening because it was high in the middle. This took only a few strokes on 100-grit sandpaper. Once the chip breaker was flat, I checked the frog, and brought it into flatness with only a few strokes across the 100-grit sandpaper. Then I spent a few minutes honing the iron on 1000, 3000, and 8000 grit stones, and gave it a razor edge than produced good, continuous shavings on the oak. Although the plane was functional on soft woods out of the box, I wanted it to be like my other planes, and took the time to flatten the aforementioned components. The edges of the plane were very sharp, so I filed and rounded the edges of the sole (to prevent gouging) and upper body (to prevent accidentally cutting my hand). Interestingly, the plane comes with a user manual in seven languages. I find that the manual is a great idea for beginners. It includes reassembly instructions and parts diagram, and instructions for sharpening the blade and flattening the sole in the "Mainenance" section. The manual, if perused or read, can make a beginner's first experience successful. I have recommended this plane to friends, and now recommend it to anyone considering an all-purpose first plane. It's a great product for the price. I have mine planing as well as my Stanley No. 4.

Great plane. Very easy to use to shave doors for fit. Good value for the money.

Great plane for learning woodworking! The blade came reasonably sharp, and as a result, I was able to plane some wood right after it came in the mail. The plane had a nice weight to it, and the handles are made from a nice wood. I would highly recommend this plane to someone who is looking to get into woodworking because it is a good value, works well, and is easy to use.

With the clear understanding that no one in the history of tool buying has ever bought a plane that didn't need some tuning up and honing, this one in particular was the worst I've ever experienced in that regard. The handles were loose, the frog was way out, and this blade (aka iron) had the worst grind I've ever seen on a blade of any time in any kind of tool or knife. After a total of about 2 1/2 - 3 hours of lapping and giving it a proper honing and doing all the adjustments on it, I finally got it running nicely. Nice, think full width shavings, and a good, smooth stroke in walnut, cherry, and maple. Took a long time - a LONG time. The initial grind was not square to the iron's edge, or to its face. It was really just terrible. Also, the plane bottom was convex by a couple thou, and I took that down to smooth and flat on a 300 stone, then cleaned it at 1000. Again... a LOT of work, but it's working nicely. The big question now is, how well will this fine hone hold up on this iron...? I don't have a tonne of confidence, but I don't mind a 30-second tune up before each use. Anyway, for under $30, if you have the time to make it right, it's a nice addition to the tool box. If.

I'm new to woodworking and wanted to buy an old plane to refurbish and use. Couldn't find any old ones for the price of this new one (without cracks in the body or missing parts). I bought this plane figuring it needed some initial work out of the box. Wasn't too bad, but I do recommend putting it through the same process you would use to restore an old plane. I recommend the video by Paul Sellers called "Restoring the Bench Plane". After doing all the things Paul suggests, this plane works like a charm for me. The gap between the plane iron and the front of the mouth is larger than I would have expected, meaning when you attach the cap iron (chip breaker), you have to back it off from the cutting edge about 1/8", maybe more. Then you have to drop the blade very far in order to get a shaving. But I managed to get it set perfectly and it takes nice clean cut. I haven't noticed any blade movement caused from setting the cap iron so far back from the cutting edge. I bought a similar one from Menards (for a similar price) and this Amazon plane is MUCH better. It feels better in the hand, looks better, is easier to adjust. Literally better in every way in my opinion. If you can't find an old Stanley to restore and don't want to break the bank, this is the plane to get.

I bought this for my home shop after reading both good and bad reviews. The plane is sturdy and most importantly made of all metal parts. We will see how it holds up over time but I was impressed upon unboxing. Further inspection revealed a sole that was cupped (not flat) and a blade that needed much sharpening. In short, I spent about 5 hours trying to flatten the sole (with a rough sharpening stone) and put a new 25degree primary bevel on the blade (and a 30 degree secondary bevel which did not take long). I was expecting to spend some time on both the sole and blade as every other plane (and chisel) I have ever purchased needed the same. In the end the plane works well and I am happy with it. The adjust screw binds up and is hard to adjust in places, but I am hoping over time I can make it work better. For the price I am very pleased . UPDATE: I have found that although the toll works pretty well, the plane is very difficult to adjust blade depth. The adjustment screw binds up and is nearly impossible to turn without using pliers. Frustrating.

A great tool for leveling wood edges.

Plane arrived in foam packing and in a plastic bag. As soon as i took it from the bag i could tell it was poorly made, but I wasn't expecting anything super well made (its isn't a Stanley Bailey!) but even with that in mind i was greatly disappointed. The first thing I noticed is it uses a finger screw rather than a latch to lock the blade in place. This screw is pretty critical because it has to be loosened every time you want to adjust the plane depth or remove the blade to sharpen. When i tried twisting the screw it was impossible to twist by hand. I had to resort to a pair of channel locks. Once that was done i saw that the casting (iron) was thin and very poor. Ok you get what you pay for. Both the handle and the knob were loose but that was a just a matter of tightening the three screws. Quite a list right? but that was not the BAD PART. once the finger lock screw was loose i attempted to use the large thumb wheel to adjust the knife height. nothing! turns out it came already stripped out! So now the tool is unusable. I laid the plane on a flat surface to test the bed for flatness and it was not even close! it was so bad it rocked significantly and i could have slide a 1/16 of an inch shim under the front left and back right corners, both at once! No way you would ever get this thing flat, and able to smooth/flatten your wood, even if the blade adjustment screw wasn't stripped. DO NOT BUY this line of planes. I cant speak to the other sizes but i guarantee the casting methods are terrible. In addition after further examining it, the adjust finger screw is not actually "attached" to the adjustment yoke. The yoke sites on top of a flange in it like a Y shape. There is lots of play there so your adjustment wont be accurate. I packaged mine up and sent it back. Luckily this item had a good return policy. I am a custom wood worker and have a dozen other planes, but wanted a relatively inexpensive one that i could through in my mobile shop cargo trailer and not worry about being out a couple hundred bucks if it got lost or damaged by carelessness. Unfortunately this plane was not usable at all.

Very nice thank you Amazon

Agréablement surpris, très bonne qualité pour un prix très avantageux, je recommande.

The plane is a budget-friendly option, but the quality reflects the price point. There are visible imperfections in the workmanship on most parts of the tool. The base is machined reasonably well, but the paint is uneven in several areas. The sole isn't perfectly flat and may require some effort to correct. The frog is neither smooth nor flat, which can affect performance. The tote has minor movement (about 2mm of play around the holding screw). While this isn’t a major issue, it can be frustrating during use. The depth adjustment nut and the "Y" adjustment lever don’t operate smoothly, as they catch and bite during rotation. The blade was dull out of the box and, in my case, had a defect—a convex shape on the flat side. I only discovered this after partially disassembling the plane and beginning the process of lapping and grinding the blade. Otherwise, I would have considered returning it. For now, it will serve as a backup tool.

Ottimo rapporto qualità prezzo. Pialla benissimo il legno, con trucioli a velo. Molto robusta e ottima anche nei componenti. Consigliatissima per lavori non solo di hobby.

It is a good product having wih all ĝbk8attachment, quality is excellent