Hand Plane deal

[ebarr]

http://www.woodcraft.com/Family/2005276/GROZ-Bench-Planes.aspx

I always wanted to get some hand planes but was unsure about using them and how much use they would get. But for this kinda deal, I had to order a few, a #4 and #5 :eusa_danc:eusa_danc:eusa_danc

 

[zapdafish]

tempting to get a #3 for the knobs if they are compatible, hehe.

 

[Mark Gottesman]

Well worth it for that money. Tune them up and see how they do. For that price, you could afford to upgrade the blades if need be.

I'd go for that deal except that I have three planes in the rehab que.

Let us know how they work out and your impressions of them.

 

[ck1999]

I had looked at these planes and was thinking about them as well until I started looking at the reviews. Also, from this site I do not recall anyone really discussing this brand of planes. Mostly I see people discussing the older stanley or lie-nelson planes.

So if anyone would like to chime in and give us a review on this brand I would appreciate it. I also realize you get what you pay for and would like to know if these are any good.

Chris

 

[ebarr]

I was kinda in the same line of thought...Looked at reviews, youtube videos on hand planes. I definitely don't have the funds for the high end, use out of the box plans, and really don't feel I have enough knowledge to purchase a good usable used plane.

I figure for this price I really can't go wrong. Plus again, they may not be used all that much. I would love to hear from anyone that has experience with these or any other planes.

 

[Mark Gottesman]

Google is your friend: review Groz Plane

The short story is that they seem to be a good plane if you can tune them up. Flatten the bottom, sharpen the blade, tune the frog etc.

Basically what you would do to a clean flea market find.

They seem to benefit from a thicker aftermarket blade. Still, the cost of the sale planes plus another blade and cap iron is still not bad for a good cutting plane which is what these seem to be.

Really depends on where you are in your plane history. It is a step up from a cheap untuned plane it is not a LeeNeilsen.

Should be quicker to get online than building a wood plane from scratch.

 

[Mike Davis]

They are not as bad as some make them out to be, that said they are not by any means ready to go.

The sole will be reasonably flat but not smooth so some work with 400 - 600 and maybe 800 grit paper will get it slick. The blade will have to be sharpened and flattened on the back. The frog may be rough or may have casting slugs that will need to be filed flat.

All together about an hour or two of grunt work to make it usable.

If your time is worth more than $75 -$100 an hour then you are better off to get a Lie-Nielsen.

 

[jlayell]

I have the #5 and it took about two hours to tune. Mine works fine for me, but I have used nothing else to compare to.

 

[cyclopentadiene]

I have the #3, #5 and the block plane. As others have stated, they tune up well, especially with a worksharp but the blade does not hold an edge as long as other planes. The block plane is junk it is too easy to loosen the blade due to the location of thelocking mechanism.

I purchased the #4 and #7 woodriver planes and there is a significant difference. These are amazing and only needed a little fine tuning out of the box. I have considered replacing the blades in the Groz planes with the woodriver blades.