Low Angle Block Hand Plane with Adjustable Mouth Reviews

3.7 Rating 18 Reviews

About Woodcraft:

Woodcraft Supply, LLC is one of the nation's oldest and largest suppliers of quality woodworking tools and supplies. You'll find Woodcraft stores in more than 70 major metropolitan areas across the U.S.; and Woodcraft annually distributes 1.5 million catalogs featuring more than 10,000 items to all 50 states and 117 foreign countries. The Woodcraft catalog is a standard among woodworkers as the most complete offering of first rate products for woodworking available anywhere. Woodcraft also publishes six issues of Woodcraft Magazine annually.

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Phone:

800-535-4486

Location:

1177 Rosemar Rd,
Parkersburg
West Virginia
26105

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“I have three block planes, two old Stanleys and this one. I’ve used this one for two years now, enough time to realize that I almost always reach for the other two and ignore this one because: (1) it’s unnecessarily heavy, (2) it’s unbalanced towards the back end, (3) it’s difficult to hold due to the excessive weight and imbalance, and (4) the snap lever cap iron pops up too easily and unexpectedly. I constantly curse that last reason because when the cap iron unexpectedly pops up, it upsets the setting of the blade. Not until I bought this plane did I learn to appreciate the lighter weight of the old Stanley block planes. I didn’t anticipate that heavy weight would be a problem so, to make mine easier to hold, I had to stick pressure sensitive sandpaper to the sides to improve the grip. The plane cuts well enough, and the sides were square and the bottom flat. As with many Wood River blades, the edge is crumbly and chips out easily at first unless you grind off about 1/32” before sharpening it. After that, the blade holds an edge pretty well. Go to a Woodcraft store and hold one for about five minutes before ordering to judge whether the weight and imbalance will be a problem for you.”

1 Helpful Report

Posted 1 month ago

“This plane worked well right out of the box. A little fine tuning and it is working even better. Very impressive.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 month ago

“I put off getting one of these for way too long. I finally got one while trying to clean up some lap joints. I usually tune up my planes with stones before even thinking of using them, but I was in a hurry with this one and used it right out of the box and it was excellent! I checked the flatness/squareness and the thing is tight! I am really glad I got the one with the adjustable mouth - it really makes a difference depending on the application. It is presently my most-used tool during joinery and I have yet to put it on the stones. Very pleased!”

1 Helpful Report

Posted 8 months ago

“I enjoy using this plane. Mine appears to have been machined very well. Worked right away after just a quick honing of the blade. Aesthetically pleasing and ergonomic. Does its job. My only critique is that the knuckle cap has a tendency to pop open when your using it. I'm able to work around it by adjusting my grip, but I wish it would stay put 100% of the time. Otherwise, it's a great plane!”

1 Helpful Report

Posted 8 months ago

“I love this thing, it is much better quality than my old block plane Jorgensen I bought at Lowes. It is heavy duty and very easy to use.”

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Posted 9 months ago

“Great little plane. Took a little bit to get adjusted once I got the blade sharpened. But is quite useful.”

1 Helpful Report

Posted 11 months ago

“Not being as tall as the standard angle version, the low angle provides a more comfortable grip. I think that also provides more feedback and control. This is a little bigger than the two block planes I use the most now, but not too heavy, definitely more comfortable, and I’m appreciating the slight extra width over my other small block planes. The blade was okay sharp out-of-the-box, but for any new plane you should sharpen and add a micro edge. The WoodRiver blade is a full 1/8” thick and when I initially sharpened it was flat. Steel does appear to be harder than my older planes, so it does take a couple extra strokes to sharpen. The lever mechanism on this plane is quite different, no lever, instead the cap pops up with a slight push allowing adjustments. It took a short while to get use to that, and after a bit I’m liking it over the thumb wheels many block planes use. I really like the blade depth adjustment. It easy to grab, is smooth to turn, and does not have that annoying dead space when changing directions. The mouth adjustment also works smoothly, and I don’t feel any height difference of the mouth and sole. Visually the gap is tight and not overly noticeable. The build and functionally quality matches that of all the WoodRiver planes I own - excellent. I think it is pretty close to Lie-Nielsen build quality for much less cost. I’d love to see an even smaller version of this from WoodRiver, but this one is quickly becoming my go-to block.”

2 Helpful Report

Posted 11 months ago

“I've been using a low end $30 Stanley plane for many years and I thought it's time to upgrade due to the blade on the Stanley dulls rather quickly. The Wood River plane appears to be well made and I thought I had made a wise upgrade. However, it took several hours to get the blade flat on the back and sharpened. Surprisingly, the Stanley plane is sharper. Cuts smoother. It is also easier to adjust the Stanley plane due to having to undo the cap on the Wood River to make adjustments. If the blade needs to be advanced, there is considerable slack in the adjustment knob making minor adjustments difficult. I ended up going back to the Stanley plane and the Wood River plane just sits in my unused tool drawer.”

2 Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago