"G. Ross" wrote in message
news:tu2dnV5w3du3EifO...@giganews.com...
xxxx wrote:
> Looking to get a low angle block and smooth planes. Of course Lie-Nielsen
> would be a dream but I can't get over the price. So between Veritas and
> Woodcrafts Wood River planes what would be the better choice? Quality /
> performance would be the main criteria at this point.
Whenever one of the woodworking mags does a comparison review of planes and
such things, it seems that Lie-Nielsen and Veritas are always the top two.
Sometimes Veritas is on top, as with their shoulder planes, sometimes it's
Lie-Nielsen. The September/October 2012 Fine Woodworking did a comparison
review of low-angle block planes, and their top choices were the Lie-Neilsen
60 1/2 and 102, and the Veritas DX60 and Low-Angle Block Plane.
Unfortunately they didn't specifically discuss, or even list, the other
nineteen contenders. A ranking chart would have been helpful.
Even after all that, my own everyday low-angle block plane is an old and
somewhat beat-up Stanley 60 1/2 that I've spiffed up with a Hock blade. Does
a nice job even if it's not as fancy as the others. I do have a lot of
Veritas stuff (although none of their planes) and it's always top quality;
excellent design work and engineering. I have a few Wood River items around
the shop as well, and they seem to be well-made but they're obviously built
to a price point below the leaders. The L-N and Veritas ones would probably
be ready to cut wood right out of the box, depending on your personal
sharpening standards; the WR one might need a little fettling before it was
ready to go. And much depends, I think, on how frequently you'd be using
them. I don't mind buying a lower-tier product if it's for a special purpose
or will be infrequently used.
Tom